National Call-In Day to Support the ADA Amendments Act of 2008

Join disability advocates from across the country today for a National Call-In Day urging your Representative to support the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

Call 1-800-828-0498 to contact the Capitol Switchboard, who will connect you with your Representative's office.

When you talk with your Representative, ask them to help restore protections for people with disabilities by voting in favor of the ADA Amendments Act when the bill comes to the House floor this week. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 will preserve protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and reverse restrictive judicial decisions that have left people with multiple sclerosis unprotected from job discrimination.

In addition to the Call-In day, please send your Representative a quick e-mail. Click here and scroll down to take action.

Talking Points for Call-In

• I urge you to vote in favor of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 as reported out of committee with no amendments when the bill comes to the floor the week of June 23.
• The ADA Amendments Act will help restore protections for people with disabilities by striking the right balance between protections for people with disabilities and the obligations and requirements of employers.
• This bill specifically overturns Supreme Court decisions that have caused too many people with disabilities to lose important protections granted under the ADA.
• The bill clarifies that Congress intended the ADA's coverage to be broad, to cover anyone who faces unfair discrimination because of a disability.
• In addition, the bill clarifies the current requirement that an impairment must substantially limit a major life activity in order to be considered a disability, and it prohibits consideration of mitigating measures such as disease modifying therapies in the determination of whether an individual has a disability.
  

Background
On June 18, the House Judiciary and Education & Labor Committees overwhelmingly supported the ADA Amendments Act. This bill is the product of meaningful negotiations and discussions between the disability community, business and employer groups, Members of Congress, and congressional staff. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society fully supports this negotiated bill.

Since its enactment in 1990, the ADA has transformed our nation. One goal of the ADA is to protect people with disabilities from discrimination at work and in public life. Unfortunately, court decisions over the last decade excluded individuals, who should have been covered under the ADA. These judicial restrictions block people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and bipolar disorder from seeking protections against employment discrimination under the ADA.

Please join our efforts to restore protections under the ADA for people with multiple sclerosis. Remember to join the National Call-In Day on Tuesday, June 24 (call 1-800-828-0498) and send an e-mail to your Representative asking them to support the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

Thank you for being an MS activist. Join the movement at www.nationalMSsociety.org/advocacy.