504 Democratic Club: Questionnaires (Candidate for Congress Jessica Flagg's response)

Candidate Name: Jessica Flagg

Campaign Manager: Jessica Flagg

Phone: 718-549-4422

Fax: 718-549-2743

Campaign Name: Jessica Flagg for Congress

Campaign Address: 2727 Palisade Ave., Bronx, N.Y. 10463

Contact Person: Jessica Flagg

Phone: 718-549-4422

Fax: 718-549-2743

Email: jessflagg@aol.com

Website: jessicaflaggforcongress.com

Congressional District #: NY 17

Please describe any experience with disability you have had in your life or career.

My father has Parkinson's Disease. My mother was a registered nurse and had me volunteer working with brain damaged infants and teaching the blind, starting when I was in the 9th grade. I have experienced personal disability as a result of various injuries, and have limited range of motion in my left leg and my neck.
Is your campaign headquarters accessible to persons with disabilities? If you are an incumbent, is your district office accessible to persons with disabilities?

Yes. My office is wheelchair accessible.
1. How will you incorporate people with disabilities into your campaign?
  
  Several of my volunteers are disabled and yet they are among the most active contributors. I have no paid staff.
2. Are you willing to hire and use flex-time and job-sharing if necessary?
  
  Yes.
What do you think of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act? What will you do to find a solution to the problem of high rates of unemployment for people with disabilities and the removal of disincentives to joining the workforce?

The Act of the surface seems laudable but from your questionnaire of 2004, I understand it has not been implemented well. Information about the Act was limited to the sites that were busy "selling" it, so it is difficult to assess it actual merits.

Unemployment is a problem across all sectors as well as being a problem for the disabled. It is imperative that we provide incentives to business as well as to government agencies for programs that will give employment opportunities to the disabled. Self-reliance only goes so far in a system rigged for the wealthy.

As for removal of "disincentives", if by that you mean assistance and support programs meant to protect the disabled, I would not be for dismantling them. While I agree that there are all kinds of benefits to be derived from employment, I also know that not everyone can be self sufficient.
In 2002, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) passed in Congress. What would you do to resolve problem areas preventing smooth transitions to new voting systems by 2006-such as accessible voting machines, ensuring that states receive the needed funds, etc.? What is your position the HAVA's requirement that by 2006 each polling place have at least one accessible voting machine?

HAVA is a bad act written by Diebold lobbyists. It has many short comings and in particular does not ensure vote count integrity. It has led to the widespred use of touch screen voting machines which are easily hacked, privately controlled and owned by companies with sworn allegiance to the Republican Party, and are completely unreliable.

Max Cleeland lost his seat in the Senate in 2002 when Georgia went to touch screens, this inspite of his having a lead in the polls of 14%. See my website for more details.

I understand how essential it is that our voting systems be accessable for independent use for the disabled, but I must take the position that we mandate open code, double paper trails, restore the use of exit polls, mandate audits for at least 50% of all machines (comparing the paper trail with the machine count) and in every instance where there is more than a one point difference in the exit polls. Until then, I will fight like a tiger to protect voting integrity... even if it means a delay in voting accessability. NO MORE STOLEN ELECTIONS! My position for New York under the current law, is to use paper ballots and hand count. I am absolutly OPPOSED to the purchase of any of the current touch screen machines under the current law.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act turned 29 this past year, yet funding remains below mandated levels in New York State, as in many other states. What will you do to correct this problem, and strengthen the services provided students with disabilities, so that in fact, "no child is left behind?"

It is a national disgrace that we have not honored our funding commitments in many of the programs that have been passed into Law. Funding would be available for this and many of the other programs if we rolled back the tax cuts for the wealthy, and trimmed the Pentagon budget by 15% (that will free up over $60 billion alone). The Pentagon wastes so much money each year (I believe we're up to not being able to account for $3 trillion so far), that I am certain we can 'find' wasted tax dollars there with out jeopardizing our security.

I will be a co-sponsor of the Common Sense Budget Act introduced by Lynne Woolsey in 2006. For more information please see my website.
A bill called the ADA Notification Act has been kicking around both houses of the U.S. Congress for the past few years. It calls for amending Title III of the ADA requiring that prior to filing lawsuits, people with disabilities provide business owners with 90 days advance notice of ADA violations in writing--detailing the location of inaccessible facilities, dates when access was attempted, and facts relating to their attempt to gain access. What are your thoughts on this issue?

As far as I know there is a requirement that businesses are supposed to already provide access. Requiring a disabled person to serve notice is one more obstacle.
Recently, there is uneven availability of Medicaid-funded attendant services in the U.S. There are "good" states (such as New York) which offer decent programs, and "bad" states (such as Florida) which offer little service. The proposed Medicaid Community Attendant Services & Supports Act (MiCASSA) would establish a national program of attendant services and supports. This means that current recipients of services will not unjustly have their hours cut, thus permitting the freedom to move to another state to live, work, and/or study. A companion piece of legislation, Money Follows the Individual, would end the bias toward institutional care by ensuring that funding for services continues when an individual leaves the nursing home and is reintegrated into the community. Do you support the passage of MiCASSA?

Yes.

Do you support the concept of Money Follows the Individual?

Yes.
Most health insurance plans in America treat mental disorders in an unequal fashion when compared to physical disorders. The typical health insurance plan in America authorizes unlimited hospitalization for physical disorders while limiting hospitalization for mental disorders to 30 days per calendar year. The typical insurance plan in America authorizes a broad array of outpatient services for physical insurance, but limits outpatient mental health services to 20 visits each year. What would you do to remedy this problem?

I WILL BE A PROUD SPONSOR OF HR 676, THE EXPANDED MEDICARE FOR ALL BILL, which includes full coverage for all conditions from cradle to grave. It includes mental health, dental, preventive care and wellness care.

Healthcare is a right not a privalege. We should be the best cared for people in the world since we live in the wealthiest nation in the world.
Do you favor removing the Federal Government's restrictions and substantially increasing funding on stem cell research?

Yes.
Persons with disabilities have historically been under-represented within the Democratic Party leadership. According to the 2000 census, persons with disabilities comprised 20.6% of all residents in New York State and 23.1% of population 18 years and older. Previously, we were told that only those groups included in the Voting Rights Act were included in the goals and timetables for delegate selection. Yet the lesbian and gay communities were included for the first time at the 2000 convention and again at the 2004 convention. Would you support a campaign to set a goal that 10% of the total New York State Delegation to the 2008 Democratic National Convention be comprised of persons with disabilities?

Yes. I didn't realize that such a large percentage of our population are persons with disabilities. As such it is only right that we have adequate representation so that the platform is sensitive to these issues.

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