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From: "Justice For All Moderator" <[log in to unmask]>
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Sent: Monday, November 22, 1999 1:25 PM
Subject: Senator Ted Kennedy on WIIA. Celebrate WIIA Tuesday with Ted!


>
>                       Justice For All
>
>                       [log in to unmask]
>
>   Senator Ted Kennedy on WIIA.  Celebrate WIIA Tuesday with Ted!
>
> STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON THE
> PASSAGE OF THE TICKET TO WORK AND WORK INCENTIVES IMPROVEMENT
> ACT OF 1999.  NOVEMBER 19, 1999
>
>     "Today, Congress will complete action on the Ticket to Work and
> Work Incentives Improvement Act, and this important legislation will
> go at long last to the White House.  When President Clinton signs
> this bill into law, he will truly be signing a modern Declaration of
> Independence for millions of men and women with disabilities in
> communities across the country who will have a priceless new
opportunity
> to fulfill their hopes and dreams of living independent and productive
> lives.
>
>     We know how far we have come in the ongoing battle over many
decades
> to ensure that people with disabilities have the independence they
need
> to be participating members of their communities.
>
>     Sixty-seven years ago this month we elected a disabled American
for
> the highest office in the land.  He became one of our greatest
> Presidents, but Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled by the prevailing
> attitudes of his times to conceal his disability as much as possible.
> The World War II Generation began to change all that. The 1950s showed
> the nation a new class of people  people with disabilities  as
> veterans returned from war to an inaccessible society.  Each decade
> since then has brought significant progress.
>
>     In the 1960s, Congress responded with new architectural standards,
> so we could build a society that everyone could be a part of.
>
>     The 1970s convinced us that full participation in society was
needed not
> only for disabled veterans, but for disabled children and family
members, and
> for those injured in everyday accidents.  Congress responded with a
range of
> federally funded programs which improved the lives of people with
mental
> retardation, supported the rights of children with disabilities to go
to
> school, ensured the right of people with disabilities to vote, and
gave
> people with disabilities greater access to health care.
>
>     The 1980s brought a new realization that when we are talking about
> assisting people with disabilities, we must not look only to federal
> programs, but to the private sector as well.  Congress again responded
by
> guaranteeing fair housing opportunities for people with disabilities,
by
> ensuring access to air travel, and making telecommunication advances
> available for people who are hard of hearing or deaf.
>
>     The 1990s brought us the Americans with Disabilities Act, which
> promised every disabled citizen a new and better life, in which
> disability would no longer put an end to the American dream.
>
>     But too often, for too many Americans, the promise of the ADA has
> been unfulfilled.  Now, with this legislation, we will finally link
> civil rights clearly with health care.  It isn't civil and it isn't
> right to send a person to work without the health care they need and
> deserve.
>
>     As Bob Dole stated in his eloquent testimony to the Finance
> Committee earlier this year, this issue is about people going to work
>  "it is about dignity and opportunity and all the things we talk
> about, when we talk about being an American."
>
>     Millions of disabled men and women in this country want to work
> and are able to work.  But they have been denied the opportunity to
> work because they lack access to needed health care.  As a result,
> the nation has been denied their talents and their contributions to
> our communities.
>
>     Current laws are an anachronism.  Modern medicine and modern
> technology make it easier than ever before for disabled persons to
> have productive lives and careers.  Current laws are often a greater
> obstacle to that goal than their disability itself.  It's ridiculous
> that we punish disabled persons who dare to take a job by penalizing
> them financially, by taking away their health insurance lifeline,
> and by placing other unfair obstacles in their path.
>
>     Currently, there are approximately 9 million working-age adults
> who receive disability benefits, many of whom could take jobs if they
> could keep their governmentally financed health benefits.  A national
> survey earlier this year showed that, while 76 percent of people with
> disabilities wanted to work, nearly 75 percent are unemployed.
> Currently, only  of 1% leave the disability roles to return to work.
>
>     Disability groups have estimated that about 2 million of the
> 8 million would consider forgoing disability payments and take jobs
> as a result of this legislation.
>
>     The estimated cost of this new program would be recouped if only
> 70,000 people leave the disability benefit roles.  If 210,000 of them
> take jobs, the government would actually save $1billion annually in
> disability payments.
>
>     That 210,000 constitutes only 10% of the number of people who
> the disability community believe will avail themselves of this
> program.  If their estimates are even close to accurate, the savings
> to the federal government could eventually $10 billion per year.
>
>     Today is a new beginning for persons with disabilities in their
> pursuit of the American dream.
>
>     This bill corrects the injustice they have unfairly suffered.
>
>     The Work Incentives Improvement Act removes these unfair barriers
> to work that face so many Americans with disabilities:
>
>  It makes health insurance available and affordable when a disabled
> person goes to work, or develops a significant disability while
working.
>
>  It gives people with disabilities greater access to the services
> they need to become successfully employed.
>
>  It phases out the loss of cash benefits as income rises, instead of
> the unfair sudden cut-off that workers with disabilities face today.
>
>  It places work incentive planners in communities, rather than in
> bureaucracies, to help workers with disabilities learn how to obtain
> the employment services and support they need.
>
>     Many leaders in communities throughout the country have worked
> long and hard and well to help us reach this milestone.  They are
> consumers, family members, citizens, and advocates.  They showed
> us how current job programs for people with disabilities are failing
> them and forcing them into poverty.
>
>     We have worked together for many months to develop effective ways
> to right these wrongs.  And to all of them I say, thank you for
helping
> us to achieve this needed legislation. It truly represents legislation
> of the people, by the people and for the people.  It is all of you who
> have been the fearless, tireless warriors for justice.
