The ADA Amendments Act of 2008

On the morning of September 25, President George W. Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act into law in a private signing ceremony in the Oval Office before an audience of Members of Congress including Majority Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), as well as AAPD Board Chair Cheryl Sensenbrenner, and others. President George H.W. Bush, who signed the original Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 was also present for the signing, which marked the first time former President Bush had looked on to watch his son sign a bill into law.

Correction: The link provided in yesterday's JFA was faulty, so we've reposted it below for those who tried in vain to access the website yesterday:

>>Read more about the ADA Amendments Act at www.adabill.com

>>Visit a new ADA Archives website that will serve as a clearinghouse of information about the history of the ADA to present time.

From the Houston Chronicle (9/23):

Enabling the disabled
A new law overturns years of callous Supreme Court decisions curtailing the rights of the disabled

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which then-President George H.W. Bush considered one of his administration's proudest accomplishments, was intended to give broad coverage to people with disabilities.

But in recent years the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently thwarted that intent with a series of decisions that narrowed the intended scope of the measure, denying constitutional protections to millions of disabled Americans.

Last week Congress...

>>Read more.

Photos from the White House signing ceremony for the ADA Amendments Act:

Photo 1 (President George W. Bush standing next to his father, Former President George H.W. Bush, who signed the original Americans with Disabilities Act into law in 1990)

Photo 2 (President George W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act in the Oval Office before an audience of Members of Congress, AAPD Board Chair Cheryl Sensenbrenner, and U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey)