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124-548: Passed on September 17, 2008, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on September 25, 2008, the ADAAA was a response to a number of decisions by the Supreme Court that had interpreted the original text of the ADA . Because members of the U.S. Congress viewed those decisions as limiting the rights of persons with disabilities, the ADAAA effectively reversed those decisions by changing

248-601: A college-preparatory school in Piney Point Village, Texas . Bush later attended Phillips Academy , a boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts , where he played baseball and was the head cheerleader during his senior year. He attended Yale University from 1964 to 1968, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. During this time, he was a cheerleader and a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon , serving as

372-748: A financial rescue plan to buy back a large portion of the U.S. mortgage market. Vince Reinhardt, a former Federal Reserve economist now at the American Enterprise Institute , said "it would have helped for the Bush administration to empower the folks at Treasury and the Federal Reserve and the comptroller of the currency and the FDIC to look at these issues more closely", and additionally, that it would have helped "for Congress to have held hearings". Bush undertook many educational agendas, such as increasing

496-668: A populist with labor union support. He criticized George H. W. Bush for being out of touch with working-class Americans. Harkin was an early favorite in a small field of five candidates. Harkin won the Iowa caucus and those in Idaho and Minnesota (with help from Senator Paul Wellstone ), but he ran poorly in New Hampshire and other primaries and ultimately lost the Democratic Party nomination to Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas . Harkin

620-589: A 100 percent rating from NARAL , the pro-choice advocacy organization. He was very critical of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment , which places limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act . Harkin has come out in favor of embryonic stem cell research . In July 2006, Harkin made a speech from the Senate floor in response to George W. Bush 's veto of

744-526: A brief suspension of his Maine driver's license. Bush said that his wife has had a stabilizing effect on his life, and he attributes his decision to give up alcohol in 1986, to her influence. While governor of Texas, Bush said of his wife, "I saw an elegant, beautiful woman who turned out not only to be elegant and beautiful, but very smart and willing to put up with my rough edges, and I must confess has smoothed them off over time." Bush also says that his faith in God

868-622: A budget surplus to push through Texas's largest tax cut , $ 2   billion. He extended government funding for organizations providing education on the dangers of alcohol and drug use and abuse , and helping to reduce domestic violence . His administration lowered the age at which juveniles can be sent to adult court for serious crimes to 14. Bush presided over 152 executions, more than any previous governor in modern American history; critics such as Helen Prejean argue that he failed to give serious consideration to clemency requests. Critics also contended that during his tenure, Texas ranked near

992-540: A campaign advisor. The previous month, his father had asked him to tell White House chief of staff John H. Sununu to resign. Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election at the same time his brother Jeb sought the governorship in Florida . His campaign focused on four themes: welfare reform, tort reform , crime reduction, and education improvement. Bush's campaign advisers were Karen Hughes , Joe Allbaugh , and Karl Rove . After easily winning

1116-505: A congressional delegation that went to South Vietnam in 1970. Harkin published photographs he took during the trip and a detailed account of the "Tiger cages" at Côn Đảo Prison in Life Magazine on July 17, 1970. The account exposed shocking, inhumane conditions and treatment to which prisoners were subjected. He received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from The Catholic University of America 's Columbus School of Law in 1972. In 1972,

1240-472: A disability under the law. The ADAAA also provides that impairments that are episodic or in remission must be assessed according to their active state. Fourth, the law provides additional direction on the "major life activities" that must be substantially limited for an impairment to be a disability: the Act lists specific examples of major life activities , rather than leaving that phrase open to interpretation, as

1364-690: A draft bill produced by the CCD and Congressional staff. On the day of the introduction of H.R. 3195, the bill had 143 co-sponsors in the House. Despite the number of House co-sponsors of the legislation, the business community and the Justice Department urged Members of Congress to oppose the ADA Restoration Act. Concerned that a partisan battle would damage the traditionally bi-partisan base of support for disability rights legislation, Congressional champions of

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1488-648: A furnace. He attended Dowling Catholic High School which is currently located in West Des Moines, Iowa . Harkin attended Iowa State University on a Navy ROTC scholarship and became a member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. He graduated with a degree in government and economics in 1962, and served in the United States Navy as an active-duty jet pilot from 1962 to 1967. Harkin was stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan, where he ferried aircraft to and from

1612-517: A group of investors to purchase a controlling interest of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers for $ 89   million and invested $ 500,000 himself to start. He then was managing general partner for five years. He actively led the team's projects and regularly attended its games, often choosing to sit in the open stands with fans. Bush's sale of his shares in the Rangers in 1998 brought him over $ 15   million from his initial $ 800,000 investment. In

1736-523: A low public profile. At various points in his presidency, he was among both the most popular and the most unpopular presidents in U.S. history. He received the highest recorded approval ratings in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and one of the lowest ratings during the 2007–2008 financial crisis . Bush initially left office as one of the most unpopular U.S. presidents, but public opinion of him has improved since then. Scholars and historians rank Bush in

1860-540: A period of economic recession in the wake of the bursting of the dot-com bubble . The September 11 terrorist attacks also impacted the economy . His administration increased federal government spending from $ 1.789   trillion to $ 2.983   trillion (66 percent), while revenues increased from $ 2.025   trillion to $ 2.524   trillion (from 2000 to 2008). Individual income tax revenues increased by 14 percent, corporate tax revenues by 50 percent, and customs and duties by 40 percent. Discretionary defense spending

