BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS AND CREATING
EQUALITY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
Benefiting the Obama Victory Fund

Please join Americans with Disabilities, Families, Friends and Advocates

October 23, 2008
6:00 – 8:00 PM
FoxKiser
750 17th Street NW
Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006

Host Committee
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer
U.S. Congressman Edward J. Markey
U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison

Polly Arango, Mazen Basrawi, Edward C. Bell, Peter Blanck, Catherine Brack, Marca Bristo, Catherine Campisi, Henry Claypool, Rebecca Cokley, Daniel Davis, Gerben & Janice DeJong, Fred Fay, David Ferleger, Daniel Fisher, James Gashel, Rebecca Hare, Allen C. Harris, Bonnie O'Day and Robert Hartt, Eve Hill, Marissa Johnson, June Isaacson Kailes, Janine Bertram Kemp, K. Charlie Lakin, Edward and Patricia Leahy, Paul Longmore, Bryon MacDonald, Kathy Martinez, Susan and Jamal Mazrui, Tom Nerney, Becky Ogle, Thomas Panek, Jorge Pineda, Jim Reed, Curtis Richards, Jeffrey Rosen, Marcie Roth, Katherine Seelman, Fred Schroeder, Natalie Shear, Karen Peltz Strauss, Sue Swenson, Marvin Wasserman, John Wyant, and Jonathan Young and Nellie Wild

Program

Congressman James R. Langevin

First Lady Anne Holton (Host Committee Member)

Michael Strautmanis, Senior Advisor,
former Chief Counsel to Sen. Obama

Support the Event
Host Committee: $1,000 and up
Sponsor: $250
Patron: $100 minimum to attend the event
Supporter: $25

All contributions can be made at: https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/OVFMidAtlantic?custom1=Breaking+Down+Barriers

Even if you CANNOT ATTEND, please still make your VOICES HEARD ON BEHALF OF THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY by contributing at:
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/OVFMidAtlantic?custom1=Breaking+Down+Barriers

Please note that the amounts on the website pages are preset buttons that cannot be changed, so you should simply choose the "Other" option and insert the amount you wish to contribute.

RSVP to attend the event to: camilleforobama@gmail.com or (773) 718-2632

Read more of this post |  0 comments  | links to this post  
 
 

You used to have to go back door through the press releases to get to it, I don't know if there is a front door link to it. But here it is, it is mostly workplace initiatives.

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/ada/

From Mary L. McGeeChair, Disability Caucus, State Central Committee, Iowa Democratic Party

Hillary does have a plan for PWDs. Pester your campaign manager for your state and make the campaign produce it. I did in Iowa. I have some info. If anyone wants it, let me know on this list and I'll see what I can do. As far as past achievements are concerned, note that, as a young attorney, Hillary went door to door and found numerous children with disabilities who were missing out on an education because schools wouldn't accommodate them and this experience led to the ultimate passage of IDEA. No other candidate can claim to have accomplished anything remotely close to that regarding PWDs. I'm a precinct captain for her in Iowa and we're down to three days now till our caucuses! Tonight I'm attending the Bill and Hillary New Year's celebration for change. So, those of you in the rest of the U.S., get out there and campaign for Hillary!

You can comment on this entry by posting a response at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/504Dems/message/6907

Read more of this post |  0 comments  | links to this post  
 
 

Disabled Voter's Committee
of the Iowa Democratic Party's
Disabilities Caucus

November 15, 2007

Purpose: The following collection of candidates' statements is hereby provided so that Iowa voters who have disabilities can use the information in making their choice of the next President of the United States.

Note: Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel and Congressman Dennis Kucinich do not have Iowa campaign offices. Senator Barack Obama is the only candidate who specifically addressed the issues listed on the Iowa Democratic Party Disability Caucus Issues List. Senators Biden, Clinton, Dodd, and Edwards and Governor Richardson answered a questionnaire from the A.A.P.D.; all information relating to issues is from that document and the candidates' websites and other published materials. The materials were all used with permission of the candidates' campaigns.

Issues: These are the issues that the Disability Caucus of the Iowa Democratic Party Disabled Voters' Committee chose as the most important because of their significant impact on the live of people who have disabilities. The Committee asked all the Presidential candidates for their positions on these issues.

