The House recently passed the "ADA Education and Reform Act" H.R.620, a piece of legislation supporters claim is an improvement to 1990s Americans with Disabilities Act. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, was one of those supporters.

This bill, however, actually introduces a barrier to the process that protects equal access and erodes ADA protections by not defining its period of "notice and cure." Therefore, if a disabled person invested the time in their already challenging day to give a business written notice to non-compliance of the ADA, there is no defined time limit by which the business must respond. Yet the person must wait until the business responds before seeking legal recourse. Is this what Stefanik really wants for the approximately 15 percent of disabled residents in the North Country?

Proponents of the bill argued that their support was to protect against frivolous lawsuits. Although this is a real concern, the legislation in no way defines action against those events. When asked how many North Country businesses have been affected by frivolous lawsuits, Stefanik's staff could not provide a number. More importantly, how many disabled North Country residents will be adversely affected by this erosion of equality and access?

With her vote to pass H.R.620, Stefanik opted to make thousands of North Country disabled residents' lives less equal than they are now. It is now in the hands of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Sen. Charles Schumer to vote "no" to this bill in the best interest of New York state's disabled population.

Julie A. Wash

Saratoga Springs