On Tuesday, June 19, George W. Bush toured the Defense Department's
assistive technology center at the Pentagon. He gave a talk and
described the barriers that blind people and those with disabilities face
in accessing technology and expressing his commitment for enforcing
Section 508. You can listen to the President speaking to us at the url
below. Just select the link and when on the page select the item titled
listen to President bush's remarks." You can also read the transcript
below. The link also has two photos of President Bush at this very
important event.
Kelly
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/06/20010619-1.html
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Mr. Secretary, thank you very much
for
your hospitality and your leadership. Senator Jeffords, Congressmen
Green,
Horn and Langevin, thank you all for coming. It's good to see you all.
Four members of the United States Congress have had a piece, a hand in
the
strategy that I'm about to talk about, and I thank them for their
leadership.
Dinah, thank you very much. It's always a joy to be around somebody
who loves what she's doing. An enthusiastic soul, and someone who is
making people's lives better. And I really appreciate you having me
here.
I want to thank David Shu for his work, and I want to thank Rhett Dawson
as
well, who is the President of the Information Technology and Industry
Council.
My fellow Americans, when the Americans with Disabilities Act was
signed in 1990, our nation made a promise we will no longer underestimate
the abilities of Americans with disabilities. We will treat Americans
with
disabilities as people to be respected, rather than problems to be
confronted.
Our nation has made progress in both attitude and law. Navigating
through buildings and buses is far easier than it was just a decade ago.
Now, the growth of new technologies creates new hopes and new obstacles.
The Internet brings a world of information into a computer screen,
which has enriched the lives of many with disabilities. Yet, technology
creates challenges of its own. The brilliant graphics that add life to
many web pages can make it difficult for a visually impaired person to
get
the information he or she needs from a web site. Video technology is
turning many computers into television sets.
Yet, without closed captioning, many see a picture and no words.
And
complex keyboard commands make it difficult for a person with impaired
motor skills to tap a computer's full potential. As a result, computer
usage and Internet access for people with disabilities is half that of
people without disabilities.
Researchers here at the Department of Defense and at other agencies
throughout the federal government and in the private sector are
developing
solutions to these problems. I have just had the opportunity to tour the
department's assistive technology center, and I saw technologies that are
helping people with disabilities enjoy the full range of opportunities
made
possible by the technology boom.
Software allows hearing impaired people to communicate with their
co-workers by computer. Screen reading technology makes it possible for
the visually impaired to access information on a monitor. And voice
recognition software unlocks new computing possibilities for people with
impaired dexterity.
The technologies on display here have helped more than 20,000
Defense
Department employees enjoy greater access to communications and computing
equipment. And they will help countless individuals in the public and
private sectors become fully integrated into the workplace. I'm
committed
to bringing that technology to users as quickly as possible. And I'm
committed to ensuring that government web sites become compatible with
this
evolving technology.
And that is why I'm pleased to announce that when Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act, offered by Jim Jeffords, becomes effective for all
federal agencies next Monday, there will be more opportunities for people
of all abilities to access government information. Section 508 requires
federal agencies to make sure that the electronic and information
technology they use is accessible for people with disabilities.
Increasingly, Americans use information technology to interact with
their government. They rely on thousands of government web pages to
download forms, learn about federal programs, find out where to turn for
government assistance, and communicate with elected officials, such as
the
President. And because of Section 508, government web sites will be more
accessible for millions of Americans who have disabilities.
Section 508 will also make the federal government a better employer,
as roughly 120,000 federal employees with disabilities will have greater
access to the tools they need to better perform their jobs. This is one
example of the successful public-private partnerships that are removing
barriers to full community participation by Americans with disabilities.
I
thank the leaders from the technology industry who are with us today for
your innovation and your ongoing cooperation.
Full implementation of Section 508 is a key element of an agenda I
announced a year ago, and began implementing in February. It is called
The
New Freedom Initiative, and its goal is to prepare -- is to help
Americans
with disabilities realize their potential and to achieve their dreams.
We've asked Congress to increase funding to bring assistive
technologies to market more quickly, to help make them more affordable
for
the people who need them, and to speed research in developing new
technologies. We have sought to make it easier for Americans with
disabilities to enter the work force by finding new ways to get people to
their jobs, relying on new technologies to help people work from their
home.
We recognize the small businesses and community groups like
churches,
synagogues, mosques and civic organizations may have trouble finding the
resources to fully comply with the ADA. So we've asked Congress to
support
efforts to help them make their facilities more accessible. And we
understand that new policies will mean little if we don't fully enforce
the
ADA. So my administration is doing just that.
While these federal efforts are crucial to guaranteeing full
accessibility for Americans with disabilities, we must also help them
connect with their local communities. So I've signed an executive order
requiring full implementation of the Supreme Court's 1999 Olmstead
Decision. (Applause.) Olmstead and the ADA rightly mandate that
individuals with disabilities who can receive support and treatment in a
community setting should be given a reasonable opportunity to live close
to
their families and friends when appropriate.
My executive order directs key federal agencies, like the
Departments
of Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education and Justice and the Social Security Administration to work with
states to implement the Olmstead decision and the ADA. It directs those
agencies to explore how we can increase community-based services for
people
with disabilities. And it directs Attorney General Ashcroft and
Secretary
Thompson to fully enforce Title II of the Americans with Disabilities
Act,
and ensure that no one is unjustly institutionalized. (Applause.)
Secretary Thompson has also made seed money available to help every
state develop a plan for implementing Omlstead. The Olmstead Executive
Order will increase freedom for people with disabilities. It is
compassionate. It is needed. And it is now the federal official policy
of
my administration. Americans must have the opportunity to live
independently, work productively and participate fully in community life.
Many Americans achieve this independence through home ownership;
but,
too often, the high cost of therapeutic care and assistive equipment and
technologies make the goal of home ownership unattainable for people with
disabilities. That's why I'm optimistic about a pilot program led
through
the Congress by Representative Mark Green, and soon to be implemented by
Secretary Mel Martinez at HUD, that will allow many people with
disabilities to buy their own homes. By making the Section 8 low-income
rental assistance program more flexible, the federal government can make
home ownership a reality for more Americans.
The new Section 8 HUD pilot program, the Olmstead Executive Order,
and
the full implementation of Section 508 will help eliminate the barriers
that many Americans with disabilities face. The proposals I sent to
Congress will build on our society's commitment to welcome all Americans
as
friends and neighbors. When governments, business and individuals work
together, to build a welcoming society, Americans of every ability will
benefit.
Thank you for what you're doing here at the Department of Defense.
Thank you for your compassion. And may God bless America.
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
|