JFActivist

ADAPT Challenges McCain's Lack of Support for Community Choice Act

From ADAPT (May 1, 2008):

For Immediate Release  May 1, 2008

For information contact: 
Bob Kafka 512-431-4085
Marsha Katz 406-544-9504 
http://www.adapt.org

Disability Rights Advocates Challenge McCain and Republicans on Lack of Support for Community Choice Act: McCain’s Office Responds by Arresting Over 40

Washington, D.C.--- ADAPT took over the offices of Sen. John McCain and the Republican National Committee Tuesday, demanding support for the Community Choice Act (S799, HR1621) from the only presidential candidate who has thus far not signed on as a co-sponsor. What they got for their efforts were arrests, excuses, and statements about how the National Republican Committee doesn’t have the power to call its own presidential candidate to ask for a meeting.

“I don’t get it,” said Cassie James, an Organizer with ADAPT of Pennsylvania, “Sen. McCain’s website says ‘There is …no cause greater than protection of human dignity.’ We were at his office asking him to partner with us to protect OUR human dignity by supporting legislation that allows all older and disabled Americans to live in their own homes instead of being forced into nursing homes where all dignity and personal privacy are lost. This is not rocket science….it’s basic human and civil rights!”

About 250 ADAPT activists filled Sen. McCain’s office in the Russell Senate Building and the halls just outside the office. A few blocks away another 250 ADAPT activists stormed the offices of the Republican National Committee (RNC), with 5 wheelchairs gaining entry, and the remainder blocking all the doors and driveways. There was a nine hour standoff into the night, during which the RNC staff refused access to the bathroom for the ADAPT members who were in the building. The main ADAPT demand was that the RNC assist to schedule a meeting with Sen. McCain where ADAPT representatives could talk about support for the Community Choice Act. The RNC staff repeatedly stated that they did not have the power to call their candidate’s campaign staff to ask for such a meeting.

“I find it very hard to believe that the organization that raises so much of the funding for the presidential campaign can’t talk to its own candidate,” said Randy Alexander, Tennessee ADAPT Organizer, who was trapped inside the RNC building for nine hours and not allowed to use a bathroom. “We weren’t asking them to guarantee a meeting, just to pick up the phone, call Sen. McCain, and try to get a meeting set up. Any person on the street could make that call, yet they said they didn’t have the power to do that.”

During the nine hours ADAPT spent trying to gain cooperation from the RNC, many Congressional co-sponsors and supporters of the bi-partisan Community Choice Act came by to personally meet some of the people affected by this important legislation and to congratulate their efforts to get it passed. The 500 ADAPT activists in Washington this week from nearly every state in the union represent thousands more ADAPT members back home who don’t have the ability travel to the nation’s capitol, a very expensive destination, to make their voices heard. And those thousands of ADAPT members nationally are only the tip of the disability voting bloc nationally, a voting bloc that is currently feeling disrespected and ignored by Sen. McCain and the Republican Party.

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More Media Coverage of ADAPT Direct Actions

From Fox News / Associated Press (April 29):

Disabled Activists Arrested at McCain's Office

WASHINGTON — At least 20 disabled activists, most of them in wheelchairs, were arrested outside Sen. John McCain’s offices Tuesday after being refused a meeting with the GOP presidential nominee-to-be over a bill to expand Medicaid coverage to more people who want in-home care.

... Read more.

***********************************************

From The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN):

Disabled group protests McCain's stance on Medicaid bill, members arrested

By LAURIE KELLMAN , Associated Press (April 29)

WASHINGTON - At least 20 disabled activists, most of them in wheelchairs, were arrested outside Sen. John McCain's offices Tuesday after being refused a meeting with the GOP presidential nominee-to-be over a bill to expand Medicaid coverage to more people who want in-home care...

...Read more.

Statements of Clinton, Obama on World Autism Day

Excerpts from Senator Clinton's statement:

"I will create an Autism Task Force charged with investigating evidence-based treatments, interventions, and services... I'll also provide funding to school districts and universities to train teachers and other health and social services professionals in how to work most effectively with autistic children...I will also ensure that both children and adults with autism have access to the services they need - including housing, transportation, employment - to live rich and full lives."


Excerpts from Senator Obama's statement:

"My administration will not only work to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Combating Autism Act, but will add to that a commitment of $1 billion dollars a year in autism-related funding by the end of my first term... As President, I will appoint a Federal [Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)] Coordinator, an 'Autism Czar' to oversee and coordinate a nationwide effort to deal proactively with ASD... Our nation and our world deserve an immediate and focused four-prong approach: research, intervention, life-long support, and an end to discrimination."