1. Do you have a comprehensive, universal healthcare plan?

Sen. Joseph Biden supports universal health care to ensure that all Americans, including those with disabilities, have access to affordable, quality health care. He thinks we will get to universal health care by: (1) focusing on reducing the cost of health care; (2) covering all kids; (3) giving everyone access to, at a minimum, the same health care plans that members of Congress have; and (4) lowering the cost of providing health insurance for employers and providing catastrophic coverage.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has a plan that stresses simplicity, cost control, and consumer choice. It is the American Health Choices Plan, which greatly improves care for Americans with disabilities by guaranteeing them coverage. People with disabilities will have more health insurance options under this plan because they will be able to choose from an array of private health insurance plans that offer benefits like those offered to Members of Congress, as well as a public program similar to Medicare. Insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage or charging higher premiums for individuals with pre-existing conditions and they will be prohibited from charging significantly higher premiums based on medical condition, age, gender, or occupation. The American Health Choices Plan preserves and expands existing critical support programs that fill gaps in private insurance. It will also provide tax credits to assure that no American's health insurance premium exceeds a certain percentage of income and the Best Practices Institute will fund medical research and disseminate this information to health care professionals and patients. The American Health Choices Plan requires coverage of important prevention service to diagnose and treat illnesses before they become serious and require expensive intervention because it involves the use of privacy-protected information technology and the empowerment of physicians to be a part of the quality development process. In addition, since persons with disabilities who have chronic health conditions may often need coordinated care services, the Clinton plan revises reimbursement to health care providers to provide incentives for the development of innovative models of care including "medical homes" and chronic care management.

Sen. Chris Dodd would ensure that all Americans will have quality, affordable health coverage. He will create a health insurance marketplace called Universal HealthMart that is based on, and parallel to, the Federal Employees' Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP). The Dodd plan would include business and individual contributions based on the ability to pay. It will have premiums that are affordable based on leveraged negotiating power, spreading risk, reduced administrative costs, and incentives for technology and prevention care. It will also have portable coverage; insurance purchased at Universal HealthMart will follow individuals.

Sen. John Edwards understands that health case is of special concern to people with disabilities. His plan guarantees universal coverage for everyone in America. Under his plan, families without insurance will receive coverage at an affordable price and families that have insurance will pay less and get more security and choices. Managed care should be a choice for people with disabilities and they need access to specialists that is now artificially limited by narrow definitions of medical necessity.

Mike Gravel proposes a universal healthcare voucher program in which the federal government would issue annual healthcare vouchers to Americans based on their projected needs. All Americans would be fully covered and would be free to use their vouchers to choose their own healthcare professional. No one would ever be denied health insurance because of their health, wealth, or any other reason.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich would streamline national health insurance to create "Enhanced Medicare for Everyone". It would be publicly financed health care, privately delivered, and would put patients and doctors back in control of the system. Coverage would be more complete than private insurance plans, encourage prevention, and include prescription drugs, dental care, mental health care, and alternative and complementary medicine.

Sen. Barack Obama is committed to ensuring that all Americans have health care coverage by the end of his first term in office. He recognizes that people with disabilities experience difficulties gaining access to quality health care. As president, Sen. Obama will require all health care providers to collect, analyze, and report data on the quality of health care given to vulnerable populations, including those with disabilities. This will improve care and health outcomes. His plan will also help people with disabilities by emphasizing care coordination and integration, which can dramatically improve care for patients with multiple conditions and doctors. Sen. Obama also supports additional training of health care workers so that they are better able to address the needs of the disabled populations.

Gov. Bill Richardson's plan for universal coverage would ensure that Americans with or without disabilities would have access to affordable, guaranteed coverage.

2. What is your plan for total consumer control of prescription drug programs?

Sen. Joseph Biden will work to expand access to Medicare Part D for people with disabilities. He supports allowing the Federal Government to directly negotiate for better drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies which would lower the cost to consumers. He will also close the "doughnut hole" gap in coverage that occurs once someone hits $2,250 in coverage.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has been actively involved with ensuring fair and equal access to Medicare Part D prescription drugs. She introduced legislation in the Senate to help the most vulnerable seniors and disabled Americans transition to new Medicare plans. As president, she will continue to fight for fair access to Medicare Part D prescriptions and to ensure that policies do not undermine continuity of care for any population served. Sen. Clinton also believes that we need to have a better understanding of the best pharmaceutical treatment options for all patients. Thus, she proposes establishing an independent public-private Best Practices Institute, which would be a partnership between the public and private sector that would let doctors, nurses, and other health professionals know what drugs, devices, surgeries, and treatments work best.

