OCT 26 1994






The Honorable William F. Clinger, Jr.
U.S. House of Representatives
2160 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Clinger:

     This letter is in response to your inquiry on behalf of
your constituent,      XX             , regarding the requirements of
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

     XX      appears to be concerned about excessive tax money
being spent to make existing public facilities accessible to
persons with disabilities who are not likely ever to use them.
XX       does not provide specifics about any particular
facility or costs involved in improving accessibility.

     XX      appears to misunderstand the scope of the
obligations of the ADA which does not require State and local
governments to bear undue financial burdens in modifying existing
facilities.

     Title II of the ADA prohibits State and local governments
from discriminating on the basis of disability in all of their
programs, services and activities. To fulfill this obligation,
State and local governments are not required to make every
building accessible. However, the State or local government must
insure that all programs and services offered to the public are
made accessible. If a particular service is ordinarily offered
on the second floor of a building having no elevator, the program
access requirement can be met by also offering the service in
another accessible location rather than installing an elevator in
the building. Even if making structural modifications to an
existing building is the only possible means to provide access to
a program, the ADA does not require such modifications if the
State or local government can demonstrate that doing so will
cause an undue administrative or financial burden.

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                                   - 2 -

     I hope the information provided above will assist you in
responding to        XX      concerns.

                                   Sincerely,




                                Deval L. Patrick
                            Assistant Attorney General
                              Civil Rights Division
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                                     XX
                              STATE COLLEGE, PA
                                     XX



July 14, 1994


Rep William F Clinger Jr
2160 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515


Dear Representative Clinger:

I see an excessive amount of money being spent due to
mandates under the A.D.A. Bill. I am not cold hearted,
but it seems most of the facilities being created will
never see a disabled person and that makes it a waste
of a valuable resource - tax dollars. Why do you people
always allow a basically good idea go to the overkill stage.
We are talking about a very small percentage of our population
dictating the expenditures of very large sums of money.
It is outrageous to destroy and recreate. New construction-yes,
repairing-yes.

What are the chances of Washington recognizing this gross
injustice to taxpayers? We can't afford this law.

By the way, we have a wheel chair bound person in our family who
shares these views.

Sincerely,
XX



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