Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities June 6, 1990 Dear Senator: The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) urges you to oppose a motion to instruct on the "foodhandlers amendment" to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Contrary to the claims of the National Restaurant Association, the foodhandlers amendment wholly contradicts the spirit of the ADA by undermining the protections of the bill and perpetuating needless discrimination. The foodhandlers amendment is based on irrational fears and misperceptions about people with AIDS and HIV disease. People with disabilities are all too familiar with such prejudicial attitudes because they have been similarly shunned by the same kinds of stereotypes. For instance, people with mental retardation have often been institutionalized based on numerous misperceptions, including the unfounded fear that this condition is contagious. In the same vein, people with polio, in other generations, were subjected to panic-induced discrimination even though this viral disease has a limited contagion period of two weeks. Because massive misperceptions about the disease persisted, individuals with the disease were isolated and segregated. Even decades after the epidemic, children with polio were separated from other children in schools and adults were denied employment. Although it's hard to believe today, the fear of epilepsy was once so great that people with this disease were believed to be possessed by the devil and were shut out of schools and the workforce. Even cancer was once thought to be contagious and resulted in discrimination. The foodhandling amendment reinforces misperceptions about diseases that do not pose a risk to the public. It will send a message to the public that AIDS can be transmitted through food, even though this is not true. This is irresponsible. It undercuts all the public education efforts that have been spear-headed by the government over the last five years to teach people the facts about the disease. If Members of the Senate have concerns about diseases that do pose a direct threat to the health and safety of the public, they should rest assured that this has already been FORMERLY: CONSORTIUM FOR CITIZENS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES addressed by the legislation. The Senate-passed version of the ADA ( s. 933) already explicitly states that any individual with a contagious disease would not receive protections under the Act if they pose a direct threat to the health and safety of other that cannot be removed by reasonable accommodation. The Senate voted to incorporate this language in the Civil Rights Restoration Act and Fair Housing Amendments Act to allay fears about the contagiousness of the disease. Proponents of the foodhandlers amendment contend that it is needed because of perceptions that HIV disease can be transmitted through the handling of food, even though they themselves admit that these perceptions are false. The ADA is intended to prohibit employment discrimination based on irrational fears and stereotypical perceptions. We strongly disagree with the National Restaurant Association's assertion that this amendment is "fully in the spirit" of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Persons with disabilities and their friends and families believe that the spirit of the ADA is to end discrimination based on ignorance and prejudice, not to foster it. For people with disabilities, including those with HIV disease and AIDS, the ADA offers promise that they will no longer be shunned and isolated because of the ignorance of others We strongly urge you, on behalf of millions of citizens with disabilities, to oppose any motion to instruct on the foodhandlers amendment. Thank you. Sincerely, Affiliated Leadership League of and for the Blind Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation American Association for Counseling and Development American Association of the Deaf-Blind American Association on Mental Retardation American Association of University Affiliated Programs American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine American Council of the Blind American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association American Diabetes Association American Foundation for the Blind American Occupational Therapy Association American Psychiatric Association American Psychological Association American Society for Deaf Children American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired Association for the Education of Rehabilitation Facility Personnel Association for Retarded Citizens of the United States Autism Society of America Child Welfare League of America Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Information Institute, Inc. Conference of Educational Administrators Serving the Deaf Council for Exceptional Children Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf Dearfness Research Foundation Disabled But Able to Vote Disability Focus, Inc. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. Epilepsy Foundation of America Gallaudet University Alumni Association Gazette International Networking Institute Goodwill Industries of America, Inc. International Association of Parents of the Deaf International Polio Network International Ventilator User Network Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Learning, How, Inc. Mental Health Law Project National Alliance for the Mentally Ill National Association of the Deaf National Association of Developmental Disabilities Councils National Association of Private Residential Resources National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems National Association of Rehabilitation Facilities National Association of Rehabilitation Professionals in the Private Sector National Association of State Mental Retardation Program Directors National Center for Law and the Deaf National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship National Council on Independent Living National Council on Rehabilitation Education National Down Syndrome Congress National Easter Seal Society National Federation of the Blind National Fraternal Society of the Deaf National Handicapped Sports and Recreation Association - National Head Injury Foundation National Industries for the Severely Handicapped, Inc. National Mental Health Association National Mental Health Consumers' Association National Multiple Sclerosis Society National Network of Learning Disabled Adults Nqtional Organization for Rare Disorders National Organization on Disability National Ostomy Association National Rehabilitation Association National Spinal Cord Injury Association Paralyzed Veterans of America People First International Self-Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc. Spina Bif ida Association of America The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps Tourette Syndrome Association United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc; World Institute on Disability