Correspondence: Dear Senator letter from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities

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File Name (Dublin Core)

s-leg_578_010_035

Title (Dublin Core)

Correspondence: Dear Senator letter from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities

Description (Dublin Core)

Dear Senator letter from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities urging the Senate to oppose a motion to instruct the Chapman "foodhandlers amendment" to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Date (Dublin Core)

1990-06-06

Date Created (Dublin Core)

1990-06-06

Congress (Dublin Core)

101st (1989-1991)

Topics (Dublin Core)

See all items with this valueFood handling

See all items with this valueHIV-positive persons

See all items with this valuePeople with disabilities

See all items with this valuePeople with disabilities--Employment

Policy Area (Curation)

Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Creator (Dublin Core)

Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities

Record Type (Dublin Core)

correspondence

Names (Dublin Core)

See all items with this valueChapman, Jim, 1945-

See all items with this valueNational Restaurant Association (U.S.)

See all items with this valueUnited States. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Rights (Dublin Core)

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

Language (Dublin Core)

eng

Collection Finding Aid (Dublin Core)

https://dolearchivecollections.ku.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=23&q=

Physical Location (Dublin Core)

Collection 003, Box 578, Folder 10

Institution (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Archival Collection (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Senate Papers-Legislative Relations, 1969-1996

Full Text (Extract Text)

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

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

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