by Edward L. Hudgins

About the author: Edward L. Hudgins is the director of regulatory studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian public policy research organization. He is also the senior editor of Regulation, a quarterly periodical published by the institute.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26, 1990, passed the U.S. Senate with only six nay votes and the House of Representatives with only 28. The bill had the strong support of President George Bush....

The ADA was inspired in part by a desire to protect disabled Americans from hiring discrimination the same way civil rights legislation purports to protect racial and ethnic minorities. In fact, the ADA is one of the worst cases of the Bush-era reregulation of the economy. It runs contrary to... sound policy principles because...