Q&A with President George H. W. Bush and Lex Frieden:
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan appointed Lex Frieden to serve in his administration as director of the newly created National Council on the Handicapped, now called the National Council on Disability. In 1986, Frieden and the council proposed the Americans with Disabilities Act, and in 1988, the draft legislation they produced was introduced into Congress. The legislation passed and was signed by President George H. W. Bush on July 26, 1990. As President Bush later said of Frieden, “He was right there with me when as President I was privileged to sign the ADA into law.”