National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2000

Proclamation 7347 of September 29, 2000

National Disability Employment Awareness Month,
2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act and the 10th
anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). These two landmark civil rights laws have opened
the doors of opportunity for people with disabilities
and increased our awareness of the enormous
contributions that Americans with disabilities can make
to our national life.

A decade ago, when we were debating the Americans with
Disabilities Act, critics said that making workplaces,
public transportation, public facilities, and
telecommunications more accessible would be too costly
and burdensome. But they have been proved wrong. Since
passage of the ADA in 1990, more than a million men and
women with disabilities have entered the labor force
and, as taxpayers, consumers, and workers, they are
contributing to a period of unprecedented prosperity
and record employment in our country.

Throughout my Administration, we have worked hard to
break down the barriers that people with disabilities
continue to face on a daily basis. In 1998, I signed
the Workforce Investment Act, requiring that
information technology purchased by the Federal
Government be accessible to people with disabilities.
In 1999, I was proud to sign the Ticket to Work and
Work Incentives Improvement Act, which enables
Americans with disabilities to retain their Medicare or
Medicaid coverage when they go to work, because no one
should have to choose between health care and a job. We
are also dramatically expanding the income students
with disabilities can earn while retaining access to
disability benefits; and to lead by example, we are
hiring more people with disabilities throughout the
Federal Government.

Today's revolution in information and communications
technology offers us powerful new tools to expand
employment and training opportunities for people with
disabilities. Whether translating web pages aloud for
people who are blind or visually impaired, creating
captioning for those who are deaf or hard of hearing,
or enabling people with physical disabilities to
control a computer through eye movement and brain
waves, these technologies show enormous potential for
increasing access to employment and full participation
in society. We are exploring ways that Medicare and
Medicaid can be enhanced to cover the cost of assistive
technology so that people can live and work more
independently in the communities of their choosing. And
I was pleased to announce on September 21 that dozens
of corporate leaders from the technology sector and the
presidents of many of America's leading research
universities have pledged to make their products and
services accessible to and usable by people with
disabilities.

A new generation of young people with disabilities is
growing up in America today--graduating from high
school, going to college, and preparing to participate
fully in the workplace. They have a right to make the
most of their potential, and our Nation must make the
most of their intellect, talents, and abilities. By
working together to break down barriers for Americans

with disabilities, we will keep our economy growing,
make a lasting investment in the future of our country,
and uphold our fundamental commitment to justice and
equality for all our people.

To recognize the enormous potential of individuals with
disabilities and to encourage all Americans to work
toward their full integration into the workforce, the
Congress, by joint resolution approved August 11, 1945,
as amended (36 U.S.C. 121), has designated October of
each year as ``National Disability Employment Awareness
Month.''

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim October
2000 as National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
I call upon Government officials, educators, labor
leaders, employers, and the people of the United States
to observe this month with appropriate programs and
activities that reaffirm our determination to fulfill
the letter and spirit of the Americans with
Disabilities Act.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord
two thousand, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.