The former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives discusses how
adaptive technology will empower people with disabilities to participate
in the community and end their dependency on the liberal welfare state.
Unfortunately, he is high on concepts and low on concrete policy
proposals.

kelly

URL: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug1999/nf90811b.htm

   BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE:   DAILY BRIEFING
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   ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY by John M. Williams August 11, 1999
   A Talk With Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
   In his first interview since resigning, the Georgian speaks of his
   newfound passion: Empowering people with disabilities
   As Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1998,
   Newt Gingrich of Georgia left an indelible mark on the American
   political landscape. Espousing a "Contract for America" that called
   for tax cuts, smaller government, and more individual freedom, he led
   a revolution that gave the GOP control of the House for the first time
   in 40 years. Even his enemies acknowledged him as a visionary. But his
   polarizing personality and sharp partisanship eventually led to his
   downfall. Battered by a lengthy House Ethics Committee investigation
   into his financial dealings and a failed coup attempt by his own
   Republican leadership team, Gingrich resigned last year in the wake of
   unexpected House losses for the GOP. Still, many of his ideas remain
   bulwarks of Republican thinking and policymaking.

   Since leaving the House, Gingrich has been developing ideas on 21st
   century health-care policy at the American Enterprise Institute, a
   Washington think tank. Soon, he will host his own radio program. And
   he has found a new passion: empowering people with disabilities
   through assistive technology. I spoke with Gingrich recently at his
   Washington office. It is the first interview he has granted since
   leaving the House. I have heard many horror stories about Newt
   Gingrich. I found him to be brilliant, loquacious, witty, and a good
   listener. He clearly sees disabled people as people first, and as
   citizens who can contribute to society. Here are excerpts from our
   conversation:

   Q: What motivated you to become involved in the disability arena?
   A: Three very different reasons. First, I believe in the commitment of
   the Declaration of Independence, that we are all endowed by our
   creator with the right to pursue happiness. That right has to include
   everybody, and so there is a moral imperative to truly include
   everyone in America's goals of liberty and opportunity.

   Second, as a science-fiction fan and as a student of science, I really
   do not see why we can't use the most advanced science and technology
   to liberate and to empower people, including people with disabilities,
   to become fully integrated into society.

   Third, because in 1980, a couple in Fayette County, Ga., in the
   district that I represented at the time, challenged me to spend 24
   hours in a wheelchair. I accepted so I could learn how many ways
   people with disabilities have been locked out from having access to
   your community, and how difficult and inconvenient it was for people
   using wheelchairs to get around. It was a remarkable 24 hours. After
   that experience, I was convinced that we have the opportunity to
   dramatically enhance the quality of life and to pursue happiness for
   people with disabilities.

   Q: Did you support the Americans with Disabilities Act?
   A: I did. I was involved with its passage, working with former U.S.
   House of Representatives members Steve Gunderson and Tony Coelho, who
   were in many ways the driving forces. Everything I have seen to date
   in the disability field has convinced me that we need to rethink
   government policies toward disabled people. We also need to rethink
   empowering disabled people and then optimize their ability to live
   with independence, pride, and dignity.

   Q: You were also involved in the disability movement as Speaker,
   correct?
   A: After I became Speaker of the House, we had local parents and
   citizens who were directly involved in the disability field provide us
   with input on the problems people with disabilities face daily. We had
   town hall meetings for people with disabilities. Because some of these
   people had educational and financial assets, they led dramatically
   fuller lives than they would have if they had been treated as wards of
   the state.

   Q: Do you have family members who have disabilities?
   A: I have family members who have disabilities in terms of mental
   illness. My mother has had a bipolar disease (a form of manic
   depression) for 30 years. I have a schizophrenic relative who has been
   regularly hospitalized for at least 25 years. These experiences have
   created a real awareness for me of the challenges disabled people
   face. I also have several friends whose children have Down's syndrome.
   So I know we have an obligation to think about, not just that we need
   to sustain someone so they live as long as possible, but also to
   empower them and strengthen them so they live the best quality of
   life. For me, empowerment means making their own decisions and using
   the resources at their disposal.

   Q: I am seeing a different Newt Gingrich than the one that came across
   in the media when you were Speaker of the House. What happened to the
   Scrooge Gingrich who was going to do horrible things to children?
   A: All I can tell you is I have given speeches on this topic since
   1980. To the degree you have not seen this side of me in the news
   media, I'm not sure its the failure of my speeches.

   After I won the Speakership, Time magazine did a cover at
   Christmastime in 1994 that showed me as Scrooge holding Tiny Tim's
   broken crutch. I always thought that broken crutch [in the
   illustration] was given to you as an extra reminder, in case you did
   not get it. The title of the cover was "How Mean Will Gingrich's
   America Be to the Poor?" Yet, when I was Speaker, I introduced a bill
   that said no one could be forced into a nursing home.

   Q: Now that you have left Congress, what about the future?
   A: Science and technology are moving at an extraordinary rate and are
   making possible the unthinkable, particularly when it comes to
   advancing opportunities for disabled people. That's why we doubled the
   federal science budget [while I was Speaker]. You cannot talk about
   helping [paralyzed actor] Christopher Reeve without talking about the
   National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health and the
   basic research that makes assistive technology possible.

