Whereas September 26, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq. ); Whereas, with the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq. ), the discrimination faced by individuals with disabilities was recognized as systemic, rather than as an experience of the individual; Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq. ) was modeled on anti-discrimination laws on the basis of race and sex; Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq. ) recognized individuals with disabilities as a class of people subject to discrimination based on the identity individuals with disabilities share; Whereas Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to enact legislation to address the civil rights of individuals with disabilities; Whereas Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq. ), which President Richard Nixon signed into law on September 26, 1973; Whereas, in enacting the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq. ), Congress, for the first time, addressed the civil rights of individuals with disabilities; Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq. ) expanded employment opportunities and further advanced independent living for individuals with disabilities through improvements to vocational rehabilitation services; Whereas section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 791 )— (1) prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in Federal employment and has resulted in the Federal Government benefitting from the efforts of the nearly 10 percent of the Federal workforce who have disabilities; and (2) requires Federal agencies to establish an affirmative action program for the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities