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<PRE>[DOCID: f:hc150rfs.txt]
107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 150


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 7, 2001

Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress that Erik Weihenmayer's achievement of 
becoming the first blind person to climb Mount Everest demonstrates the 
abilities and potential of all blind people and other individuals with 
                             disabilities.

Whereas misconceptions and negative stereotypes about blindness and other 
        disabilities significantly contribute to the challenges that individuals 
        with blindness or other disabilities encounter;
Whereas in order to help promote a positive public perception of blindness, the 
        National Federation of the Blind


sponsored the quest of Erik Weihenmayer to become the first blind person to 
climb Mount Everest;

Whereas on May 23, 2001, Erik Weihenmayer, as part of a climbing team, 
        successfully climbed to the summit of Mount Everest, which, at a height 
        of 29,035 feet above sea level, is the highest summit in the world;
Whereas Erik Weihenmayer has climbed to the summit of Ama Dablam, Mount 
        McKinley, El Capitan, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Vinson Massif, and Polar 
        Circus, which is a 3,000 foot ice waterfall in Alberta, Canada;
Whereas despite his blindness, Erik Weihenmayer is a speaker, writer, acrobatic 
        skydiver and scuba diver, long-distance cyclist, marathon runner, skier, 
        mountaineer, and ice and rock climber;
Whereas Erik Weihenmayer's many accomplishments have earned him the Health and 
        Fitness Association Award, the Glaucoma Foundation's Lifetime 
        Achievement Award, Connecticut's Most Courageous Athlete Award, ESPN's 
        ARETE Award for courage in sports, the Distinguished Arizonan Award, the 
        Gene Autry Award, induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, 
        and the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch through Phoenix, Arizona; 
        and
Whereas Erik Weihenmayer's achievements demonstrate that blind people and other 
        individuals with disabilities can accomplish extraordinary goals if they 
        are provided with the proper training and opportunities: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) Erik Weihenmayer's achievement of becoming the first 
        blind person to climb Mount Everest demonstrates the abilities 
        and potential of all blind people and other individuals with 
        disabilities; and
            (2) individuals with blindness or other disabilities can 
        overcome almost any obstacle if they are provided with the 
        appropriate resources.

            Passed the House of Representatives June 6, 2001.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.

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