1984-495: A record 68 percent of the vote. He became the first governor in Texas history to be elected to two consecutive four-year terms. During his second term, Bush promoted faith-based organizations and enjoyed high approval ratings , which ranged between 62 and 81 percent. He proclaimed June 10, 2000, to be Jesus Day in Texas, a day on which he urged all Texans to "answer the call to serve those in need". Throughout Bush's first term, he

2108-496: A scheduled physical exam. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force Reserve on November 21, 1974. Bush remains the most recent president to have served in the military. In 1977, Bush established Arbusto Energy , a small oil exploration company, which began operations in 1978. He later changed the name to Bush Exploration. In 1984, his company merged with the larger Spectrum 7 , and Bush became chairman. The company

2232-476: A solution he believed was inferior to government-provided health insurance. In retrospect he believes the Democratic-controlled Senate and House should have enacted a single-payer healthcare system or a public option to give the uninsured access to government-run health plans that compete with private insurance companies. His comments about Cuban healthcare have been criticized as misrepresenting

2356-570: A staunch liberal who would raise taxes and increase the size of government. The Bush campaign continuously criticized Kerry's seemingly contradictory statements on the war in Iraq, and argued that Kerry lacked the decisiveness and vision necessary for success in the War on Terror. Following the resignation of CIA director George Tenet in 2004, Bush nominated Porter Goss to head the agency. The White House ordered Goss to purge agency officers who were disloyal to

2480-438: A tactic's making it into the public record – when a regional chairman of the Bush campaign allowed himself, perhaps inadvertently, to be quoted criticizing Richards for 'appointing avowed homosexual activists ' to state jobs". The Atlantic , and others, connected the lesbian rumor to Karl Rove, but Rove denied being involved. Bush won the general election with 53.5 percent of the vote against Richards' 45.9 percent. Bush used

2604-542: A third count, and stopped an ordered statewide hand recount based on the argument that the use of different standards among Florida's counties violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment . The machine recount showed that Bush had won the Florida vote by a margin of 537 votes out of six million casts. Although he had received 543,895 fewer individual nationwide votes than Gore, Bush won

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2728-608: A voluntary agreement by major players in the cocoa and chocolate industry signed in 2001 and often referred to as the Harkin–Engel Protocol . The purpose of this "Protocol for the growing and processing of cocoa beans and their derivative products" was to bring practices in West Africa into line with Convention 182 of the International Labour Organization concerning the prohibition and immediate action for

2852-412: A way that is perceived to be substantial . Under the ADAAA, therefore, an individual can establish coverage under the law by showing that he or she has been subjected to an action prohibited under the Act because of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment that is not transitory and minor. The law also explicitly states that although individuals who fall solely under the "regarded as" prong of

2976-607: Is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party , he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa's 5th congressional district from 1975 to 1985. He is the longest-serving senator to spend the entire tenure as a state's junior senator. Born in Cumming, Iowa , Harkin graduated from Iowa State University and The Catholic University of America 's Columbus School of Law . He served in

3100-593: Is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and Republican Party , he was the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. The eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush , he flew warplanes in the Texas Air National Guard in his twenties. After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1975, he worked in

3224-531: Is good but it's just really complicated. It doesn't have to be that complicated," he said of the Affordable Care Act. He also believes the new legislation rewards the insurance industry. He said important reforms such as preventing insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions and keeping young adults on their parents' health insurance plans until age 26 were laudable, but he believed that Democrats should not have settled for

3348-506: Is not the government's money. The surplus is the people's money." Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned of a recession and Bush stated that a tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs. Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill , opposed some of the tax cuts on the basis that they would contribute to budget deficits and undermine Social Security . O'Neill disputes the claim, made in Bush's book Decision Points , that he never openly disagreed with him on planned tax cuts. By 2003,

3472-857: Is the only U.S. president to have earned an MBA. Bush was engaged to Cathryn Lee Wolfman in 1967, but the engagement did not last. Bush and Wolfman remained on good terms after the end of the relationship. While Bush was at a backyard barbecue in 1977, friends introduced him to Laura Welch , a schoolteacher and librarian. After a three-month courtship, she accepted his marriage proposal and they wed on November   5 of that year. The couple settled in Midland, Texas . Bush left his family's Episcopal Church to join his wife's United Methodist Church . On November 25, 1981, Laura Bush gave birth to fraternal twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna . Bush describes being challenged by Billy Graham to consider faith in Jesus "Christ as

3596-491: The 2000 presidential election , he won over Democratic incumbent Vice President Al Gore , while losing the popular vote after a narrow and contested Electoral College win, which involved a Supreme Court decision to stop a recount in Florida . In his first term, Bush signed a major tax-cut program and an education-reform bill, the No Child Left Behind Act . He pushed for socially conservative efforts such as

3720-1000: The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law , the National Disabilities Rights Network (NDRN), the Epilepsy Foundation (EF), the United States Chamber of Commerce , the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and the HR Policy Association (HR Policy). Each group entered

