STATEMENT FROM THE GENERAL COUNSEL

Under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA), during each Congress, the General Counsel of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR)¹ is required to inspect legislative branch facilities for compliance with Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

During the 111th Congress, the OCWR Office of the General Counsel (OGC) made substantial changes to its ADA inspection program that greatly enhanced the quality and comprehensiveness of these inspections. We also worked with the Office of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) to make the inspection program more educational by providing more interaction between our inspectors and those employees actually involved in improving accessibility, such as plumbers, elevator technicians, and construction supervisors. This has helped all concerned learn not only what the ADA standards require, but how compliance with the standards improves accessibility.

As part of the changes we implemented during the 111th Congress, we prioritized our inspections in accordance with the accessibility priorities developed by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The first priority under the DOJ guidelines is to provide access to the approaches and entrances to facilities.

During the 111th Congress, this meant focusing on the sidewalks and curb ramps throughout the Capitol Hill campus. This initial focus also coincided with the most common complaints we had received from constituents – that Capitol Hill facilities were difficult to access using the exterior pathways.

We had a considerable task in front of us given the size of the campus and the limited resources available to our office. But in the 114th Congress, we completed this task and concluded our inspections of all of the exterior routes on or surrounding all of the buildings and facilities here on the Hill.