From: David Andrews 
Subject: News about Congress and guide dogs (fwd)
When I first hear this, I didn't think it ws the actual floor from which
the dog was barred, but it was.  
 
David Andrews
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 15 Apr 97 18:03:31 EDT
From: Jamal Mazrui 
To: BlindCopyReceiver:;;@CompuServe.COM
Subject: News about Congress and guide dogs
04/15/97 -- Copyright (C) 1997 The Washington Post [Article 281698, 58 lines]
           THE FEDERAL PAGE: Lone Senator Fences Guide Dog Off Floor
                    Chamber Moves to Adopt New Access Rule
                                By Helen Dewar
                         Washington Post Staff Writer
 
     The Senate was caught short in its compliance with federal
anti-discrimination rules yesterday when a visually impaired aide to Sen. Ron
Wyden (D-Ore.) was barred from bringing her guide dog onto the Senate floor.
     Wyden promptly introduced a resolution to allow disabled people to bring
"supporting services," including dogs, onto the floor, and senators scrambled
to join him in sponsoring the proposal.
     The Senate is fussy about who -- and what -- it allows into its chamber,
and dogs have never been among the favored few.
     But it is also proud, even boastful on occasion, about its vote two 
ears
ago to require Congress to live by the workplace rules it imposes on other
employers, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, under which workers
who need guide dogs can bring them to work under most circumstances.
     The problem is that the Senate has no formal rule allowing guide dogs
into its chamber. In the absence of such a rule, they are not admitted, said
Sergeant-at-Arms Gregory S. Casey. They can only be permitted by unanimous
consent of senators or by action of the Senate Rules and Administration
Committee.
     The Senate's encounter with the disabilities law came when Wyden asked
for consent of his colleagues to allow Moira Shea, a Brookings Institution
fellow who is working in his office, to bring her guide dog Beau onto the
Senate floor during a debate on nuclear waste storage.
     As a congressional fellow, Casey noted, Shea needed unanimous consent to
get on the Senate floor. But fellows are routinely approved. The problem was
the dog.
       An unidentified Democratic senator registered an objection by
telephone, and Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) conveyed the objection to the
Senate. Reid made it clear he personally had no objection to the dog's
presence, but the anonymous objection had the effect of blocking Wyden's
request -- and barring Beau from the chamber.
     Wyden protested that the Senate was condoning discrimination against the
disabled in its own midst even after voting for the ADA and for congressional
compliance with it.
      "I fail to see the logic of this or the justice behind it. . . . She
just wants to do her job," Wyden said, noting that Shea, a former senior
economist with the Energy Department took her dog to congressional hearings,
government offices and even nuclear weapons facilities during two decades of
government work.
     "To tell someone like Ms. Shea she cannot come to the [Senate] floor is
demeaning," he added.
     Shea, who worked in the office of Sen. Wendell H. Ford (D-Ky.) before
moving to Wyden's staff in January, said she was also rebuffed last year in 
n
attempt to gain access to the floor for her dog. A resolution to give guide
dogs access to the Senate floor was introduced last year but there was no
action on it, Shea said.
     Judging by the response of senators yesterday, this time might be
different. Only four other senators were on the Senate floor when Wyden
introduced his resolution and all of them -- Sen. Richard H. Bryan (D-Nev.),
Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska), Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minn.) and Reid -- signed
on as co-sponsors.
     Wyden's resolution, which was sent to the rules committee, would permit
disabled people who otherwise qualify for Senate floor privileges to "bring
those supporting services [including service dogs, wheelchairs and
interpreters]" that are necessary to performance of official duties.
----------
               Congressional Record dated Monday, April 14, 1997
                                Senate Section
                   ----------------------------------------                   
 
 
----------------------------------------
Text of Measure -- S.Res. 71
         SENATE RESOLUTION 71--RELATIVE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY 
ACT
         [CR page S-3126, 19 lines]
 
     SENATE RESOLUTION 71--RELATIVE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
 
 
    Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Murkowski, and Mr.
  Bryan) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
  Committee on Rules and Administration:
 
                                   S. Res. 71
 
 
    Resolved, That (a) an individual with a disability (as defined in section 
3
  of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)) who has 
r
  is granted the privilege of the Senate floor may bring those supporting
  services (including service dogs, wheelchairs, and interpreters) on the
  Senate floor the employing or supervising office determines are necessary 
o
  assist the disabled individual in discharging the official duties of his or
  her position.
 
    (b) The employing or supervising office of a disabled individual shall
  administer the provisions of this resolution.
 
 
----------------------------------------
Remarks by WYDEN (D-OR) and 3 others on S.Res. 71
         Resolution Concerning the Congressional Accountablity Act
         [CR page S-3126, 91 lines]
 
                  Attributed to WYDEN (D-OR)
    Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the resolution that I submit today would change
  the Senate rules that deny floor access to those individuals who are 
visually
  impaired and need to use guide dogs to carry out their official duties.
 
