; Whereas in 2011, the percentage of working-age people in the United States who reported having a work limitation due to a disability was 7 percent, which is a 20-year high; Whereas the Act entitled An Act to insure that certain buildings financed with Federal funds are so designed and constructed as to be accessible to the physically handicapped , approved August 12, 1968 ( 42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.) (commonly known as the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 ), was enacted to ensure that certain federally funded facilities are designed and constructed to be accessible to people with disabilities; Whereas the United States Access Board (the Board) has developed new guidelines for public rights-of-way that will address various issues, including access for blind pedestrians at street crossings, wheelchair access to on-street parking, and various constraints posed by space limitations, roadway design practices, slope, and terrain; Whereas the Board’s new guidelines will cover pedestrian access to sidewalks and streets, including crosswalks, curb ramps, street furnishings, pedestrian signals, parking, and other components of public rights-of-way; Whereas the Board’s aim in developing these guidelines is to ensure that access for persons with disabilities is provided wherever a pedestrian way is newly built or altered, and that the same degree of convenience, connection, and safety afforded the public generally is available to pedestrians with disabilities; Whereas once these guidelines are adopted by the Department of Justice, they will become enforceable standards under title II of the ADA; and Whereas the United States was founded on principles of equality and freedom, and these principles require that all people, including people with disabilities, are able to engage as equal members of society: Now, therefore, be it