Letter: Disabled citizens betrayed by Bush administration

Friday, April 5, 2002 | 9:21 a.m.

As a presidential candidate, George W. Bush promised that he would fight to see that "all Americans with disabilities have every chance to pursue the American dream."

Sadly, President Bush has broken this pledge by using a recess appointment to install Gerald Reynolds as the head of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.

Roughly 60 percent of all discrimination complaints that OCR investigates involve students with disabilities, many of which fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But Reynolds has sharply criticized the ADA, claiming it would "retard economic development in urban centers across the country."

The American public, on the other hand, stands firmly behind the ADA and the students it protects. In a 1999 Harris Poll, each one of the five provisions of the ADA was supported by overwhelming majorities -- at least 85 percent of Americans.

President Bush's willingness to cast aside this important campaign commitment and appoint Mr. Reynolds betrays the legacy of his father, who signed the ADA into law in 1990.

JAMES FRAZEE