3844-675: The Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act (S. 1302; 113th Congress) into the Senate. The bill would make changes to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to alter the funding requirements of certain private pension plans that are maintained by more than one employer where the employers are either cooperatives or charities . The bill would make permanent an existing exemption from

ADA Amendments Act of 2008 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3968-570: The Fairness Doctrine during an interview with Bill Press . (February 11, 2009) Harkin has been influential in increasing research funding for alternative medicine . He was instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Office of Alternative Medicine in 1992, which later became the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine . His efforts and the center's results, however, have been criticized. On July 16, 2013, Harkin introduced

4092-658: The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and faith-based initiatives . He also initiated the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief , in 2003, to address the AIDS epidemic . The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 decisively reshaped his administration, resulting in the start of the war on terror and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security . Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to overthrow

4216-572: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and he voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 . PolitiFact rated Harkin's 2009 claim regarding the number of Americans losing health insurance coverage "false." However, in 2014 Harkin expressed some second thoughts. He criticized health reform as being too complex and convoluted. "All the prevention stuff

4340-608: The Pension Protection Act of 2006 for a few small groups. On November 19, 2013, Harkin introduced the Minimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737; 113th Congress) . The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $ 10.10 per hour over the course of a two-year period. The bill was strongly supported by President Barack Obama and many of

4464-567: The September 11 attacks . Wars were begun in Afghanistan and Iraq, and there were significant domestic debates regarding immigration, healthcare, Social Security, economic policy, and treatment of terrorist detainees. Over an eight-year period, Bush's once-high approval ratings steadily declined, while his disapproval numbers increased significantly. In 2007, the United States entered the longest post- World War II recession. Bush took office during

4588-458: The South Carolina primary , which according to The Boston Globe made history for his campaign's negativity. The New York Times described it as a smear campaign . On July 25, 2000, Bush surprised some observers when he selected Dick Cheney  – a former White House chief of staff , U.S. representative, and secretary of defense – to be his running mate. At

4712-644: The Taliban , destroy al-Qaeda , and capture Osama bin Laden . He signed the Patriot Act to authorize surveillance of suspected terrorists. He also ordered the 2003 invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein 's regime on the false belief that they possessed weapons of mass destruction and had ties with al-Qaeda . Bush later signed the Medicare Modernization Act , which created Medicare Part D . In 2004, Bush

4836-510: The United States Navy as an active-duty jet pilot (1962–1967). After serving as a congressional aide for several years, he made two runs for the U.S. House of Representatives , losing in 1972 but winning in 1974 . He went on to serve five terms in the House. Harkin won a race for U.S. Senate in 1984 by a wide margin. He was an early frontrunner for his party's presidential nomination in 1992 , but he dropped out in support of eventual winner Bill Clinton . He served five Senate terms and at

4960-428: The national debt had risen to $ 11.3   trillion, more than doubling it since 2000. Most debt was accumulated as a result of what became known as the " Bush tax cuts " and increased national security spending. In March 2006, then-Senator Barack Obama said when he voted against raising the debt ceiling : "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure." By

5084-755: The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 to overturn two controversial court decisions based on interpretations of the ADA . The first decision—by the Supreme Court in Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. —stated that impairments must be considered in their mitigated state. The second decision in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams narrowed the definition of "disability" to just those impairments that impact tasks of daily living. In following these decisions, lower courts would frequently focus on whether

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5208-657: The ADA Amendments Act, which in his words "will restore the proper balance and application of the ADA by clarifying and broadening the definition of disability, while increasing eligibility for ADA protections." Harkin has also been a vocal critic of what he describes as the biased nature of the Medicaid program: "The current Medicaid system is unacceptably biased in favor of institutional care. Two-thirds of Medicaid long-term care dollars are spent on institutional services, with only one-third going to community-based care. It's time to rebalance

5332-412: The ADA of 1990 did. The non-exhaustive list of major life activities in § 4(4)(a) of the amended ADA includes caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working. The ADAAA also lists major bodily functions , including, but not limited to, functions of

5456-516: The ADA's basic definition of "disability" as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, it changes the way that the statutory terms should be interpreted. Congress used the functional definition of disability from Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 . Due to 17 years of development through case law, Congress believed

5580-418: The ADA's definition of disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities; a record of such impairment; or being regarded as having such impairment. However, it clarifies and expands the definition's meaning and application in the following ways: First, the ADAAA deletes two findings in the ADA that led the Supreme Court to restrict the meaning and application of

5704-520: The ADA. These included individuals with impairments such as amputation, intellectual disabilities, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, and cancer. In 2004, the National Council on Disability , an independent Federal agency charged with making recommendations to the President and Congress, issued a report called "Righting the ADA." This report detailed various ways that

5828-489: The ADAAA makes conforming amendments Section 7 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 , and to Title I of the ADA itself. To conform the employment-related provisions of the ADA with parallel provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , the latter amendments change the language of Title I to provide that no covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual "on the basis of disability." To summarize

5952-495: The ADAAA timeline: the Act was introduced on July 31, 2008; passed the Senate on September 11, 2008; passed the House on September 17, 2008; was signed by the President on September 25, 2008; and took effect on January 1, 2009. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held on July 21, 2009, that the ADAAA does not apply retroactively. George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946)

6076-570: The ADAAA, from the disability, civil rights, and business communities, see the Statement by Majority Leader Hoyer on September 17, 2008. The ADAAA explicitly overturns the controversial Supreme Court decisions in Sutton and Toyota , rejecting the high standards imposed on claimants by the Court in those cases, and reiterates that Congress intends that the scope of the ADA be broad and inclusive. The ADAAA retains

6200-564: The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. Among the bill's many provisions, it would increase the number of H1B visas , increase security along the southern United States border with Mexico , allow long-time illegal immigrants to gain citizenship with some restrictions, and increase the number of guest workers over and above those already present in the U.S. through a new "blue card" visa program. The bill ultimately failed to pass. Harkin ran for President in 1992 as

6324-516: The Democratic Senators, but strongly opposed by Republicans in the Senate and House. Harkin introduced the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into the Senate. Harkin delivered part of a speech in sign language so his deaf brother could understand. Harkin has taken issue with the Supreme Court's handling of a number of cases related to ADA, concerned that the judgments severely limited

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6448-491: The Democrats onto a war funding bill and passed by Congress. The SCHIP legislation would have significantly expanded federally funded healthcare benefits and plans to children of some low-income families. It was to be funded by an increase in the cigarette tax. Bush viewed the legislation as a move toward socialized health care , and asserted that the program could benefit families making as much as $ 83,000 per year who did not need

6572-659: The Democrats regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections . The Afghanistan and Iraq wars continued; in January 2007, Bush launched a surge of troops in Iraq . By December, the U.S. entered the Great Recession , prompting the Bush administration to get congressional approval for economic programs intended to preserve the country's financial system, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program . After his second term, Bush returned to Texas, where he has maintained

6696-428: The Department of Defense released all the records of Bush's Texas Air National Guard service, which remain in its official archives. In late 1972 and early 1973, he drilled with the 187th Fighter Wing of the Alabama Air National Guard . He had moved to Montgomery, Alabama , to work on the unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Winton M. Blount . In 1972, Bush was suspended from flying for failure to take

6820-410: The Homeland Security Council in May 2006. After being re-elected, Bush signed into law a Medicare drug benefit program that, according to Jan Crawford , resulted in "the greatest expansion in America's welfare state in forty years" – the bill's costs approached $ 7   trillion. In 2007, Bush opposed and vetoed State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation, which was added by

6944-425: The House of Representatives on June 25, 2008, by a vote of 402 Ayes, 17 Nays, 15 Present/Not Voting. The coalition was tested in July 2008 when Senators Tom Harkin and Orrin Hatch proposed a new definition of "substantially limits." Representatives from the disability and business communities came back together to find a compromise that would address the Senators' concern. They reached a new resolution that dropped

7068-573: The Republican Party and did not encounter a primary challenge. He appointed Ken Mehlman as campaign manager, and Karl Rove devised a political strategy. Bush and the Republican platform emphasized a strong commitment to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, support for the USA PATRIOT Act , a renewed shift in policy for constitutional amendments banning abortion and same-sex marriage , reforming Social Security to create private investment accounts, creation of an ownership society , and opposing mandatory carbon emissions controls. Bush also called for

7192-415: The Republican primary, Bush faced popular Democratic incumbent Governor Ann Richards . In the course of the campaign, Bush pledged to sign a bill allowing Texans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons . Richards had vetoed the bill, but Bush signed it into law after he became governor. According to The Atlantic , the race "featured a rumor that she was a lesbian, along with a rare instance of such

7316-584: The United States in 34 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in the last four months of 2008, 1.9 million jobs were lost. By the end of 2008, the U.S. had lost 2.6 million jobs. To aid with the situation, Bush signed a $ 170   billion economic stimulus package which was intended to improve the economic situation by sending tax rebate checks to many Americans and providing tax breaks for struggling businesses. The Bush administration pushed for significantly increased regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2003, and after two years,

7440-411: The White House, increasing the size of the military, cutting taxes, improving education, and aiding minorities. By early 2000, the race had centered on Bush and Arizona Senator John McCain . Bush won the Iowa caucuses and, although heavily favored to win the New Hampshire primary , trailed McCain by 19 percent and lost. Despite this, he regained momentum and effectively became the front runner after

7564-488: The administration. After Goss' appointment, many of the CIA's senior agents were fired or quit. The CIA has been accused of deliberately leaking classified information to undermine the 2004 election. In the election, Bush carried 31 of 50 states, receiving 286 electoral votes. He won an absolute majority of the popular vote (50.7 percent to Kerry's 48.3 percent). Bush had originally outlined an ambitious domestic agenda, but his priorities were significantly altered following

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7688-560: The airbase that had been damaged in the Vietnam War and in operational and training accidents. He was also stationed for a time at Guantanamo Bay , where he flew missions in support of U-2 planes reconnoitering Cuba . After leaving active duty in 1967, he spent three years in the Ready Reserves, and transitioned into the Naval Reserves in 1970. He retired in 1989 with the rank of commander. In 1969, Harkin moved to Washington, D.C. , and began work as an aide to Democratic U.S. Congressman Neal Smith . During his work for Smith, he accompanied

7812-442: The availability of quality care. Harkin has been a staunch supporter of Israel as a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, which appropriates about $ 2 billion annually for military financing for Israel. As of 2010 he was the third-largest career recipient of pro-Israel Political Action Committee contributions in the Senate. In May 2006 Harkin voted in favor of Senate Bill 2611 , also known as

7936-443: The bill, including Majority Leader Hoyer, encouraged the disability community to meet with the business community and negotiate bill language that both communities would agree to defend through the entire legislative process. The coalition of advocates from the business and disability communities that spearheaded the efforts to pass the ADAAA first came together on February 19, 2008. That initial group consisted of representatives from

8060-422: The bottom in environmental evaluations. Supporters pointed to his efforts to raise the salaries of teachers and improve educational test scores. In 1999, Bush signed a law that required electric retailers to buy a certain amount of energy from renewable sources (RPS), which helped Texas eventually become the leading producer of wind powered electricity in the U.S. In 1998 , Bush won re-election with

8184-402: The chamber. Harkin and Barbara Boxer were the only Senate Democrats to support Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold 's 2006 resolution to censure President George W. Bush . Harkin (in addition to U.S. Senators Dick Lugar , Tim Johnson , Byron Dorgan , Joe Biden and Norm Coleman ), introduced the BioFuels Security Act (S. 2817/109th) on March 16, 2006. Harkin came out in favor of

8308-418: The collapse of Lehman Brothers and a federal bailout of American International Group for $ 85   billion. Many economists and world governments determined that the situation had become the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression . Additional regulation over the housing market would have been beneficial, according to former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan . Bush, meanwhile, proposed

8432-457: The courts had misinterpreted Congressional intent and limited the reach of the ADA, and proposed legislative language to restore that intent. The most important misinterpretation the report identified was the narrowing of the ADA's definition of "disability" to exclude many individuals that Congress intended to protect from discrimination. Over the course of 2006, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) worked to develop consensus within

8556-413: The definition of "substantially limits" entirely—replacing it with additional findings and purposes. This agreement became the basis of S. 3406, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent on September 11, 2008. The House of Representatives followed suit one week later, and the President signed the ADAAA into the law on September 25, 2008. For a full list of the many individuals and groups who worked on

8680-449: The definition of disability are protected from discrimination, entities covered by the ADA are not required to provide accommodations, or to modify policies and procedures, for such persons. Sixth, the law clarifies that the authority granted to three specific Federal agencies to issue regulations interpreting the ADA includes the authority to issue regulations implementing the definitions contained in Sections 3 and 4 of that Act. Finally,

8804-455: The definition of disability. These findings were that "some 43,000,000 Americans have one or more physical or mental disabilities" and that "individuals with disabilities are a discrete and insular minority." The Court had treated these findings as limiting how other provisions of the ADA should be construed. Second, the law provides that the definition of disability "shall be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals under this Act, to

8928-530: The disability rights community regarding the strategy and substance of a bill that would fix the definition problem. On September 29, 2006, the last working day of the 109th Congress, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), then Chair of the United States House Committee on the Judiciary , and then-Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) introduced H.R. 6258 ("ADA Restoration Act of 2006") to "restore

9052-492: The early or mid 1990s, before his gubernatorial campaign, Bush briefly considered a candidacy to become the Commissioner of Baseball . In 1978 , Bush ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 19th congressional district . The retiring member, George H. Mahon , had held the district for the Democratic Party since 1935. Bush's opponent, Kent Hance , portrayed him as out of touch with rural Texans, and Bush lost

9176-537: The economy showed signs of improvement, though job growth remained stagnant. Another tax cut was passed that year. Between 2001 and 2008, GDP grew at an average annual rate of 2.125 percent, less than for past business cycles. Bush entered office with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 10,587, and the average peaked in October 2007 at over 14,000. When Bush left office, the average was at 7,949, one of

9300-430: The election returns were tallied on November 7, Bush had won 29 states, including Florida. The closeness of the Florida outcome led to a recount . The initial recount also went to Bush, but the outcome was tied up in lower courts for a month until eventually reaching the U.S. Supreme Court . On December 9, in the controversial Bush v. Gore ruling, the Court reversed a Florida Supreme Court decision that had ordered

9424-460: The election, receiving 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266 (Gore had actually been awarded 267 votes by the states pledged to him plus the District of Columbia, but one D.C. elector abstained). Bush was the first person to win a U.S. presidential election with fewer popular votes than another candidate since Benjamin Harrison in 1888. In his 2004 bid for re-election, Bush commanded broad support in

9548-436: The election, receiving 46.8 percent of the vote to Hance's 53.2 percent. Bush and his family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1988 to work on his father's campaign for the U.S. presidency . He was a campaign advisor and liaison to the media, and assisted his father by campaigning across the country. In December 1991, Bush was one of seven people named by his father to run his father's 1992 presidential re-election campaign as

9672-501: The elimination of the worst forms of child labor. (Some difficulties in meeting the deadlines set in this Protocol have been encountered. ) Harkin has worked in other ways to combat the import of child labor-made products. Harkin believes America faces a retirement crisis, saying "Pensions have gone by the wayside. Savings are down as people are just scraping by, so the only thing left is Social Security." Harkin supported President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted for

9796-532: The embryonic stem cell research federal funding bill. In May 2009, Harkin announced he opposed any effort to overturn an Iowa Supreme Court decision in April 2009 that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa . "We all grow as we get older; we learn things, we become more sensitive to people and people's lives," said Harkin. "The more I've looked at that, I've grown to think differently about how we should live. I guess I've got to

9920-420: The end of Bush's presidency, unemployment climbed to 7.2 percent. In December 2007, the United States entered the longest post– World War II recession, caused by a housing market correction , a subprime mortgage crisis , soaring oil prices , and other factors. In February 2008, 63,000 jobs were lost, a five-year record, and in November, over 500,000 jobs were lost, which marked the largest loss of jobs in

10044-492: The end of his time in the Senate served as chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions . He authored the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and was its chief sponsor in the Senate. Harkin delivered part of his introduction speech in sign language, saying it was so his deaf brother could understand. On January 26, 2013, Harkin announced that he would not seek reelection in 2014 . Harkin

10168-432: The fact that students in the U.S. have performed significantly better on state reading and math tests since Bush signed "No Child Left Behind" into law. Critics argue that it is underfunded and that NCLBA's focus on "high-stakes testing" and quantitative outcomes is counterproductive. On November 1, 2005, Bush launched a National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza , which culminated in an implementation plan published by

10292-569: The funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health in his first years of office and creating education programs to strengthen the grounding in science and mathematics for American high school students. Funding for the NIH was cut in 2006, the first such cut in 36 years, due to rising inflation. One of the administration's early major initiatives was the No Child Left Behind Act , which aimed to measure and close

10416-418: The gap between rich and poor student performance, provide options to parents with students in low-performing schools, and target more federal funding to low-income schools. This landmark education initiative passed with broad bipartisan support, including that of Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. It was signed into law by Bush in early 2002. Many contend that the initiative has been successful, as cited by

10540-589: The help. On May 21, 2008, Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act , aimed to protect Americans against health insurance and employment discrimination based on a person's genetic information. The issue had been debated for 13 years before it finally became law. The measure is designed to protect citizens without hindering genetic research. Tom Harkin Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939)

10664-418: The immune system; normal cell growth; and digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions. Fifth, the law removes from the "regarded as" prong of the disability definition (the third prong of the definition) the requirement that an individual demonstrate that the impairment that he or she has, or is perceived to have, limits a major life activity in

10788-467: The implementation of a guest worker program for immigrants, which was criticized by conservatives. The Bush campaign advertised across the U.S. against Democratic candidates, including Bush's emerging opponent, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry . Kerry and other Democrats attacked Bush on the Iraq War , and accused him of failing to stimulate the economy and job growth. The Bush campaign portrayed Kerry as

10912-536: The intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to more fully remove the barriers that confront disabled Americans." The bill represented an important first step towards reform but was rejected by the committee. On July 26, 2007, the 17th anniversary of the ADA's passage, Majority Leader Hoyer, Representative Sensenbrenner, and Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced companion "ADA restoration" bills (H.R. 3195; S. 1881) that closely tracked

11036-511: The law. It also rejected portions of the regulations published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that interpret Title I (the employment-related title) of the ADA. The ADAAA makes changes to the definition of the term "disability," clarifying and broadening that definition—and therefore the number and types of persons who are protected under the ADA and other Federal disability nondiscrimination laws. It

11160-498: The lower half of presidents. George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946, at Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut . He was the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce . He was raised in Midland and Houston , Texas with four siblings: Jeb , Neil , Marvin and Dorothy . Another younger sister, Robin , died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953. His paternal grandfather, Prescott Bush ,

11284-761: The lowest levels of his presidency. Only four other U.S. presidents have left office with the stock market lower than when they began. Unemployment originally rose from 4.2 percent in January 2001 to 6.3 percent in June 2003, but subsequently dropped to 4.5 percent in July 2007. Adjusted for inflation, median household income dropped by $ 1,175 between 2000 and 2007, while Professor Ken Homa of Georgetown University noted that "Median real after-tax household income went up two percent". The poverty rate increased from 11.3 percent in 2000 to 12.3 percent in 2006 after peaking at 12.7 percent in 2004. By October 2008, due to increases in spending,

11408-502: The maximum extent permitted by the terms of this Act." It retains the terms "substantially limits" and "major life activities" from the original ADA definition of "disability," but makes clear that Congress intended the terms to impose less- demanding standards than those enunciated by the Supreme Court in the Toyota case. It also states that the EEOC's regulatory definition of "substantially limits"

11532-458: The negotiations by signing a document indicating its understanding that any agreement reached would be defended and maintained by all of the groups. Modifications and amendments to the draft bill were permitted only by mutual agreement. The negotiating group met almost weekly from February through May 2008. Both the disability and business negotiators consistently checked back with a much broader group of disability and business advocates throughout

11656-470: The oil industry. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers , of Major League Baseball , before being elected governor of Texas in 1994 . As governor , Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice system. He also helped make Texas the leading producer of wind-generated electricity in the United States. In

11780-464: The plaintiff was, in fact, disabled and never reach the issue of whether discrimination had occurred. Through these rulings, the Supreme Court and lower courts created a situation in which an individual with a physical or mental impairment severe enough to constitute a "substantially limiting a major life activity" under case law based on the Rehabilitation Act did not qualify for protection under

11904-544: The point of live and let live." On December 18, 2010, Harkin voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 . In September 2014, Harkin was one of 69 members of the US House and Senate to sign a letter to then-FDA commissioner Sylvia Burwell requesting that the FDA revise its policy banning donation of corneas and other tissues by men who have had sex with another man in

12028-452: The preceding 5 years. Harkin has also been active in combating the worst forms of child labor . The Trade Development Act of 2000 "contains important child labor protections authored by Senator Harkin." After reports of child trafficking and child slavery associated with cocoa plantations in West Africa surfaced in the media, Harkin, along with U.S. Representative Eliot Engel and with the support of U.S. Senator Herbert Kohl , sponsored

12152-546: The president of the fraternity during his senior year. Bush became a member of the Skull and Bones society as a senior. Bush was a rugby union player and was on Yale's 1st XV. He characterized himself as an average student. His grade point average during his first three years at Yale was 77, and he had a similar average under a nonnumerical rating system in his final year. In the fall of 1973, Bush entered Harvard Business School . He graduated in 1975 with an MBA degree, and

12276-399: The process. The business negotiators were led by Mike Eastman and Randal Johnson (Chamber), assisted by Larry Lorber ( Proskauer Rose ); Mike Aitken and Mike Layman (SHRM); Mike Peterson (HR Policy); and Jeri Gillepsie (NAM). Tim Bartl (HR Policy) and Camille Olson (Seyfarth Shaw) also provided political and legal counsel to the business negotiators. Cheryl Sensenbrenner, board chair of AAPD,

12400-469: The process. The key negotiators for the disability group were Andy Imparato (AAPD); Sandy Finucane (EF); Chai Feldblum (Georgetown Law, on behalf of EF); Jennifer Mathis (Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law); John Lancaster (NICL); and Curt Decker (NDRN). Former Representative Tony Coelho and Nancy Zirkin from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights also provided political counsel throughout

12524-713: The race. After his 1972 defeat, Harkin practiced law in Ames before seeking a rematch against Scherle in 1974. In what was generally a bad year for Republicans due to the Watergate scandal , Harkin defeated Scherle by only 3,500 votes. He was re-elected four more times from Iowa's 5th congressional district without serious difficulty. In 1984 , Harkin won the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate and defeated freshman Republican Roger Jepsen by an 11.8-point margin. He

12648-462: The regulations passed the House but died in the Senate. Many Republican senators, as well as influential members of the Bush Administration, feared that the agency created by these regulations would merely be mimicking the private sector's risky practices. In September 2008, the crisis became much more serious beginning with the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac followed by

12772-421: The requirements of the definition were well understood. Within the framework established under the Rehabilitation Act, courts treated the determination of disability as a threshold issue, but focused primarily on whether unlawful discrimination had occurred. After the passage of the ADA, the focus of court decisions shifted to deciding if people's claims of discrimination were protected by the law. Congress passed

12896-516: The risen Lord", how he began to read the Bible daily, "surrendering" to the "Almighty", that "faith is a walk" and that he was "moved by God 's love". Before his marriage, Bush repeatedly abused alcohol . On September 4, 1976, he was pulled over near his family's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine , for driving under the influence of alcohol . He was arrested for DUI , was fined $ 150, and received

13020-494: The same year that he graduated from law school, Harkin returned to Iowa and immediately ran against an incumbent Republican Congressman, William J. Scherle . Scherle represented the southwestern portion of Iowa, which (with one brief exception) had not elected a Democrat to Congress since the end of the Great Depression . While winning a higher percentage of votes than any of Scherle's previous opponents, Harkin nevertheless lost

13144-553: The scope of the legislation's effectiveness: "Together, these cases, as handled by the nation's highest court, have created a supreme absurdity: The more successful a person is at coping with a disability, the more likely it is for a court to find that he or she is no longer sufficiently disabled to be protected by the ADA. If that is the ruling, then these individuals may find that their requests for reasonable accommodations at work can be denied. Or that they can be fired—without recourse." In order to address these issues Harkin proposed

13268-661: The system." During his political career, Harkin has generally supported the Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade , which decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion. He has opposed most efforts to place legal restrictions on Roe v. Wade , including voting against a ban on late-term abortion , while supporting contraception and education to reduce teen pregnancy. As of 2003 , Harkin received

13392-498: The time, Cheney was serving as head of Bush's vice presidential search committee. Soon after at the 2000 Republican National Convention , Bush and Cheney were officially nominated by the Republican Party. Bush continued to campaign across the country and touted his record as Governor of Texas. During his campaign, Bush criticized his Democratic opponent, incumbent Vice President Al Gore , over gun control and taxation. When

13516-568: Was re-elected president in a close race, beating Democratic opponent John Kerry and winning the popular vote. During his second term, Bush made free trade agreements . He appointed John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. He sought major changes to Social Security and immigration laws, but both efforts failed in Congress. Bush was widely criticized for his administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina and revelations of torture against detainees at Abu Ghraib . Amid his unpopularity,

13640-523: Was $ 237   billion – the third consecutive surplus and the largest surplus ever. In 2001, Bush's budget estimated that there would be a $ 5.6   trillion surplus over the next ten years. Facing congressional opposition, Bush held town hall-style meetings across the U.S. to increase public support for his plan for a $ 1.35   trillion tax cut program , one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. Bush argued that unspent government funds should be returned to taxpayers, saying "the surplus

