DISABILITY MUSEUM: TIME TO SECURE SENATE CO-SPONSORS, SEND THOSE EMAILS

 Currently, I am working with a group, Friends of the National Museum of Disability History and Culture, to encourage introduction of legislation to authorize a commission to explore the feasibility of establishing a national museum of disability history and culture on the National Mall. Commission legislation is the first step. If the commission is authorized, signed into law, and recommends establishing a national museum of disability history and culture, a second piece of legislation would need to be introduced, enacted, and signed by the President, before the museum could be built. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives must pass a bill and agree on a final, single version of any legislation before it goes to the President for signature. This is a very big, long-term undertaking. I will write another post for the House of Representatives.

Our group has been working with Senator Casey on drafting, and a final draft of the legislation is ready. I hope that you will share information about this legislation with your senators as soon as possible and urge him/her to be a co-sponsor. 

 

Once the bill for the disability museum commission is introduced and given a number, the Senate Rules and Administration Committee will handle the legislation.

 

The goal is to introduce the commission legislation as soon as possible with a strong bipartisan cohort of Senators.

 

Here is some information you could highlight in an email to your Senators: People with disabilities comprise approximately 25 percent of the U.S. population. Significant change began to occur in the last quarter of the 20^th century for this segment of the population. Most notably was the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. The catalyst for this action was an unprecedented grassroots campaign comprised of people with disabilities and their advocates. This amazing collection of problem solvers (people with disabilities, parents, siblings, other relatives, friends, colleagues, and other advocates) deserve a place to tell their stories and the U.S. population needs a place to learn about and grasp the challenges people with disabilities have faced in this country over time – what they did to make the U.S. more inclusive and accessible and what more remains to be done to bring about a fully inclusive society, a model for the world. 

 

Such a museum will: 

·       Provide a platform to educate people about the intersectionality between disability and other distinct populations like those celebrated in our national museums for African Americans, American Indians, Women, and Latinos. 

·       Be a stage for collaboration with these other museums and a platform from which to influence their exhibits and programs. 

·       Trigger interest among others involved in projects to identify, collect, preserve, and share disability-related artifacts and events, including oral histories. 

·       Be an immersive experience, to shape and reshape attitudes and perceptions of people with disabilities in positive ways that last; reinforce advocacy for disability rights; and perhaps motivate people to embrace careers connected to building fully accessible communities.

 

I have suggested using email because snail mail must be sanitized and checked for contaminants before sent to a Senator’s office. This process can take up to three weeks. We do not have three weeks to spare. We all must act now. 

 

How to determine to whom you should write your email: Google the name of your Senator’s Legislative Director. Once you have the name use this format: firstname_lastname@senator’slastname.senate.gov. THERE IS AN UNSCORE BETWEEN THE FIRST AND LAST NAME OF THE PERSON TO WHOM YOU ARE ADDRESSING THE EMAIL. Chances are your email will not bounce back.

 

Things to put in your email:

 

1.      I am writing to ask you to co-sponsor a bill to establish a commission to advise Congress on the merits of establishing a National Museum of Disability History and Culture as part of the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.

2.     A group has been meeting for a few years to organize the effort. With the assistance of Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, we have written a bill that Senator Casey is planning to introduce in the U.S. Senate in July.

3.     The bill will establish a commission of 23 members, with seven members appointed by the President, and four members appointed by the majority and minority leaders of each chamber of Congress. A majority of the commissioners would be people with disabilities. The commission will recommend whether a new museum of disability history and culture should be created within the Smithsonian Institution.

4.   The rationale for the museum (see points above).

5.   My email is part of a national grassroots campaign to urge Congress to pass this legislation now. Once again. I urge you to be a co-sponsor.

6.     A sentence or two about you.

7.    Please let me know if you have any questions.

8.    Your name and contact information.

If you would like to let Senator Casey (PA), Chair of the Select Committee on Aging know about your efforts to reach out to potential co-sponsors of the disability museum commission legislation use these links:  Aging Committee or personal office contact me.

We do not have a second to waste. Please send your emails to your two Senators right after you read this. I will keep you posted on our progress.

 

Thanks, 

Pat Morrissey

AKA: Common Grounder