Statement of Clifford I. Gould, Associate Director Federal Personnel and Compensation Division U.S. General Accounting Office Before the Investigations and Review Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Public Works Concerning the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968
Abstract
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I appreciate your invitation to discuss our report "Further Action Needed to take All Public Buildings Accessible to the Physically Handicapped." At the outset I would like to state that the agencies included in our review have all generally agreed with our findings, accepted our recommendations, and have actions underway which are designed to improve the conditions described in our report. Estimates of the number of physically handicapped people in the United States range from 18 to 68 million, depending mainly on how handicapped is defined. Although the severity of their handicaps vary, these individuals all have basic physical disabilities which restrict their daily activities. These disabilities include impairments that confine individuals to wheelchairs or necessitate the use of braces or crutches; blindness or deafness which affects an individual's safe functioning in a public area; or decreased mobility resulting from aging, accident, or disease. If handicapped individuals cannot enter and use public buildings, they cannot easily vote, obtain government services, conduct business, or become independent and self-supporting. Efforts to enhance talents and market job skills become meaningless when the Job site and usual places of business are inaccessible. Accessibility of public buildings is essential if the handicapped are to have the same rights and opportunities as the able bodied in obtaining government services and employment outside their homes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 07, 1975
- Accession Number
- AD1119483
Entities
People
- Clifford I. Gould
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office