III 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 86 Recommitting the United States to the promotion of disability rights and to the values enshrined in the Prologue Room of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in the District of Columbia, and recognizing the enduring contributions that individuals with disabilities have made throughout the history of the United States and the role of the disability community in the ongoing struggle for civil rights in the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 2 (legislative day, MARCH 1), 2021 Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. CASEY, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources RESOLUTION Recommitting the United States to the promotion of dis- ability rights and to the values enshrined in the Prologue Room of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in the District of Columbia, and recognizing the enduring contributions that individuals with disabilities have made throughout the history of the United States and the role of the disability community in the ongoing struggle for civil rights in the United States, and for other pur- poses. Whereas the Prologue Room of the Franklin Delano Roo- sevelt Memorial (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘Me- VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR86.IS SR86 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 86 IS morial’’), which prominently displays a statue, sculpted by Robert Graham, of the 32nd President of the United States in a wheelchair, was dedicated on January 10, 2001, by President Bill Clinton; Whereas the dedication of the Prologue Room, a critically im- portant addition to the Memorial because of its histori- cally accurate depiction of the disability of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, occurred 4 years after the initial dedication of the Memorial; Whereas the dedication of the Prologue Room was the cul- mination of a 6-year campaign led by the disability com- munity to ensure that future generations knew that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the United States during the Great Depression and World War II while using a wheelchair; Whereas President Franklin Delano Roosevelt became para- lyzed at the age of 39, became a wheelchair user, and never took another step unassisted after acquiring his disability; Whereas, at the dedication ceremony for the Prologue Room in 2001, President Bill Clinton said, ‘‘This is a monu- ment to freedom . . . . The power of the statue is in its immediacy, and in its reminder to all who touch, all who see, all who walk or wheel around, that they, too, are free, but every person must claim freedom’’; Whereas individuals with disabilities have always been inte- gral to the civil rights movement in the United States, and the ongoing fight of the disability community for equal rights and opportunities in the United States con- tinues as individuals throughout the United States strive to build ‘‘a more perfect Union’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR86.IS SR86 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 86 IS Whereas the campaign to create the Prologue Room with a statue of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a wheelchair was led by Michael R. Deland, then-Chairman of the National Organization on Disability, Alan A. Reich, founder and then-President of the National Orga- nization on Disability, and James Dickson, who directed the grassroots campaign for the addition of the wheel- chair statue; Whereas former Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush sent letters of support for the addi- tion of the disability representation at the Memorial; Whereas 16 grandchildren of President Franklin Delano Roo- sevelt issued a letter on April 8, 1997, stating, ‘‘The public’s interest is in learning about those dramatically challenging times and about the courage, strength and determination of the man who led the country and the world in overcoming great odds, and in becoming the sin- gle greatest example for democracy, freedom, and enter- prise in the history of the world. It would be a disservice to history and the public’s interest if the impact of polio on the man were to be hidden. The goal of the FDR Me- morial must be to enable future generations to under- stand the whole man and the events and experiences that helped to shape his character.’’; Whereas, as of the date of adoption of this resolution, the Memorial is impacted by deferred maintenance and acces- sibility issues; Whereas the Great American Outdoors Act (Public Law 116– 152; 134 Stat. 682) was signed into law on August 4, 2020, to address the deferred maintenance at National Park Service sites, including the Memorial; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR86.IS SR86 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 86 IS Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) states that no qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of disability, ‘‘be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance’’; Whereas the primarily artistic braille renderings at the Me- morial are inaccessible to blind and low-vision visitors, the very individuals that braille is intended to serve; Whereas accessible signs and placards for blind and low-vi- sion visitors— (1) are not a permanent feature incorporated into the Memorial; and (2) do not sufficiently bridge the accessibility gap; and Whereas providing a library of expanded accessible materials to support the educational experience of all visitors, both physically at the Memorial site and virtually, would work to enhance the legacy of President Franklin Delano Roo- sevelt’s disability and the community: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) calls on the United States to recommit itself 2 to the promotion of disability rights and to the val- 3 ues enshrined in the Prologue Room at the Franklin 4 Delano Roosevelt Memorial (referred to in this reso- 5 lution as the ‘‘Memorial’’), at home and abroad, on 6 the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the dedica- 7 tion of the Prologue Room; 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR86.IS SR86 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 86 IS (2) recognizes the important work of the dis- 1 ability community, and the historic campaign cham- 2 pioned by that community, that led to the expansion 3 of the Memorial to include a statue that clearly and 4 visibly depicts President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 5 in a wheelchair; and 6 (3) calls on the National Park Service and the 7 National Park Foundation, a congressionally char- 8 tered nonprofit organization— 9 (A) to continue to increase access to the 10 Memorial for individuals with disabilities, as re- 11 quired by law, including through the installa- 12 tion of tactile braille on signs and placards as 13 specified in the document of the National Li- 14 brary Service for the Blind and Print Disabled 15 of the Library of Congress entitled ‘‘Specifica- 16 tion 800:2014 Braille Book and Pamphlets’’ 17 and dated October 2014; and 18 (B) to support the development of acces- 19 sible educational materials to ensure awareness 20 is raised about the history of the Memorial and 21 disability rights. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR86.IS SR86 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS