Quotes

The Cry Wolf Quote Bank chronicles the false predictions and hyperbole by opponents of these laws and protections.  While the issues and specific policies change over time, the rhetoric and themes remained the same.  You can search the Quote Bank for what opponents said to prevent these laws from passing. Using the drop down menus on the right their statements by issue, by specific law, by who said it and by the core themes they evoke.   Elsewhere on the site, you can find articles, studies, and other material that debunks their claims. 

E.g., 2024-07-12
E.g., 2024-07-12

Since access would now be a civil right, moreover, the cost would not be relevant--even if that means eliminating bus service or closing down businesses that cannot afford either compliance or the legal expenses of defending themselves in court. In addition, the bill would also, for the first time, grant homosexuals the right to sue over discrimination.

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National Review.
06/11/1990 | Full Details

The ADA also mandates job accommodation financed by employers. Employers will be forced to restructure existing facilities, restructure jobs, hire readers, signers, and assistants in order to accommodate over 900 physical and mental impairments. This converts a civil rights measure into a mandated benefits program for the disabled. It is time we ask ourselves what `reasonable accommodation' means for American businesses. The real cost to the nation would be higher costs of production, fewer jobs, lower real wage rates, lower levels of output and income, and a weaker competitive position for the U.S. business in the world market place.

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Ron Marlenee (R-MT) speaking to the House of Representatives. The Americans With Disabilities Act.
05/24/1990 | Full Details

The House of Representatives has “chosen to put the unreasonable damage awards and attorney’s fees above the needs of employers and employees.”

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Nancy R. Fulco, a lawyer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The New York Times.
05/23/1990 | Full Details

We don’t want a lot of innocent small-business people who are trying to do the right thing to be hauled into court.

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David Rahr, chief House lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Business. The New York Times.
05/17/1990 | Full Details

It's just a bad piece of legislation…This continuous tendency to try to mandate benefit policy creates a bad business environment for Tennessee and the U.S. as a whole…[benefits] should be left up to the employers and employees to determine.

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Steve Norris, spokesman for the Tennessee Business Roundtable, Memphis Business Journal.
05/14/1990 | Full Details

[Further decreasing auto emissions] is not feasible or necessary and that congressional dictates to do so would be financially ruinous.

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Anonymous auto industry executves. BLIND SPOT: THE BIG THREE’S ATTACK ON THE GLOBAL WARMING TREATY, The Environmental Working Group
03/26/1990 | Full Details

We have some real qualms with the benefits of mandatory labeling for produce….[while] smart consumers will recognize the benefits…it's staggering what people don't know.

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John McClung, vice president of public affairs for the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association. The Washington Post
03/14/1990 | Full Details

The heavy hand of government in the activities of Americans When we have a lot of people in Eastern Europe trying to throw off the yoke of central government, now might be the time to ask Americans 'How much government do you want?'

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George Bush Sr.’s Agriculture Secretary Clayton Yeutter. The New York Times
03/14/1990 | Full Details

In January 1990, the DuPont Company testified that accelerating the phase-out of ozone-depleting CFCs to July 1, 1996, would cause ‘severe economic and social disruption.’

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The DuPont Chemical Company, Testimony, House Committee on Energy and Commerce. January 1990.
01/01/1990 | Full Details

[We are] certain [that] the large installed inventory which we depend upon in this country cannot survive. … We will see shutdowns of refrigeration equipment in supermarkets. … We will see shutdowns of chiller machines, which cool our large office buildings, our hotels, and hospitals.

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The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute, House Committee on Energy and Commerce. January, 1990.
01/01/1990 | Full Details

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