    By denying floor access to Ms. Shea and her guide dog, the Senate, in my
  view, is violating the Congressional Accountability Act, which requires 
hat
  Congress abide by the requirements and intent of the Americans With
  Disabilities Act. A guide dog is a person's vision. A guide dog is a 
orking
  dog, not a pet. This guide dog is with Ms. Shea all the time. He is with 
er
  in meetings in my office. He goes with her to energy committee hearings and
  has even gone with her to nuclear weapons facilities.
 
    Mr. President and colleagues, I had hoped that there would be no need to
  offer this resolution, but I am forced to because discrimination still
  persists here. Ms. Shea is being treated differently simply because she is
  visually impaired and needs to use a guide dog.
 
    Now, some may believe that the Senate fulfills its obligations under the
  Americans With Disabilities Act--
 
    Mr. REID. Will my friend yield for a unanimous-consent request?
 
    Mr. WYDEN. Yes.
 
    Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that I be added as a cosponsor of the
  Senator's resolution.
 
    Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that I be made 
a
  cosponsor.
 
    Mr. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that I also be added as a 
osponsor
  to the resolution.
 
    The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the Senators will be added as
  cosponsors.
 
    Mr. WYDEN. I thank my colleagues.
 
    Mr. President, some believe that the Senate is fulfilling its obligations
  under the Americans With Disabilities Act if they provide someone to
  accompany Ms. Shea to the Senate floor. But let me say that an unknown 
taff
  person is no substitute for a working guide dog.
 
    The relevant language from the Americans With Disabilities Act says that 
an
  employer must provide reasonable accommodation for an individual with a
  disability. The Equal Employment Opportunity Office has said, "reasonable
  accommodation [is] when an employer permits a person who is blind to use a
  guide dog at work."
 
    Let us put ourselves in Ms. Shea's situation. Imagine that you need to go
  on the Senate floor to carry out your official duties, but, wait, you must
  first check your ability to see with the doorkeeper, or go to the Rules
  Committee to get a resolution. I fail to see the logic of this, and I fail 
to
  see the justice behind it. Miss Shea's situation doesn't require extra
  financial resources nor special treatment. She just wants to do her job as 

  professional.
 
    A large part of the problem seems to be a lack of understanding. So let 
e
  tell the Senate a little bit about what guide dogs do. They are working 
dogs,
  not pets. A guide dog is that person's vision, an integral part of that
  person's essential activities and professional responsibilities. A blind
  person or a visually impaired person, such as Ms. Shea, has learned to turn
  over her diminishing sight to her dog and trusts that dog with her safety.
  This guide dog has blocked Ms. Shea from oncoming traffic. He knows his 
eft
  from his right. He is a marker to others that Ms. Shea is visually 
mpaired.
  She has gone to the Senate Energy Committee hearings and nuclear weapons
  facilities. This dog has even met more just access with respect to the 
Soviet
  Union.
 
    Yet, here in the United States, on the Senate floor, where we passed the
  ADA and the Congressional Accountability Act, we are refusing access to
  someone who needs to use a guide dog. This guide dog has a serious job, 
nd,
  I might add, the dog performs it very well. This is the tool that Ms. Shea
  uses to be a productive member of the work force, and today we are denying
  her the ability to do her job to the best of her ability. Ms. Shea is part 
of
  a growing work force of persons who want to be independent, who want to be
  productive, and who have been raised with a can-do attitude.
 
    Let me conclude by describing how the guide dog would work on the floor.
  Ms. Shea would most likely tell him to "follow me," and as they walked down
  the aisle, the dog would alert Ms. Shea to each step by stopping. Then Ms.
  Shea would say to him "find the chair," and then Ms. Shea would sit down 
nd
  the dog would lay right beside her. We would all forget that the dog was 
even
  here. In leaving, Ms. Shea would tell the dog to "find the door" once 
gain,
  and the dog would alert her to where all the steps are and take her right 
o
  the door.
 
    Mr. President, that is all there is to it. It seems to me that the Senate
  should change its rules to ensure that there is justice for people like Ms.
  Shea. To tell someone like Ms. Shea that she cannot come to the Senate 
loor
  with either a white cane or a guide dog and only with an escort is 
demeaning.
  You take away her right to decide what is the best method for her to carry
  out her job as a professional. You take away her sense of independence. You
  take away her dignity. You make her dependent on others. That is not what 
the
  Americans With Disabilities Act is all about.
 
    Ms. Shea has Usher's Syndrome. That is the leading cause of 
eaf-blindness
  in the United States. She has struggled and worked hard to get where she is
  today as a professional. She is independent and self-sufficient, and she 
told
  me that she can cope with losing her eyesight, but she should not be forced
  to face blatant discrimination.
 
    It is time for the Senate to change its rules. I look forward to working
  with my colleagues on the Rules Committee to do this. It is time to ensure
  that the visually impaired in our country have justice, and have justice in
  the way that Congress envisioned with the Americans With Disabilities Act 
and
  the Congress Accountability Act. I thank my friends from Minnesota, Nevada,
  and Alaska for joining me as cosponsors this morning on this resolution.
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