WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to a major civil rights bill, expanding protections for people with disabilities and overturning several recent Supreme Court decisions.
The voice vote in the House, following Senate passage by unanimous consent last week, clears the bill for President Bush.
The White House said Mr. Bush would sign the bill, just as his father signed the original Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990.
The bill expands the definition of disability and makes it easier for workers to prove discrimination. It explicitly rejects the strict standards used by the Supreme Court to determine who is disabled.
The bill declares that the court went wrong by “eliminating protection for many individuals whom Congress intended to protect†under the 1990 law.
