October 4, 2022
Today, during his weekly press call, Congressman Joe Sempolinski highlighted October as Down Syndrome Awareness Month and Co-Sponsoring the bipartisan “Words Matter Act.”
“October is ‘Down Syndrome Awareness Month,’ a month that raises awareness as well as celebrates our loved ones and friends with Down syndrome. As a father to a daughter with Down Syndrome, my goal in Congress is to fight every day to help Americans living with disabilities,” said Sempolinski. “That is why I am so proud to co-sponsor the Bipartisan ‘Words Matter Act.’ This bill would eliminate ‘the r-word’ from the U.S. Code. In 2022, that disrespectful and dehumanizing word has no place in our Federal Law. Between this bill and taking the lead on the ‘Assistive Technology Act’ last week, I am very proud of what we have accomplished for the disabled community in such a short period of time. I will always be a voice for America’s living with disabilities both in Washington and back home.”
The bipartisan “Words Matter Act” is intended to update the U.S. Code by removing and replacing more than two dozen uses of outdated and offensive language aimed at the disability community from Federal law.