13764-499: Was a Texas oilman. Other activities include cigar smoking and golf. Bush has also painted many paintings. One of his best-known projects is a collection of 43 paintings of immigrants, titled Out of Many, One . Another painting project was Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warrior . In May 1968, Bush was commissioned into the Texas Air National Guard . After two years of training in active-duty service, he

13888-500: Was a U.S. senator from Connecticut . His father was Ronald Reagan 's vice president from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. Bush has English and German ancestry, along with more distant Dutch , Welsh , Irish , French , and Scottish roots. Bush attended public schools in Midland, Texas, until the family moved to Houston after he had completed seventh grade. He then spent two years at The Kinkaid School ,

14012-471: Was assigned to Houston , flying Convair F-102s with the 147th Reconnaissance Wing out of Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base . Critics, including former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe , have alleged that Bush was favorably treated due to his father's political standing as a member of the House of Representatives , citing his selection as a pilot despite his low pilot aptitude test scores and his irregular attendance. In June 2005,

14136-571: Was born in Cumming, Iowa . His father, Patrick Francis Harkin, an Irish American , was a coal miner , and his mother, Franciska Frances Valentine (née Berčič), was a Slovene immigrant who died when he was ten. Harkin has three half-siblings on his mother's side from her first marriage in Iowa to fellow Slovenian Valentine Brelih. Frances was born in Suha, Slovenia to Jakob and Marija (born Jugovec). He still maintains his childhood house, where he and his five siblings were raised without hot running water or

14260-465: Was considered by Al Gore before Gore selected Joe Lieberman . In 2004, presidential nominee John Kerry considered Harkin as a running mate, though Harkin worked to promote the candidacy of then-Governor Tom Vilsack . In 2008, Barack Obama considered Harkin for vice president because of his senior statesman status within the party and his personal closeness to both Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton . Harkin endorsed Obama's choice of Joe Biden for

14384-601: Was critical in abstaining. "I believe that God helped open my eyes, which were closing because of booze". Bush has been an avid reader throughout his adult life, preferring biographies and histories. During his presidency, Bush read the Bible daily, though at the end of his second term he said on television that he is "not a literalist" about Bible interpretation. Walt Harrington , a journalist, recalled seeing "books by John Fowles , F. Scott Fitzgerald , James Joyce , and Gore Vidal lying about, as well as biographies of Willa Cather and Queen Victoria " in his home when Bush

14508-401: Was designed to strike a balance between employer and employee interests. The ADAAA requires that courts interpreting the ADA and other Federal disability nondiscrimination laws focus on whether the covered entity has discriminated, rather than whether the individual seeking the law's protection has an impairment that fits within the technical definition of the term "disability." The Act retains

14632-419: Was hurt by decreased oil prices, and it folded into Harken Energy Corporation , with Bush becoming a member of Harken's board of directors. Questions of possible insider trading involving Harken arose, but a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation concluded that the information Bush had at the time of his stock sale was not sufficient to constitute insider trading. In April 1989, Bush arranged for

14756-466: Was increased by 107 percent, discretionary domestic spending by 62 percent, Medicare spending by 131 percent, social security by 51 percent, and income security spending by 130 percent. Cyclically adjusted, revenues rose by 35 percent and spending by 65 percent. The increase in spending was more than under any predecessor since Lyndon B. Johnson . The number of economic regulation governmental workers increased by 91,196. The surplus in fiscal year 2000

14880-548: Was involved throughout the process. The negotiating group reached a final agreement on May 13, 2008. That agreement formed the basis for a Congressional agreement and substitute to the earlier version of H.R. 3195. The substitute was renamed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). H.R. 3195 subsequently passed by wide margins in the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, and passed

15004-448: Was overly strict. Third, the law prohibits consideration of mitigating measures such as medication, assistive technology, accommodations, or modifications when determining whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity. The related text of the ADAAA explicitly rejects the Supreme Court's holdings in Sutton and its companion cases that mitigating measures must be considered in determining whether an impairment constitutes

15128-651: Was re-elected in 1990 , 1996 , 2002 , and 2008 . Harkin served in the Senate longer than any Democrat in Iowa's history. In 2009, he passed Neal Edward Smith as the longest-serving Democrat in either chamber from Iowa. Notably, he spent his entire tenure as Iowa's junior Senator, due to his colleague Chuck Grassley having served in the chamber since 1981. He and Grassley had a fairly good relationship, despite their often sharp ideological differences, and their seniority made Iowa influential in national politics. Indeed, during his tribute to Harkin shortly before his departure, Grassley got notably choked up as Harkin entered

15252-471: Was the first Democratic primary contender to drop out and throw his support behind Clinton — a favor that led to a close relationship throughout the Clinton presidency. Harkin figured in running mate searches multiple times after his 1992 presidential campaign. Clinton considered Harkin in 1992 because of his ties to labor and strong support for Clinton after withdrawing from the presidential race. In 2000, Harkin

15376-404: Was the focus of national attention as a potential future presidential candidate. Following his re-election, speculation soared, and within a year he decided to seek the 2000 Republican presidential nomination. Bush portrayed himself as a compassionate conservative , implying he was more centrist than other Republicans. He campaigned on a platform that included bringing integrity and honor back to

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