Sen. Chris Dodd will assure that people with disabilities have fair access to Medicare Part D by requiring Medicare to negotiate drug prices and immediately eliminating the so-called "doughnut hole" in Medicare Part D drug plans.

Sen. John Edwards believes that the federal government must ensure that Medicare Part D participants are able to access the prescription drugs they need to maintain their health and independence. As president, he will rewrite the drug bill to put patients and people above drug companies and HMO's, empower the government to negotiate better drug prices, and allow the safe reimprtation of drugs from other countries.

Sen. Barack Obama worked with Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) to urge the Department of Health and Human Services to provide clear and reliable information on the Medicare prescription drug benefit and to ensure that the Medicare recipients were protected from fraudulent claims by marketers and drug plan agents.

Gov. Bill Richardson will establish programs in each state to ensure that people with disabilities are made aware of all options available to them under Medicare Part D.

3. How will you adequately fund Medicaid waivers and other programs that facilitate independent living?

Sen. Joseph Biden was an original cosponsor of the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA), which would provide a variety of personal assistance services under the Medicaid program to enable disabled individuals to live at home rather than in institutions. He cosponsored the Family Opportunity Act to allow low-income families with disabled children to buy into the Medicaid program. He cosponsored the Lifespan Respite Care Act, which would facilitate the provision of temporary rest breaks (respite care) for caregivers who take care of a chronically ill or disabled individual. Sen. Biden sponsored legislation to protect children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities by providing non-profit groups that work with or care for such individuals with easy access to thorough, efficient criminal background checks through a national center on volunteer and provider screening.

Sen. Hillary Clinton understands that people with disabilities need assurance that individuals who provide direct-care services in home- and community-based settings are in sufficient supply and are well-trained. Therefore, addressing the shortage of health-care professionals and increasing choice of providers is critical to improving access to care for community-based services. The American Health Choices Plan addresses this issue by providing funding to schools of nursing to recruit and train faculty. Sen. Clinton believes that the Medicare homebound rule has been enforced in a far too restrictive manner and, as President, she will embrace a fair modification of Medicare rules so that Americans with disabilities are able to live their lives fully, without fear of losing their Medicare benefits. Sen. Clinton co-sponsored the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act, which provides individuals with disabilities and older Americans with equal access to community-based attendant services and supports. She believes the Olmstead opinion was a tremendously important moment in the disability movement and will support efforts to help states comply with it.

Sen. Chris Dodd will support creation of additional community-based options for individuals with disabilities because he understands their right to live their lives to the fullest in whatever setting they choose. In a Dodd Administration, Medicaid policy will not be stacked against community living. Sen. Dodd's Living with Dignity Initiative includes specific steps to attract, support, and retain home health aides and attendants; he will provide resources to improve wages, training, and working conditions for aides and will also establish strong workplace safety regulations such as ergonomics regulations.

Sen. John Edwards supports providing choices for people with disabilities to live in the community and will support legislation that strengthens freedom of choice. He has proposed a Living with Dignity Initiative that will fund state efforts to expand home care and reform the long-term care, including tax credits for long-term care, asset and income protection programs that prevent families from spending above their incomes, and experiments with long-term care insurance. He will also support the recruitment and retention of home care workers through better wages, training, and working conditions. His plan guarantees quality, affordable health care for American; it will strengthen Medicaid support for long-term care and emphasize home and community-based care to allow caregivers to keep their family members nearby.

Sen. Edwards believes that people with disabilities should be able to fully enjoy the benefits of living in a home of their choosing and in a community of their choosing. His Living with Dignity Initiative includes specific steps to attract, support, and retain home health aides and attendants.

Sen. Barack Obama believes that individuals who want to remain in the community and can safely do so should be provided the necessary assistance and supports. Therefore, he would increase funding for both HCBS and Independent Living Programs and prioritize efforts to streamline application and administrative requirements for states which choose to implement or expand these initiatives.

Gov. Bill Richardson supports providing choices for people with disabilities to live in the community. He would increase the wages of care attendants.

4. How would you create a standardization of government entitlement programs, e.g., housing, medical care, and income supplementation?

Sen. Barack Obama would standardize and coordinate government entitlement programs to make them more user-friendly. He believes that too many Medicare and Medicaid "dual eligibles" are subject to time-consuming
and complicated administrative processes that delay access to care and can result in lower quality care. He supports streamlining the benefits process for individuals with disabilities so that people receive the care they require in a timely manner. Both programs should give individuals with disabilities more information about the care to which they are entitled to receive under both programs so that decisions about care can be made in a unified manner. He also believes that the demonstrations projects that the Community Choices Act of 2007 seeks to create to improve coordination between benefits received by dual Medicare and Medicaid recipients are an important step to undertake in addressing this problem.

5. Do you support an ADA affirmative action provision like the one in the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Sen. Joseph Biden co-sponsored the Americans with Disabilities Act, which extended the civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities. He will ensure that United States Supreme Court and other federal judges follow established precedent and Congressional intent with respect to the ADA and all other civil rights laws, thereby preserving equal rights for people who have disabilities and other minorities. Sen. Biden understands that the greatest barrier to full integration of individuals with Disabilities into mainstream society is not the limitations of their individual disability, but rather, it is the physical and attitudinal barriers imposed by society.

Sen. Hillary Clinton was a co-sponsor of a Senate Resolution that recognized and honored the fifteenth anniversary of the ADA because she is a strong believer in the value of the ADA. As president, she pledges to uphold the values intrinsic in the ADA and she will welcome advocacy groups to meet with her administration and voice their concerns. She will appoint judges who understand and respect the value of civil rights.

Sen. Chris Dodd supports an ADA Restoration Act because of the incremental erosion of the rights guaranteed by the ADA by the courts.

Sen. John Edwards is committed to protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities with full enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. He will ensure that the ADA remains consistent with the original intent of Congress.

Sen. Barack Obama is a former civil rights lawyer. Therefore, he knows firsthand the importance of strong protections for minority communities in our society. He is committed to strengthening and better enforcing the ADA so that future generations of Americans with disabilities have equal rights and opportunities. Sen. Obama believes we must restore the original legislative intent of the ADA in the wake of court decisions that have restricted the interpretation of this landmark legislation. He supports the ADA Restoration Act, a law that would bring us closer to the ADA's ideal of barring discrimination against anyone on the basis of disability.

Gov. Bill Richardson supports an ADA Restoration Act because the ADA has been seriously weakened by Supreme Court decisions.

6. Do you support insurance coverage for mental health treatment that is equal to treatment for physical health treatment, i.e. mental health parity?

Sen. Joseph Biden was a cosponsor of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act and remains committed to the goals of that Act as a cosponsor of the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007.

Sen. Hillary Clinton believes that government must ensure parity in health insurance coverage of mental health benefits. She cosponsored the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, which prohibits employers and health plans from imposing durational treatment limits and financial limitations on coverage for mental illness that do not apply to all other medical conditions.

Sen. Chris Dodd has long supported and will continue to support efforts to ensure mental health parity for all Americans because he believes that it is essential that we require employers and health plans to cover treatment for mental health conditions on the same basis of all other illnesses. A Dodd Administration would not only pass mental health parity legislation, it would strongly enforce it.

Sen. John Edwards believes mental illness and physical illness must get the same insurance coverage. He has long supported mental health parity legislation; he co-sponsored the Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act.

Sen. Barack Obama supports efforts to increase federal support for researching and fighting mental illnesses, as well as legislative efforts to mandate that private insurers cover physical and mental illnesses in a similar manner. He will make combating mental health and substance abuse disorders a higher priority. This is why he supported the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, which requires employers and insurance companies that offer mental health coverage to provide parity between mental health and physical health coverage.

Gov. Bill Richardson supports mental health parity legislation because he believes it is time for us to treat behavioral health issues the same as we treat other medical disorders.

7. How will you reduce the number of individuals with serious mental illnesses who are in the criminal justice system?

Sen. Barack Obama believes that tackling the problem of the high number of mentally ill prisoners will require a concerted effort to reach out to and provide treatment for the mentally ill before some end up in the criminal justice system. He supports efforts to increase federal support for researching and fighting mental illnesses, as well as legislative efforts to mandate private insurers to cover physical and mental illnesses in a similar manner. He will make combating mental health and substance abuse disorders a higher priority. He supported the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007. Sen. Obama will also help state and local governments improve the availability of mental health services, train their law enforcement personnel to recognize the signs of mental illness in offenders, and give prosecutors more tools to deal appropriately with mentally ill offenders. He is a strong supporter of the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004, and, as president, will ensure that it is adequately funded. He also supports improving our background check system to keep guns from ending up in the hands of people who are mentally ill.

8. How do you plan to fully include people who have disabilities in all phases of disaster planning and hazard mitigation?

