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As hundreds of disability leaders, advocates, federal appointees and civil servants gathered on the White House’s South Lawn for President Joe Biden’s final commemoration of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Monday, the president noted the role he’s played in disability rights legislation and regulation over the past five decades. 

“I was a kid, but I was proud to be a cosponsor of [the Americans with Disabilities Act] in the Senate. George H.W. Bush signed it into law right here on this lawn [on July 26, 1990], proving we can work together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure the American dream is available to all of us,” Biden said. 

Neil McDevitt, mayor of North Wales, Pennsylvania, gave opening remarks before Biden. McDevitt is one of the first deaf mayors in the United States and an alum of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the only college in the country to have all programs designed for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

“Like many of you, I woke up one day with rights I did not go to bed with. The Americans with Disabilities Act made millions of Americans first-class citizens overnight,” McDevitt said. “There is a direct line to that day, July 26, to me standing before you as the first deaf person to be directly elected as mayor in the United States.” 

While Disability Pride Month and the anniversary of the ADA are in July, it is not unusual for the White House celebration to occur later in the year. Last year’s commemoration, also on the South Lawn, took place October 2. Delays generally come down to scheduling. 

But September is not without significance. September is Deaf Awareness Month, as McDevitt noted during his opening remarks. September is also when the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. Biden voted for the Rehabilitation Act during his first year in the Senate, 51 years ago.

The Rehabilitation Act was the first piece of American legislation prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities and was a precursor to the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

The Rehabilitation Act applied to only the federal government and its contractors, and Section 504 required federal buildings to be made accessible. During his remarks, Biden described the Rehabilitation Act as “one of the most consequential civil rights laws in our nation’s history.” 

The Rehabilitation Act did not have an immediate impact. The then Department of Health, Education and Welfare stalled final regulations, estimating that it would cost billions of dollars to implement. It wasn’t until President Jimmy Carter’s administration that disability advocates were able to force a change. Judy Heumann, Kitty Cone, Brad Lomax and others occupied a government office in San Francisco for almost a month, leading the longest occupation of a federal building in American history, successfully pressuring the federal government to fully implement the Rehabilitation Act. 

At Monday’s event, Biden also highlighted successes during his presidency: He signed a law to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities who need organ transplants, established funding and regulations to improve accessible transportation, and instituted the first Medicare drug price negotiation. He also funded long COVID treatment trials, though some experts do not consider the long COVID treatment trials successful.  

Biden closed his final Americans with Disabilities Act commemoration as president on a positive note. 

“We are the United States of America, and nothing is beyond our capacity when we set our minds to it and do it together. God bless you all and may God protect our troops. I am so proud to be with you,” Biden said.