   The first time I was at Georgia Tech and saw Dragon Dictate (a
   voice-recognition system), I realized that Dragon Dictate is the baby
   step of a revolution. Looking ahead, I have zero doubt that sensors
   more powerful than those sensors used the cochlear implant [allowing
   deaf people to hear] will be planted directly into people's brains in
   the next decade. As a result, we will redefine assistive technology
   and disabilities.

   These technology breakthroughs will raise new questions: How do you
   make capital investments [in empowering people with disabilities]
   instead of maintenance? I would favor some kind of loan grant program,
   similar to a Federal Housing Administration program that allows people
   to have the best access to technology. That would ensure the best
   quality of life and an opportunity to achieve their potential. They
   also could live decently without the stigma of disability being
   attached to them.

   We must redesign all federal and state programs. Maintenance is a slow
   death. Empowerment is reattaching you to life. They are totally
   different models.

   Q: What do you see as the role of Congress in making these changes?
   A: Congress should start with the question: What will science make
   possible within the next 15 years? Then, what do we have to do to make
   it implementable? Then Congress must change obsolete federal laws that
   restrain and cripple people with disabilities.

   The way the rules work now are very destructive. We have this sad case
   of a young woman in San Diego who died a few months ago. She was Holly
   Caudell. She had been in a car wreck and became a quadriplegic. She
   had graduated from law school and had been an assistant district
   attorney. But she was running out of her personal savings, and the way
   the disabilities law works, if she stayed active as an assistant
   district attorney, she was earning too much money to get government
   assistance. So she had to give up what she loved to get the assistance
   she needed.

   My challenge to Congress is to form joint task forces among the
   various committees. Don't allow jurisdictional problems to slow you
   down. Start with the science, go to opportunity, and then rewrite the
   laws.

   Q: What role can private industry play?
   A: We are in a full-employment economy. And when you are in an
   Information Age where more and more it's your ability to think that is
   most effective, you'll find more and more willingness [by
   corporations] to employ people. The Information Age is creating a
   one-to-one society. People will shape jobs around characteristics.

   I have a daughter who is expecting in October, and so I will have my
   first grandchild. She is considering changing her career track and
   looking for job sharing. She does not have a disability. She just
   wants to spend more time with her child. She is saying to her
   employer: "If you really want my talents, my experience, and my
   institutional memory, we need a new contract." She may only work three
   days a week. Meanwhile she is looking for someone who will work the
   rest of the time. This is the type of tailoring one-to-one careers
   that I see as the future.

   So every person must think about what they want to do in life. If you
   don't like your job, get one you do like, because you will never do a
   job well that you dislike. And all the successful people I have ever
   spoken with attribute success to stubbornly following their own path.
   This has sometimes been harder, but in the long run, they have been
   happier. That's true for people with disabilities.

   Q: You're talking about a formula for life's success for disabled
   people?
   A: Yes. You start with the idea: What is it you like doing? Second:
   What are your enhanced and empowered skills? I think that's a very
   important component of this formula because we have the ability to
   match technologies to enhance people's abilities and to empower them.
   This is one of the ideas you have to get across to employers: Do not
   think about any person in isolation.

   I find it amazing that the Welfare State will be cheerful about paying
   you a lot if you do nothing, but it cannot figure out how to develop a
   sliding scale to subsidize a little bit, say training or assistive
   technology, so individuals can do a lot. Businesses must say to
   government, you provide these pieces and a person can become fully
   employable. In some cases, it may mean being able to contract into
   Medicaid.

   Q: What are the benefits of telecommuting to people with disabilities?
   A: I see immense opportunities in telecommuting for disabled people.
   The government needs to have a philosophy that says we are prepared to
   invest in work-support systems.

   I believe that free childhood computers will be the 21st century
   version of free textbooks. Providing free textbooks was a big fight as
   late as the 1930s. People were saying: "How can you give free
   textbooks to every child? Their parents ought to pay for them?" Well a
   decision was made. This is what we need to do with computers.

   Pregnant women should also receive a prenatal-care package. An awful
   lot of what happens to a child's development really happens at
   pregnancy, when you start looking at I.Q. and health. One of my major
   projects at AEI is looking at health and health care. This project
   will have a disability component to it. We are talking about health
   care for everybody, starting with conception and going through
   pregnancy, birth, and the early formative years. There are so many
   frontiers we can get to within a short time, and those frontiers mean
   better health, better jobs, and a better quality of life, a better
   environment, and virtually no disabilities.

   Q: What about technology?
   A: Let me tell you about the Health Buddy. It is developed by a
   company called Health Heroes in California. Health Buddy is a utility
   that will sit next to your coffeepot. It will remind you in the
   morning on a screen to check your blood sugar. It can send a message
   to the doctor's office, and it will remind you to order your
   medicines. This is only one example, but it's an example of technology
   at its best.

   Q: What parting message do you have for disabled people?
   A: People with disabilities need to come in and say: "I want this
   dream. I want you to fund the science of this dream. I want you to
   change the rules of work. I want you to figure out how to make capital
   investments rather than to maintain me. I want to be fully integrated
   into my community." That's empowerment.
   (John Williams writes a weekly column for Business Week Online on
   assistive technology. If you have any questions on assistive
   technology write to [log in to unmask]) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


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