David Taggert
Office of the General Counsel
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585
RE: RIN 1903-AA20 Rescinding Regulations Related to Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs or Activities (Section 504)
Dear Mr. Taggert,
New America is an independent, nonprofit policy and research organization, and the B-12 team, as a part of the Education Policy Program, focuses on strengthening and improving education to better ensure all students, from birth to the workforce, have equitable access to high quality learning opportunities.
The following serves as a significant, adverse comment in opposition to the proposed direct final rule “Rescinding New Construction Requirements Related to Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs or Activities,” published in the Federal Register on May 16, 2025, and we urge the Department of Energy to immediately withdraw it. This direct final rule fundamentally undermines our nation’s civil rights laws and has been issued through a process that is inappropriate.
The nation’s civil rights laws have been carefully crafted and refined over decades as a direct result of the needs of vulnerable marginalized communities. They are a guarantee to all people in this country that they can live their lives free from discrimination and with dignity and respect. The proposed direct final rule is a direct departure from that guarantee and will ultimately subject people to harmful and unlawful discrimination by narrowing the scope of civil rights law and enforcement.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a critically important civil rights law for people with disabilities, and any erosion of protections that are outlined in the law will bring exclusion and discrimination to this community. The Department’s direct final rule would allow new building construction and alterations that do not require accessibility for people with disabilities and would rescind the Department’s program rule to eliminate barriers to access in existing facilities and during building updates. We believe that the proposed direct final rule violates both the spirit and letter of the law.
Building accessibility standards are vital for people who use wheelchairs and other physical assistive devices. Without them, people with disabilities are physically excluded from entering spaces that non-disabled people can. Accessibility is often a matter of inches, making the difference between inclusion and exclusion of people with disabilities. Without access standards, we will never reach the fully inclusive society intended by Congress in enacting and reenacting Section 504.
The direct final rule process is reserved for rules and regulations that are noncontroversial and inconsequential. Under no circumstances should the Department be destroying accessibility standards, but the proposed direct rule on this matter is both controversial and consequential.
We thank you for your attention to these matters and look forward to working with the Department to ensure nondiscrimination rules and regulations and civil rights enforcement remain strong.
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