Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) delivered an emotional speech about his disability to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Mr Fetterman spoke via video message in his signature Carhartt shirt at the American Association of People with Disabilities’ celebration of the landmark law that passed in 1990 with overwhelming bipartisan support.
During his campaign for Senate last year, Mr Fetterman suffered a stroke which affected his auditory processing. As a result, he now uses speech-to-text technology.
“The reality is that all Americans should be able to get access to the support that they need,” he said. “The Americans with Disabilities Act makes this possible.”
In February, Mr Fetterman checked into Walter Reed Medical Center to undergo treatment for depression. He checked out at the end of March and has since returned to the United States Senate.
“I want to thank your community for the work that you have done to make sure people with disabilities can run for and win office,” he said.
Mr Fetterman appeared at the celebration with other elected officials including Sen Tammy Duckworth (D-IL); Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the former House majority whip; and Rep Debbie Dingell (D-MI). Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also attended.
“Now that I’m a senator, I’m going to continue to fight for disability rights in DC,” Mr Fetterman said.
But many of the people at the event also highlighted the work that needed to be done to make places more accessible. Ms Duckworth, who lost both of her legs serving in the Iraq War, talked about how she took her two daughters to see the Barbie movie but could not go because the elevator did not work.
“And so my two girls watched a movie with their nanny with me sitting outside for two and a half hours waiting for them to be done,” Ms Duckworth said, noting how nobody had informed her that the elevator was broken until after she bought a ticket. “It is 2023 folks we can and will and should do better.”
She also pointed out how it is still legal to pay people with disabilities below the minimum wage and that medical equipment continues to get broken when people with disabilities travel by air. As a result, she said she is pushing for wheelchairs to be considered complex medical devices so they could not be destroyed.
Similarly, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared over the video to discuss how the Transportation Department had begun preliminary work to stay in their wheelchairs as they fly.
“And today we’re pleased to officially announce the rule that will increase the size of accessibility of airplane bathrooms to better accommodate access on board,” he said.
The anniversary comes after many people who helped pass the ADA such as disability rights Judith Heumann and the late Sen Lowell Weicker, a Republican from Connecticut, and C Boyden Gray, an adviser to former president George HW Bush, passed away earlier this year.
Ms Duckworth spoke about how eventually, plenty of people will need to use the accommodations that the ADA guarantees.
“I hope one day you develop one because that will mean that you've lived a long life and maybe that you'll care about disabled access,” she said.
