The Honorable Dennis DeConcini

4/9/2015

Senator Dennis DeConcini

DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy, P.C.

Suite 200

2525 East Broadway Blvd.

Tucson, AZ 85716-5300

Dear Senator DeConcini,

My name is Matthew Winick and I recently read your book “Senator Dennis DeConcini: From The Center of The Aisle”. The book was great and I enjoy reading it. As a person with an interest in history with learning about government your book helped me understand what a U.S. Senator can do in Congress with a moderate view. Senator DeConcini, I was amazed by your work on helping support President Jimmy Carter on to get the Senate to pass the Panama Canal Treaty to help improve relations between the U.S. and Panama, helping Sandra Day O’Connor get nominated for the Supreme Court, your work to help American Natives with their property, and helping President Bill Clinton pass his 1993 budget bill. Your book really helped me understand your courage to break from ideology and to find ways to work with other different political party. Also in your book I really enjoy learning about your early life, your career as an attorney before becoming a U.S. Senator of Arizona, and your work in the Senate.

Senator DeConcini, I did some more research after reading your book.  On the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 I was very proud of you for joining U.S. Senators from both political parties like Ted Kennedy, Richard Lugar, Alan K. Simpson, George Mitchell, Tom Harkin, Bob Dole, and John Chaffee to supporting the legislation because The ADA helped benefit me. I have Autism with a learning disability. Having a disability is hard for me because I have trouble speaking when I am communicating with other people and I struggle to comprehend learning new subjects at a regular pace.  The Americans With Disability Act of 1990   really made a difference for me because it expanded Civil Rights to help protect me from being discriminated in public, education, jobs, and many others and it helped me get an education from elementary school through community college. In Education the ADA helped set up accommodations like extra time on exams with taking exams in a different area to reduce distractions, have T.A. with tutor to work with me on learning on subjects with improving on comprehension, use technology including a recorder to assist me on improving note-taking when listening to lectures, and special education programs with learning support services helped assist me by setting up accommodations with setting up which classes to take.  In 2014 I was able to get my Associates Degrees in Liberal Arts at Washtenaw Community College with the help from the ADA.  In Liberal Arts my main focus is history, government, business, science, and the criminal justice. I plan on using what I learn from these subjects is to continue exploring with studying history to understand the to advance on Civil Rights to protect people who are different from discrimination, the need to protect the environment from pollution by having environmental protection with implementing renewable energy, need for peace negotiations with human rights to reduce tensions between different countries, a strong need for checks and balances to reduce crime while protecting people’s civil liberties, and many others. Also for the future I want to use history as a tool to teach people or work in a museum about the need to improve society and help create good ideas to help solve problems that we face.

Your book is a great example of what it is like to be a U.S. Senator, the need to find ways to work with another U.S. President, and how it is important to find ways to solve different issues by working with another party.  Senator DeConcini, your work on supporting the ADA really inspires me to continue on learning new subjects and the ADA helped benefit me for education, Civil Rights, and the future.  Your work really makes a great difference and thanks again for supporting the Americans With Disabilities Act. Thanks for taking the time to read my letter and making a great difference for me. I want to wish you well at DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy, P.C. to continue making a difference for society.

Sincerely,

Matthew B. Winick