From: David Andrews 
Subject: "Senate Access For Disabled Is Enlarged" (fwd)
All's well that ends well!
David Andrews
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 16 Apr 97 12:37:43 EDT
From: Jamal Mazrui 
To: BlindCopyReceiver:;;@CompuServe.COM
Subject: "Senate Access For Disabled Is Enlarged"
04/16/97 -- Copyright (C) 1997 The Washington Post [Article 281756, 60 lines]
           THE FEDERAL PAGE: Senate Access For Disabled Is Enlarged
                  Measure Adopted After Guide Dog Was Barred
                                By Helen Dewar
                         Washington Post Staff Writer
 
    Only a day after it barred a visually impaired aide from bringing her
guide dog into its chamber, an embarrassed Senate yesterday reversed course,
welcomed the dog and agreed to allow disabled people to bring any "supporting
services" they may need onto the Senate floor.
     "This is the right thing to do. . . . The Senate is addressing an
inequity that placed unnecessary roadblocks in the way of individuals helping
us serve the American people in the Senate," said Majority Leader Trent Lott
(R-Miss.) in moving to quell the controversy before it got out of hand.
     Under a resolution introduced by Lott and adopted with unaccustomed
alacrity, the Senate authorized its sergeant-at-arms to allow guide dogs and
other services into the chamber on a case-by-case basis while the Rules and
Administration Committee considers a permanent rules change to accommodate
disabled people on the Senate floor.
     Within a few minutes, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) escorted his nuclear 
olicy
aide, Moira Shea, and her guide dog Beau to the Senate floor. Beau, a large
blond Labrador retriever, quickly curled up in the center aisle, head on paw,
only a few inches from where Shea sat as Wyden thanked the Senate for its
prompt action.
     This was a stark contrast to what happened Monday when Wyden asked
permission for Shea to bring her dog to the floor, only to have an unnamed
senator -- who was later identified as Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), a stickler
for strict observance of Senate rules -- object by telephone and block the
dog's access.
     The Senate tightly restricts access to its floor and it has no rules
permitting dogs, even dogs who are needed by visually impaired Senate staff
members who would otherwise have access to the chamber.
     Wyden protested that the dog's exclusion was a violation of the 
mericans
with Disabilities Act, which the Senate had voted to observe as part of
broader legislation adopted two years ago to assure that Congress abides by
the same workplace requirements it imposes on other employers.
     Wyden also introduced a resolution seeking a new rule to allow dogs,
wheelchairs and other supportive services for disabled people, and the four
other senators who were on the floor at the time scrambled to sign on as
co-sponsors. The resolution was sent to the rules committee, which has
jurisdiction over Senate operations.
      But there was no indication that change was imminent until Lott arrived
at work yesterday morning and told his staff he wanted immediate action to
resolve the problem. He talked with other key senators, including Minority
Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) and leaders of the rules committee, and 
ame
up with the resolution that was subsequently whisked through the Senate
without a murmur of dissent.
     Byrd offered no objection, saying he was satisfied that proper 
rocedures
were being followed, including case-by-case handling of individual situations
until the rules are changed. Besides, he said, he likes dogs and has one of
his own, named Billy Byrd.
     Shea, an economist and Brookings Institution fellow who has worked in
Wyden's office since January, said she was delighted by the Senate's action,
which she described as a "great precedent for how people with disabilities
will be treated across the country."
     Wyden was equally happy. "What the Senate is saying is that a double
standard will not be allowed here," Wyden said.
     Other senators went out of their way to welcome Shea and Beau. "We're
proud to have you on the floor of the United States Senate," said Sen. Orrin
G. Hatch (R-Utah), looking first at Shea and then at Beau. "It's an historic
day for the Senate," added Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.).
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