"No piece of legislation this Congress will pass articulates more forcefully and eloquently the purposes which must be embodied in our public policies and in our commitments as individuals and as a nation in order for America to thrive in the 1990's. It embodies a philosophy and constitutes a declaration in support of human possibility and capability....With a powerful commitment to building a society which encourages and supports the efforts of each individual to live a productive life, there is no challenge which our Nation cannot meet."

--Congressman Major Owens

"The time has come for the Senate to send a loud, clear message across this country: individuals with disabilities, no less than all other Americans, are entitled to an equal opportunity to participate in the American dream. it is time for that dream to become a reality."

-- Senator Orrin G. Hatch

"ADA will empower people to control their own lives. It will result in a cost savings to the Federal Government. As we empower people to be independent, to control their own lives, to gain their own employment, their own income, their own housing, their own transportation, taxpayers will save substantial sums from the alternatives."

-- Congressman Steve Bartlett

"I have supported the ADA because I believe it is a just and fair bill, which will bring equality to the lives of all Americans with disabilities. Our message to America is that inequality and prejudice will no longer be tolerated. Our message to America is that inequality and prejudice will no longer be tolerated. Our message to people with disabilities is that your time has come."

-- Senator Robert Dole

"The historic civil rights legislation seeks to end the unjustified segregation and exclusion of persons with disabilities from the mainstream of American life...The ADA is fair and balanced legislation that carefully blends the rights of people with disabilities...with the legitimate needs of the American business community."

-- Attorney General Richard Thornburgh

"And now I sign legislation which takes a sledgehammer to another wall, one which has, for too many generations, separated Americans with disabilities from the freedom they could glimpse, but not grasp. Once again, we rejoice as this barrier falls, proclaiming together we will not accept, we will not excuse, we will not tolerate discrimination in America...let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down."

-- President George Bush