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From: Virtual Majordomo Account [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Justice For All Moderator
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 1999 10:01 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: President Clinton Support for Jobs, Health Care . . . WIIA.
Justice For All
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President Clinton Support for Jobs, Health Care...WIAA
"CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION TAKES NEW STEPS TO
INCREASE THE EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
October 16, 1999
In his Saturday radio address, President Clinton will take action to
increase employment of people with disabilities, issuing a landmark plan to
make the Federal government a model employer. This action will enable the
federal government to benefit from a broader pool of job applicants and
help sustain the nation's record economic growth by bringing more people
with disabilities into the work force. The President will also call upon
Congress to pass the bipartisan Work Incentives Improvement Act to help
people with disabilities who wish to join the workforce overcome one of
their most significant barriers - the fear of losing health care coverage.
Today, the President will:
DIRECT FEDERAL AGENCIES TO IMPLEMENT PLAN FOR HIRING PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES. Since the beginning of the Clinton-Gore Administration, the
American economy has added more than 19 million new jobs, and unemployment
is at a 29-year low. Yet over 75 percent of individuals with severe
disabilities are unemployed. Last year, Vice President Gore asked the
Office of Personnel Management to develop a model plan to bring more adults
with disabilities into the Federal workforce.
Today, the President will release that action plan and direct the Federal
government to implement it immediately. The plan, Accessing Opportunity:
The Plan for Employment of People with Disabilities in the Federal
Government, along with a companion Employment Guide, provides detailed
resources for federal employees as they recruit, hire, train and promote
people with disabilities. Under this plan, the Federal government -- the
nation's largest employer with almost 1.8 million workers -- will do more
to:
* Recruit people with disabilities for positions at all levels of
government;
* Provide opportunities for students with disabilities;
* Ensure career opportunities for people with disabilities;
* Collect and maintain data to monitor success of people with
disabilities in the federal workforce; and
* Provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with
disabilities.
CHALLENGE THE CONGRESS TO PASS THE BIPARTISAN WORK INCENTIVES IMPROVEMENT
ACT. Under current law, people with disabilities often become ineligible
for Medicaid or Medicare if they work, forcing many to choose between
health care and employment. The bipartisan Work Incentives Improvement Act
helps address this problem by giving workers with disabilities more
options. President Clinton today will call on the House, which is
scheduled to vote on this legislation next week, to finish the job so that
people with disabilities who want to work do not have to wait another day.
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee passed its version of this
legislation. While an improvement over the version passed by the House
last year, it still does not guarantee funding for vital health care and
employment incentives. In particular, it does not include: (1) mandatory
funding for infrastructure grants which provide an incentive for states to
adopt the Medicaid buy-in portion of the legislation; (2) a mandatory
demonstration that allows people who are not yet too disabled to work to
buy into Medicaid; and (3) a guarantee of Medicare coverage for eligible
individuals returning to work. In contrast, the bill that has passed the
Senate 99-0, as well as the bill voted unanimously out of the House
Commerce Committee, provide mandatory funding of the grant and
demonstration provisions within this legislation. Under the leadership of
Senators Jeffords, Kennedy, Roth and Moynihan, and Representatives Bliley,
Dingell, Lazio and Waxman, this version of the bill has received broad
bipartisan support.
CALL ON CONGRESS TO PASS RESPONSIBLE, LONG OVERDUE HEALTH AND BUDGET
LEGISLATION THIS YEAR. The President today will also reiterate the call he
made in his press conference Thursday to pass a strong, enforceable
Patients' Bill of Rights and enact a responsible budget that strengthens
Social Security, strengthens and modernizes Medicare, and pays down the
debt by 2015, keeping interest rates low and the economy growing.
THE CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION'S LONGSTANDING COMMITMENT TO INCREASE
OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. Today's action is the latest of
many executive actions taken by the President and Vice President to
increase the employment of people with disabilities, including: issuing an
executive order in June expanding hiring opportunities for people with
psychiatric disabilities; putting in place new regulations in February to
make work pay for people with disabilities receiving Social Security
Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), by
allowing them to earn more and still receive critical cash and medical
benefits; creating a task force last year to create coordinated national
policy to increase employment of people with disabilities in all sectors of
the economy; and including in his budget a historic $2 billion initiative
to provide a $1,000 tax credit for work-related expenses for people with
disabilities, invest in technology to help more people with disabilities
work, and provide better health care and employment options for people who
work by fully funding the Work Incentives Improvement Act."
--
Fred Fay
Chair, Justice For All
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http://www.jfanow.org
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