Opposition
"There was strong opposition by some, of which, was not necessary and would open up lawsuits against small businesses and hurt the flow of commerce. They relied on the outdated concept that people with disabilities were not capable of doing those jobs. It was overcoming an over patronizing attitude that people held against those people with disabilities that was the hardest."
Tom Harkin, Student-Conducted Interview
Conflicts with Administration Officials
"More so than the Senators, the President and his administration needed to balance the needs of people with disabilities against the needs of businessmen. Harkin and Kennedy continued to insist that the legislation was bipartisan, and both went out of their way to praise Bush." |
Although the members of President H.W. Bush's administration were largely in favor of the ADA, there were concerns about the effect the Act would have on businesses and the economy. The negotiations over the provisions and costs entailed in the bill delayed its progress, particularly in the House. |
White House Chief of Staff John Sununu
"Sununu was philosophically opposed to imposing costly new requirements on businesses."
Susan Milligan, "A Towering Record, Painstakingly Built"
______________________________________________________________
"But Sununu continued to fight, nitpicking at the legislation in Capitol negotiating sessions between senators and Cabinet secretaries. At one point, Sununu lost his temper at Bobby Silverstein, an aide to Harkin. A stunned Harkin tried to defend his staffer. But Kennedy got there first, leaping up, leaning over and slamming his open hand loudly onto the table, inches from Sununu.“You want to yell at someone? You yell at me, Sununu! You don’t yell at our staff. You don’t treat our staff that way,” a red-faced Kennedy shouted before the stunned group. [...] But the tactic worked. [...] Sununu backed down and agreed to a deal."
Susan Milligan, "A Towering Record, Painstakingly Built"
"Sununu was philosophically opposed to imposing costly new requirements on businesses."
Susan Milligan, "A Towering Record, Painstakingly Built"
______________________________________________________________
"But Sununu continued to fight, nitpicking at the legislation in Capitol negotiating sessions between senators and Cabinet secretaries. At one point, Sununu lost his temper at Bobby Silverstein, an aide to Harkin. A stunned Harkin tried to defend his staffer. But Kennedy got there first, leaping up, leaning over and slamming his open hand loudly onto the table, inches from Sununu.“You want to yell at someone? You yell at me, Sununu! You don’t yell at our staff. You don’t treat our staff that way,” a red-faced Kennedy shouted before the stunned group. [...] But the tactic worked. [...] Sununu backed down and agreed to a deal."
Susan Milligan, "A Towering Record, Painstakingly Built"
Attorney General Dick Thornburgh
"The Bush administration wanted to guard against this possibility by limiting the legal remedies to those in the 1964 Act, not the 1964 Act as amended. In this manner, Attorney General Thornburgh and other administration officials hoped to restrict penalties to court injunctions directing a business to stop discriminating and to reinstatement and back pay for those fired or not promoted as a result of discrimination. If the matter were not resolved in a satisfactory manner, senior administration threatened that President Bush might withdraw his support."
Edward Berkowitz, "George Bush and the Americans with Disabilities Act"
"The Bush administration wanted to guard against this possibility by limiting the legal remedies to those in the 1964 Act, not the 1964 Act as amended. In this manner, Attorney General Thornburgh and other administration officials hoped to restrict penalties to court injunctions directing a business to stop discriminating and to reinstatement and back pay for those fired or not promoted as a result of discrimination. If the matter were not resolved in a satisfactory manner, senior administration threatened that President Bush might withdraw his support."
Edward Berkowitz, "George Bush and the Americans with Disabilities Act"
Achieving Compromise"Thus began an intensive period of what Kennedy described as “long tough hard bargaining sessions” between Congressional Democrats, such as Kennedy, and administration officials, such as John Sununu and Thornburgh. In part these sessions served to put a bipartisan stamp on the final product and to ensure that both political parties received credit for the bill. In part these sessions provided private forums to work out important details." |
[3] The ADA required extensive negotiations between the Bush administration, the House and Senate, and the disability rights community. |