>
>     When we think of citizens with disabilities, we tend to think of
> men and women and children who are disabled from birth. But fewer than
> 15% of all people with disabilities are born with their disabilities.
> A bicycle accident or a serious fall or a serious illness can suddenly
> disable the healthiest and most physically able person.
>
>     In the long run, this legislation may be more important than any
> other action we have taken in this Congress.  It offers a new and
> better life to large numbers of our fellow citizens.  Disability need
> no longer end the American dream. That was the promise of the
> Americans with Disabilities Act a decade ago, and this legislation
> dramatically strengthens our fulfillment of that promise.
>
>     This bill has a human face.  It is for Alice in Oklahoma, who was
> disabled because of multiple sclerosis and receives SSDI benefits.
> She will now be able to get personal assistance to work and live in
> her community.  No longer will she have to use all of her savings and
> half of her wages to pay for personal assistance and prescription
> drugs.  No longer will she be left in poverty.
>
>     This bill is for Tammy in Indiana, who has cerebral palsy and
> uses a wheelchair and works part-time at Wal-Mart.  No longer will
> she be forced to restrict her hours of work.  Her goal of becoming
> a productive citizen will no longer denied  because now she will
> have access to the health care she needs.
>
>     This bill is for Abby in Massachusetts, who is six years old
> and has mental retardation.  Her parents are very concerned about
> her future.  Already, she has been denied coverage by two health
> insurance firms because of the diagnosis of mental retardation.
> Without Medicaid, her parents would be bankrupted by her current
> medical bills.  Now, when Abby enters the work force, she will not
> have to live in poverty or lose her Medicaid coverage.  All that
> will change, and she will have a fair opportunity to work and
> prosper.
>
>     This bill is for many other citizens whose stories are told in
> this diary, called "A Day in the Life of a Person with a Disability."
>
>     Disabled people are not unable.  Our goal in this legislation is
> to banish the stereotypes, to reform and improve existing disability
> programs, so that they genuinely encourage and support every disabled
> person's dream to work and live independently, and be a productive
> and contributing member of their community. That goal should be the
> birthright of all Americans  and with this legislation, we are
> taking a giant step toward that goal.
>
>     A story from the debate on the Americans with Disabilities Act
> illustrates the point.  A postmaster in a town was told that he must
> make his post office accessible.  The building had 20 steep steps
> leading up to a revolving door at the only entrance.  The postmaster
> questioned the need to make such costly repairs.  He said, "I've been
> here for thirty-five years, and in all that time, I've yet to see a
> single customer come in here in a wheelchair."  As the Americans with
> Disabilities Act has proved so well, if you build the ramp, they
> will come, and they will find their field of dreams.  This bill builds
> new ramps, and vast numbers of the disabled will now come  to work.
>
>     The road to economic prosperity and the right to a decent wage
> must be more accessible to all Americans  no matter how many steps
> stand in the way.  That is our goal in this legislation.  It is the
> right thing to do, and it is the cost effective thing to do.  And
> now we are finally doing it.
>
>     Eliminating these barriers to work will help disabled Americans
> to achieve self-sufficiency.  We are a better and stronger and fairer
> country when we open the door of opportunity to all Americans, and
> enable them to be equal partners in the American dream.  For millions
> of Americans with disabilities, this bill is a declaration of
> independence that can make the American dream come true. Now, when
> we say "equal opportunity for all," it will be clear that we mean all.
>
>     No one in America should lose their medical coverage  which can
> mean the difference between life and death  if they go to work.  No
> one in this country should have to choose between buying a decent meal
> and buying the medication they need.
>
>     Nearly a year ago, President Clinton signed an executive order
> to increase employment and health care coverage for people with
> disabilities.  Today, with strong bipartisan support, Congress is
> demonstrating its commitment to our fellow disabled citizens.
> But our work is far from done.
>
>     This bill is only the first step in the major reform of the
> Social Security disability programs that will enable individuals
> with disabilities to have the rights and privileges that all other
> Americans enjoy.  54 million Americans with disabilities are waiting
> for our action.  We will not stop today, we will not stop tomorrow,
> we will not ever stop until America works for all Americans.
>
>     I especially commend President Clinton, Vice President Gore,
> Secretary Shalala, and many others in the Administration for their
> unwavering commitment and support in helping us to achieve the
> bipartisan legislation that has brought us to this historic day.
> And John Podesta and Chris Jennings saw this through to the very end.
>
>     In addition, I commend Senator Jeffords, Senator Roth, and
> Senator Moynihan for their indispensable leadership on this landmark
> legislation.  I also commend the many Senate staff members whose
> skilled assistance contributed so much to this achievement
> especially Jennifer Baxendale, Alec Vachon, and Frank Polk of Senator
> Roth's staff, Kristin Testa, John Resnick, Edwin Park, and David
> Podoff of Senator Moynihan's staff, Pat Morrissey, Lu Zeph, Chris
> Crowley, Jim Downing, and Mark Powden of Senator Jeffords' staff,
> and Connie Garner, Jim Manley, Jonathan Press, and Michael Myers
> of my own staff, and the many other staff members on the Health
> Committee and the Finance Committee who have been a critical part
> of the effort.
>
>     No longer will disabled Americans be left out and left behind.
> The Ticket to Work and the Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 is
> an act of courage, an act of community, and above all, an act of hope
> for the future."
>
> --
>
> Please Join Senator Edwward Kennedy in celebrating the passage of the
> Work Incentives Improvement Act:  A Ticket to Work.
>
> Where:
> Bell Atlantic Lobby
> 125 High Street (Enter on Pearl Street)
> Boston, Massachusetts
>
> When:
> Tuesday, November 23, 1999 at 1:00 pm
>
> RSVP:  email [log in to unmask]
>
> --
> Fred Fay
> Justice For All
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.jfanow.org
>
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