WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, marked the anniversary of The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) this week by calling it “one of the most important civil rights laws in our history.”

33 years ago, President George H. W. Bush signed the ADA, which prohibits discrimination based on disability and requires employers and government agencies to provide reasonable accommodations to the disabled.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the ability to get around is one of the biggest challenges that Americans with disabilities face.

“It’s a very basic thing that affects your opportunity to have a job, your opportunity to get an education and just your quality of life,” Buttigieg told Spectrum News.

He explained that although transportation has come a long way since the ADA was signed, there is still a long way to go.

“Everything from train and subway stations in this country that were built before The Americans with Disabilities Act passed, they need to be upgraded, we’re doing that with funds in the infrastructure law, to helping communities that are trying to improve the safety of their sidewalks or roads for wheelchair users or blind or low vision Americans,” Buttigieg said. 

The changes impact a large group of people. According to data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, up to 27% of adults in the United States have some type of disability.

“Anyone who doesn’t today might age into a disability later,” Buttigieg said. “Everybody is better off when we do right by those with disabilities who are seeking to navigate our transportation systems and of course, when they can, they’re also better positioned to contribute to our economy, to our democracy, to our society.”

The Department of Transportation announced a new rule on the 33rd anniversary of the ADA that aims to make airplanes more accessible for people in wheelchairs. The rule would require new single-aisle aircraft to include restrooms that are large enough for travelers in wheelchairs who need assistance.

Buttigieg said this new rule aims to give that group “the same access and dignity as the rest of the traveling public.”