Sen. Joseph Biden will guarantee that people who have disabilities are fully included by appointing activists with disabilities to the Homeland Security agencies. He will also fully fund Homeland Security.

Sen. Barack Obama passed legislation to require states to properly plan the evacuation of special needs individuals because one of the most devastating aspects of Hurricane Katrina is that most of the stranded victims were society's most vulnerable members—low-income families, the elderly, the homeless, and Americans with disabilities. He knows that too many states and cities do not have adequate plans in place to care for special-needs populations. He believes that the legislation is only the first step in ensuring that the most vulnerable individuals in local and national emergencies are adequately safeguarded.

More Issues: Here are other statements from the Presidential candidates with respect to issues of importance to people who have disabilities.

IDEA

Sen. Joseph Biden has repeatedly voted in favor of the federal government fulfilling its original commitment to pay forty percent of the costs of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Sen. Hillary Clinton has repeatedly called for full funding of IDEA. She also cosponsored the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act, which would significantly improve access to instructional materials for students who are blind or have other print disabilities by creating an efficient system for acquiring and distributing these materials in special formats, including Braille, large print, synthesized speech, digital text, and digital audio. Sen. Clinton also cosponsored the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act, which strengthened IDEA by expanding monitoring and enforcement mechanisms and enabling parents and schools to resolve disputes adequately while also improving access to professional development for all teachers.

Sen. Chris Dodd believes that the time has come to fully fund IDEA and his action will reflect his commitment on this issue. He will take a more aggressive approach to enforcement by instructing the Department of Education to establish clear, objective, and publicly available criteria for applying sanctions, funding and directing an immediate review of compliance across the states, and ensuring that sanctions are then fully applied.

Sen. John Edwards intends to strengthen federal enforcement of IDEA by the Department of Education so children with disabilities receive the free, appropriate education they deserve and to which they are legally entitled. He will appoint strong enforcement officials, nominate fair judges, provide adequate resources, and exercise leadership to make enforcement of IDEA a priority.

Sen. Barack Obama is a strong supporter of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and has supported increases in funding to truly ensure that no child is left behind.

Gov. Bill Richardson would withhold federal funding for school districts that are out of compliance with IDEA.

Transportation

Sen. Joseph Biden would expand access to affordable, accessible transportation for people with disabilities; he has consistently supported expansion of accessible public transportation options.

Sen. Hillary Clinton is very aware that providing meaningful transportation opportunities to people with disabilities is an invaluable first step in empowering individuals to fulfill their potential and live self-sufficiently. She has consistently supported the Community Service Block Grant Program, which traditionally helps fund and support transportation projects (among other projects). She has also tried to secure funding for agencies that provide transportation services to those individuals who have disabilities.

Sen. Chris Dodd includes as part of his energy plan to increase access to affordable and convenient mass transit systems that are fully accessible to people with disabilities across all regions of the country.

Sen. John Edwards understands that accessible transportation is a critical component of increased work opportunities for people with disabilities because for most jobs, you cannot work if you cannot get from your house to the job site. He supports increasing federal funding for nonprofit groups to meet the transportation need of people with disabilities when public mass transit is not available and he intends to increase funding and enforcement of transportation access requirements under federal law. Sen. Edwards believes that, since the federal government has the power through Section 504, it must enforce the law to ensure that efforts like clearing snow and removing standing water are done because these can be very important in ensuring accessibility.

Sen. Barack Obama believes Congress must enact pending transportation reauthorization legislation without further delay and make provisions for accessible options for individuals with disabilities, including highways, mass transit, commuter rail, and air transportation improvements.

Gov. Bill Richardson will work with the disability community and the National Council of Disability to address the transportation shortages and problems throughout the U.S.

Voting

Sen. Joseph Biden supported the Help America Vote Act and will work to ensure its enforcement, including the requirements that enable people to case their ballot privately and that every polling location be accessible for people with disabilities.

Sen. Hillary Clinton authored legislation, the Count Every Vote Act, which requires that at least one voting machine per precinct allows voters who have disabilities and language minority voters to cast a vote in a private and independent manner.

Sen. Chris Dodd, as the primary author of the Help America Vote Act, worked to ensure that new voting protections for persons with disabilities were included in the final legislation. He is cosponsoring new legislation to provide for a voter-verified paper ballot record while preserving full access for persons with disabilities.

