HouseH.Res. 1586119th Congress
Recognizing and honoring the 27th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C.
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1586 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1586
Recognizing and honoring the 27th anniversary of the Supreme Court
decision in Olmstead v. L.C.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 28, 2026
Mrs. Dingell (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Kean, Mr.
Lawler, Ms. Simon, and Mr. Wilson of South Carolina) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education
and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing and honoring the 27th anniversary of the Supreme Court
decision in Olmstead v. L.C.
Whereas there are over 70,000,000 adults with disabilities living in the United
States;
Whereas section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) (referred
to in this resolution as ``section 504'') prohibits discrimination on
the basis of disability in all federally assisted programs or activities
and laid the foundation for the passage of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) (referred to in this
resolution as ``the ADA)'';
Whereas, in 1977, the former Department of Health, Education, and Welfare issued
implementing regulations for section 504 requiring recipients of Federal
funds to provide services and programs in a manner that affords people
with disabilities an ``equal opportunity to obtain the same results, to
gain the same benefit, or to reach the same achievement, in the most
integrated setting appropriate to the person's'' needs (sections
84.4(b)(1)(iii) and 84.4(b)(2) of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations,
as in effect on the date of issuance);
Whereas, in 1978, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare issued a
similar rule requiring recipients of funds from the Department to
``administer programs and activities in the most integrated setting
appropriate to the needs of qualified'' persons with disabilities (43
Fed. Reg. 2132);
Whereas, in 1978, Congress amended section 504 to strengthen and clarify its
nondiscrimination requirements, thereby ratifying the 1977 and 1978
regulations and incorporating the regulations into the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, including the ``integration mandate'' to provide services
to people with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate;
Whereas, in the ADA, Congress found that the isolation and segregation of
individuals with disabilities is a serious and pervasive form of
discrimination;
Whereas, through passage of the ADA, Congress intended that forms of
discrimination prohibited under section 504 and its implementing
regulations, including unnecessary segregation, be prohibited under the
ADA as well;
Whereas, on June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581
(1999) (referred to in this resolution as ``the Olmstead decision''),
held that under the ADA, States must offer qualified individuals with
disabilities the choice to receive their services and support in a
community-based setting;
Whereas the Supreme Court recognized in the Olmstead decision that
``institutional placement of persons who can handle and benefit from
community settings perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so
isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life'';
Whereas the Supreme Court further recognized that ``confinement in an
institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of
individuals, including activities involving family relations and social
contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement,
and cultural enrichment.'';
Whereas the Olmstead decision and the integration mandate of the ADA and section
504 have repeatedly been affirmed by courts across the United States, by
Congress, and in Federal regulations and guidance, prohibiting States
from forcing people with disabilities into segregated settings, such as
psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, and segregated schools, when those
people could be served in their homes and communities;
Whereas, as a result of the integration mandate, many individuals with
disabilities have been able to live in their own homes and community-
based settings, rather than institutional settings, and to become
productive members of the community, particularly through access to
home- and community-based services through the Medicaid program under
title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) (referred
to in this resolution as ``the Medicaid program'');
Whereas, despite 5 decades of legal requirements, many individuals with
disabilities continue to live in segregated institutional settings,
where they face abuse and neglect and limitations on their individual
freedoms;
Whereas community integration provides individuals with disabilities greater
opportunities to pursue education and training, develop skills, obtain
and retain employment, earn competitive wages, and achieve economic
independence and self-sufficiency;
Whereas individuals with disabilities who live and work in integrated settings
are better able to contribute as workers, entrepreneurs, consumers,
taxpayers, and members of their communities, strengthening the Nation's
workforce and expanding the talent available to American employers;
Whereas home- and community-based services and supports enable individuals with
disabilities to live independently, participate in the workforce, and
contribute to the economy while promoting more effective and responsible
use of public resources; and
Whereas unnecessary segregation of individuals with disabilities limits their
opportunities to develop skills, participate in the workforce, earn
income, achieve economic independence, and contribute their talents to
the Nation's economy: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes and honors the 27th anniversary of the
Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581
(1999);
(2) salutes all people whose efforts have contributed to
the expansion of home- and community-based services and
supports for individuals with disabilities;
(3) affirms the Olmstead decision's vital importance to
ending the unjustified institutionalization and segregation of
individuals with disabilities;
(4) affirms its intent that the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
and the Americans with Disabilities mandate the provision of
federally funded services in the most integrated setting
appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with
disabilities; and
(5) calls on Federal, State, and local governments to
advance policies that enable individuals with disabilities to
live and work in integrated community settings and to achieve
greater independence and economic self-sufficiency, including
by expanding access to competitive integrated employment,
education and skills development, home- and community-based
services, and other supports that enable individuals with
disabilities to contribute their talents and skills to the
Nation's workforce and economy.
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