PRINTER'S NO. 1939
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
192
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY KINSEY, SANCHEZ, CABELL, McNEILL, MADDEN, FLICK,
SAPPEY, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, GUENST, HILL-EVANS, SCHLOSSBERG,
HANBIDGE, HOWARD, CIRESI, PARKER AND CERRATO, AUGUST 29, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES, AUGUST 29, 2023
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of March 2023 as "Disabilities Awareness
Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, On October 27, 1955, the Pennsylvania General
Assembly passed the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, which
prohibited discrimination in the areas of employment, housing
and public accommodations on the basis of race, color, familial
status, religious creed, ancestry, handicap or disability, age,
sex and national origin; and
WHEREAS, On September 26, 1973, the Congress of the United
States passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was the
precursor to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990, and prohibited the Federal Government, as an employer,
from discriminating against qualified individuals with
disabilities; and
WHEREAS, On July 26, 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed
into law the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA),
which served as the world's first comprehensive civil rights law
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for individuals with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, up to 1 in 4 individuals, or approximately 61
million individuals, in the United States have a disability; and
WHEREAS, In this Commonwealth, approximately 26%, or an
estimated 2.6 million residents, have a disability; and
WHEREAS, According to 2020 data, the prevalence of disability
in Pennsylvania by race and ethnicity was 23.4% among White
communities, 41.3% among those of Hispanic or Latino origin,
28.8% among Black or African-American communities and 35% among
individuals of other races and multiracial communities; and
WHEREAS, According to the data, the economic consequences of
having a disability in America are compelling; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 21.3% of working-age United States
residents with a disability are employed as compared to 65.4% of
working-age United States residents who do not have a
disability; and
WHEREAS, This presents a quality-of-life issue as in 2018 the
poverty rate of working-age individuals with disabilities in
this Commonwealth was estimated to be 28.2% as compared to 9.1%
for working-age individuals without a disability; and
WHEREAS, Although the act of fostering awareness about the
issue of our Commonwealth's disabled population is important,
the real objective lies in ensuring that Pennsylvanians with
disabilities are provided the dignity, respect and
accommodations that they deserve; and
WHEREAS, The purpose of this resolution is to recognize the
prevalence of the systemic inequities that exist within our
society pertaining to the treatment of our residents with
disabilities as well as acknowledge the many invaluable efforts
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that have been made throughout the history of our nation to
institute much-needed civil protections for all residents of the
United States; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
month of March 2023 as "Disabilities Awareness Month" in
Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives encourage all
Pennsylvanians to learn more about the many unique challenges
confronting this Commonwealth's residents who have a disability
and assume the task of fostering a greater degree of awareness
and education regarding this critically important subject.
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