Sen. John Edwards will ensure that voters with disabilities are able to vote privately and independently, consistent with the requirements of HAVA. He will help every precinct provide enough trained poll workers and secure voting machines that are physically accessible to all. He believes that voting rights is an example of an area where the disability community provides the best information about which ballot systems work best and his administration will have an ongoing dialogue with the community to ensure meaningful disability voting rights protections.

Sen. Barack Obama believes that Americans with disabilities would be among the most disenfranchised by recent efforts to require mandatory photo identification at polling places because more than three million Americans with disabilities lack a government-issue form of identification. Therefore, he opposed unreasonable voter identification requirements and believes that the constitutional rights of individuals with disabilities should be safeguarded.

Gov. Bill Richardson made each of New Mexico's 1,200 polling sites HAVA compliant.

International Civil Rights

Sen. Joseph Biden supported the United States signing, and then ratifying, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Sen. Hillary Clinton believes the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was undertaken with the same goals that the U.S. had in enacting the ADA, namely, the goals of empowering individuals with disabilities and integrating these individuals into all aspects of society. She will champion these principles as president.

Sen. Chris Dodd supports U.S. ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities because people with disabilities around the world deserve these rights and protections.

Sen. John Edwards supports the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Sen. Barack Obama supports the United States' ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first human rights treaty to be approved by the UN in the 21st Century.

Gov. Bill Richardson supports ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

You can comment on this entry by posting a response at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/504Dems/message/6869

Read more of this post |  0 comments  | links to this post  
 
 

For Immediate Release
July 26, 2007
Contact: Damien LaVera – 202-863-8148

Washington, D.C. – Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today marked the 17th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by calling for the passage of the ADA Restoration Act of 2007. Dean issued the following statement:

"Today marks the 17th anniversary of a truly great day in American history, a day when leaders from both sides of the aisle came together around a commitment to protecting the rights of all Americans. The Americans with Disabilities Act was a milestone in the fight for equal opportunity, full participation in society, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for millions of Americans with disabilities. We are still a long way from making that ideal a reality, but Democrats remain committed to the cause."

"I am proud that strong Democratic leaders like Congressman Steny Hoyer and Senator Tom Harkin have chosen today to commemorate the enactment of the ADA by introducing bipartisan legislation, the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, to restore rights that have been taken away by President Bush's radical court appointees and by the President's reckless budget cuts that gut key programs. Now, with thousands of wounded and disabled veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, a new generation of Americans with disabilities demands a renewed commitment to the ADA. Republicans need to follow the lead of Republicans like Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner and Senator Arlen Specter by supporting the ADA Restoration Act of 2007. Together, we can send a clear message that we will not rest until the original promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act is realized and the fundamental rights of all Americans are protected."

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Read more of this post |  0 comments  | links to this post  
 
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2007

CONTACT:
Colleen Murray
919-636-3203

Chapel Hill, North Carolina — On the eve of the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Senator John Edwards called for Congress to pass new legislation strengthening the ADA. At the same time, Edwards' campaign announced that he had been endorsed by several prominent leaders in the disability rights movement.

"As we prepare to celebrate the 17th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, we must reclaim the ADA. Hostile, conservative judges have put new barriers in front of Americans with disabilities who seeking nothing more than the right to work and live with dignity," said Edwards. "Congress should pass the ADA Restoration Act to ensure that the law remains consistent with Congress' original intent and restore civil rights protections to people with epilepsy, depression, diabetes, cancer and other conditions."

Edwards has long supported initiatives to break down the barriers that separate people from disabilities from opportunity in America, including:

• Enforcing the right of every child to receive a free and appropriate education in schools that are fully accessible.
  
  
• Creating new internship and mentoring programs that break down barriers for young people making the transition from school to work.
  
  
• Providing accessible transportation so people with disabilities have a way to get to work.
  
  
• Making the federal government a model employer to lead the way toward a fully-inclusive American workplace.
  
  
• Securing the rights of people with disabilities to live independently with the services and supports they need, which is essential to guaranteeing equal opportunity.

Edwards is also committed to including closed captions on all campaign television advertisements and is in the process of captioning all videos on JohnEdwards.com. The campaign's Web site is designed to be accessible to all visitors.

"Many people with disabilities live in poverty because they are denied full and equal opportunities in education and employment. Their transportation needs are ignored. They also face discriminatory and dehumanizing inequities in health care," said Laurie McCray, New Hampshire parent advocate. "I am confident that as president, John Edwards will be a strong and compassionate advocate for people with disabilities so they can have successful and meaningful lives."

