Congressional Democrats are pushing for federal policies that would require gyms and fitness centers in the US to be accessible to Americans with disabilities.
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., introduced a bill “to promote the provision of exercise machines and equipment, and exercise and fitness classes and lessons, that are accessible to individuals with disabilities” earlier this week , the Congressional Record shows.
It appears to be a companion bill to the Exercise and Fitness for All Act introduced in the upper chamber by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., earlier this year.
The legislation would direct the US Accessibility Board, a federal agency that regulates access for people with disabilities, to create new rules for fitness facilities across the country.
It would mandate “that the exercise or fitness instruction provided by the exercise or fitness service provider be accessible to individuals with disabilities” and that at least one employee trained to work with individuals with disabilities be on schedule during all working hours.
If implemented, it would be a significant step forward for accessibility advocates in the US and a significant change for hundreds of potential US businesses.
Duckworth told Forbes in July of this year that part of her inspiration for the bill came from her struggles to find adequate gym equipment. Duckworth, a retired lieutenant colonel, lost both her legs when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the helicopter she was co-piloting in Iraq in 2004.
She and DeSaulnier were both part of an earlier push in the 117th Congress to introduce the bill, along with the late Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska.
“[F]”Many Americans are still excluded from basic access to exercise equipment and fitness classes due to outdated equipment and services that are inaccessible to individuals with disabilities,” DeSaulnier said in a statement at the time.
“It is unacceptable that these barriers still exist that make it more difficult for individuals with disabilities to get the exercise they need to live a healthy life.”
His reintroduction of the bill on Tuesday appears to be largely symbolic, given that there are no more legislative days on the calendar of the 118th Congress.
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