California Democratic Party Disabilities Caucus Chair August J.P. Longo said, "Senator Edwards never forgetting to include people with disabilities in his speeches and platform tells us that he will not forget us in his Administration."

"During the days when ADA was being considered I wrote to Senators and Representatives regarding this important legislation. Now as we celebrate the anniversary of the ADA I can say that I did that. That is the type of action that John Edwards inspires all of us to take" said Jon Raiss, Michigan Democratic Party Disabilities Caucus Chair.

The leaders in the disability rights movement endorsing Edwards are:

• Jon Raiss, Michigan Democratic Party Disabilities Caucus Chair
• Laurie McCray, New Hampshire Parent Advocate
  
• August J.P. Longo, California Democratic Party Disabilities Caucus Chair and President of FDR Democratic Club
  
• Ed Smith, Former Democratic National Committee Member
• Deb Cotter, National Disability Rights Advocate
• Steve Sfekas, Co-Chair of 2006 Maryland Governor's Transition Group on Disabilities

Read more of this post |  0 comments  | links to this post  
 
 

[Congressman Jim Langevin - R.I.] Well, good afternoon everyone. Senator, it is great to be on the conference call with you today. It is a privilege to participate with you. I also want to thank you all for joining the call today. I know that Hilary is so pleased to have you here, and again it is an honor for me to participate.

I am here today to introduce my friend, Hillary Clinton. I have had the privilege of knowing her for many years now and for those of you who don't know her, I want to say with a strong champion that she is for her family and people with disabilities.

I would like to take [ indiscernible ] to tell you one thing that you may not know about her which is her first job of was work on a project of the Children's Defense Fund in Massachusetts. She works door-to-door to try to understand why the school enrollment figures were so much lower than the [ indiscernible ] figures buried secretly realize the difference was children with disabilities who were sent the message that they could not be educated but to desperately wanted to go to school.

Hillary helped write a report about the issues and took it to Congress which helps create the political momentum to pass the ADA Act back in 1975. She is still advocating on behalf of the children with special needs. She helped write that Act in 2004 and ensured that current resources were dedicated to training and aggressively look for the link between environmental toxins and disabilities and supports the ADA Restoration Act, something that is particularly timely today which will finally eliminate the institutional bias in our Medicaid and Medicare system.

She never stopped fighting for affordable and accessible quality health care for all. So I endorsed Hillary for President for so many reasons, but one of the most personal is my strong belief in her commitment for disability. And I know that as president she will be energetic and trusted advocate for the disability community.

So without any hesitation I am happy to turn things over so that you can get with Hillary personally to expand on the opportunity of people with disabilities. I wanted think all of you for being on the call. I want to thank you for your commitment on behalf of Americans with disabilities. Is a privilege to be working with you and your campaign and an honor for me to support you.

[Senator Clinton] Well, Jim, I appreciate that kind introduction. Your endorsement and support and good counsel means so much to me because the hard work you have done in Rhode Island is a real testament to your phenomenal commitments to your job and how you just have made it very clear that you are a man of great ability, and I am just delighted to have you want this call and by my side in this campaign and I want to thank everyone for joining me. I am looking forward to working with you and wish we had more time to talk today. I hope this is the beginning of a long ongoing dialogue.

Today I am honoring the eve of the 17th anniversary of the ADA Act and unveiling in economic opportunity for people with disabilities.

As the ADA was a landmark piece of legislation that resulted in almost two decades of significant progress, but we all know there is much more work to be done. I am certainly very strongly in favor of renewing my commitment to the ADA. I have been proud to work with Tom Arkin who has been an incredibly strong champion for his entire career as well as others on the ADA Restoration Act. If it is not signed in the next 18 months I look forward to inviting all of you to the White House when I signed that bill into law and I am President is because the ADA is the baseline on which is economic [ indiscernible ]. I want to level the playing field, but I think we have to go even further. It is not only a moral but an economic imperative. Our country will not reach its full potential unless we ensure that people with disabilities have the ability to reach their full potential.

Americans with disabilities have half the employment rate in double the poverty rate of those without disabilities, even if people with disabilities graduated from college to work at only two-thirds the rate of other college graduates. I want a nation where we offer people with disabilities with the investment an opportunity to survive. So at the heart of the proposal I am highlighting today is a simple idea. We should help ensure that people with disabilities should do what price meaning to many of us, namely our work.

At the federal level I have a two-part strategy. Provide assistance and federal benefits. Specifically as President one of my first actions will be to reinstate the Executive Order that my husband signed to hire 1,000 people with disabilities into Federal appointment. President Bush unfortunately abandoned this commitment and I look forward to getting it back on track. I will also double our investment and work enabling technologies by providing more low-interest loans to enable people to purchase them and provide real-time support for employers to help them get the tools that they need to make it possible to bring about the accommodations necessary to enable successful work. I also intend to introduce incentive to work in the program. One of the greatest accomplishments of the administration with respect to people with disabilities was to sign the Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act into law. As a result 31 states have enacted policies to reduce that.

That represents significant progress, but let's be honest. It is only a start. State policies are uneven. In my presidency I want every person in every state to have the same opportunity to work without penalty. As president of the work to reduce premiums under Medicaid plans for individuals with disabilities and eliminate the Medicare eligibility time limit an individual can work and conduct a review of Medicare and Medicaid to determine where disincentives to work still exists and where we can do better.

Finally I want to enact a $1,000 worker disability tax credit to offset and further lower the expense that are keeping people from work. I obviously strongly believe that by working together we can break down the barriers to employment and empower people with disabilities to find fulfilling jobs and careers. And I look forward to working with each and every one of you toward that end.

I am posting a full description of my policies on my website and I hope he will check it out and I hope you will let me know. I wish I had more time with you. I am sorry my schedule is jam packed but I am planning to do this again on another aspect of my disability agenda because this is a part of my conversation with America. And I wanted to be just that, a conversation. I want to hear from you, and I want you to interact with my staff. I want you to be part of my campaign.

One person I would like to recognize for a few words is my friend, Tony Coelho. Tony, would you say a few words for us?

[Tony Coelho] Thank you, Hillary. I appreciate your statement and your announcement, the initiatives that you will put into effect once you are President. But I want to applaud you for all the things that you have done over the years as First Lady and as a Senator, the respect that you have shown and the recognition that you have shown and the inclusion that you have shown has been outstanding and we appreciated very much. Your willingness to include us in your campaign I think this is a signal that something that our community -- not only those who are running for president, but people who will become president. So we appreciate some of your statement today. And I am looking forward soon that first month you are in the White House when you take out your handy-dandy little pen and sign the executive order to start the process of hiring 100,000 people with disabilities in the Federal government. I think that is a signal that employers and everybody would get and it is significant. And we appreciate it very much. The ADA will be -- the ADA Restoration will be introduced in the House tomorrow by Jim Sensenbrenner and hopefully in the Senate soon. Hopefully be will end up with over 100 co-sponsors in the House side and the process will begin and we appreciate very much your support and your willingness to help us move that bill in the Senate and hopefully get it signed in this Congress, but if not then signed when you are President of the United States. So we appreciate your enthusiasm and support for our cause. And I know that another good friend of yours, Andy Imparato, the President of the American Association of People with Disabilities [ indiscernible ] he but like to ask. Andy?

[Andrew Imparato] Thank you and I want to join you in thinking Center client for your leadership both as First Lady . The American Association of People with disabilities has been working hard to have this kind of dialogue around where the country is headed, particularly during this around the ADA anniversary as very appropriate. He said at the beginning you want this to be beginning of a lot of ongoing dialogue. We have over 100 people on the call from the grass roots of the disability community in that want to thank you and your campaign for making it possible for people who are deaf and have hearing loss to be able to follow the call with real-time captioning. And I am wondering if you can tell us what the best way for people who want to be part

[Senator Clinton] Well, Andy, thank you so much for your leadership and I'm delighted that you're on this call and I'm Looking forward to working with you and everyone who has participated today. [Disability Coordinator is Emily Hawkins, ehawkins@hillaryclinton.com; telephone (703) 875-1285]

Katherine Brown is also very happy to speak with any of you about specific policy matters. We are getting geared up and staffed up, so the contact person may change as we go forward but for now, Emily and Katherine are the two people that I hope you will contact and be in touch with. Of course, Congressman, Langevan, Tony, Andy, any of the people on the call, we're all in this together to try and move this agenda forward, so I hope to hear from you. I hope to meet with you, and I look forward to continuing to work with you. I'm Sorry, I'm going to have to sign off right now but I look forward to being in touch with you and again, thank you so much for taking your time, and I hope we're going to be successful in moving these important priorities forward. Thanks so much. Bye-bye.

Thank you.

Read more of this post |  0 comments  | links to this post