More on the 2008 Election:
For more information on where the candidates stand on disability issues, visit the AAPD Presidential Election Action Center.   

Promises, Promises - Candidates' Promises on Disability Policy

Read a list of the promises candidates (many since withdrawn) made to the community in  November, based upon the transcript from the National Forum on Equality, Opportunity, and Access.

While many will not make it to the White  House, several are still Members of Congress. Remind them of their "commitments" whenever you can!

Statement of Senator Barack Obama on the Community Choice Act

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

For Immediate Release
Contact: Michael Ortiz

Washington, DC -- Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) released the following statement in advance of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Health
Subcommittee hearing on "Medicaid's Critical Role for Americans with
Disabilities." The hearing will be held on Wednesday, January 16, 2008.

"There remain severe shortcomings in our country's efforts to break down the barriers that exclude people with disabilities and deprive them of true equality of opportunity and independence.

The United States must lead the world in empowering people with disabilities to take full advantage of their talents and become independent, integrated members of society. We must build a world free of unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination. Policies must be developed, attitudes must
be shaped, and buildings and organizations must be designed to ensure that everyone can live independently as full citizens in their communities.

For that reason, I support the passage of the Community Choice Act of 2007, which would allow Medicaid-eligible Americans with significant disabilities the choice of living in their community, rather than having to live in a nursing home or other institution. This legislation is vitally important to
the independence, community integration, and equality of hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities."

The Community Choice Act of 2007 was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL). Senator Obama is a cosponsor of the legislation.

Website Offers Closed Captioned Presidential Debates

Taudiobook, a software company that syncs transcripts to videos, has posted the entire presidential debate series with closed captioning on their website as a public service.

View the list of closed captioned presidential debates, including the Saturday debates.

Richardson Unveils Americans with Disabilities Policy

         

                                 **PRESS RELEASE**

From Richardson for President website (12/17):

Richardson for President Campaign Unveils Americans with Disabilities Policy

National Disabilities Spokeswoman Cody Unser lays out policy in live online video chat

MOUNT VERNON, IA-- The Richardson for President campaign yesterday evening unveiled its Americans with Disabilities policy in an online video chat with Cody Unser of the Unser racing family, the campaign's National Disabilities Spokeswoman. In the online chat, Unser discussed Governor Richardson's vision for disabled Americans.

"I think we all know that we absolutely have to elect a President in 2008 who understands that the concerns of disabled Americans are the concerns of all Americans," Unser said. "I am here to tell you that Bill Richardson will be that President. He is committed to making real progress on the issues that matter to disabled Americans. I have seen him do it in New Mexico."

Cody Unser, daughter of two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Al Unser, Jr., was diagnosed at the age of twelve with Transverse Myelitis (TM), a neurological condition that causes inflammation of the spinal cord. She has been paralyzed from the waist down since 1999. The Cody Unser First Step Foundation was established to build awareness about TM, promote research, and improve Quality of Life programs for others with paralysis.

In the Richardson campaign's inaugural online video chat, Unser elaborated on the work that Governor Richardson has done in New Mexico, described the policies that he will enact as President, and answered the questions of those participating in the chat.

...Read the rest of the press release.

Obama's Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities

From the Obama '08 campaign website:

...Barack Obama believes the United States should lead the world in empowering people with disabilities to take full advantage of their talents and become independent, integrated members of society. Dozens of countries have adopted laws modeled on the Americans with Disabilities Act, but America’s leadership in the world has faded in recent years. As president, Barack Obama will renew America’s leadership by making the United States a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – the first human rights treaty approved by the UN in the 21st century and a vital foundation for respecting the rights of people with disabilities worldwide. He will urge the U.S. Senate to ratify the Convention expeditiously.

Barack Obama has a four-part plan to provide Americans with disabilities with the greatest possible access to the same opportunities as those without disabilities: (1) providing Americans with disabilities the educational opportunities they need to succeed; (2) ending discrimination and promoting equal opportunity; and (3) increasing the employment rate of workers with disabilities; and (4) supporting independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities. And Obama will work closely with individuals with disabilities and disability rights advocates to achieve this vision of a society where all can live with dignity and respect.

... Read the entire "Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities"

Senator Harkin First Senate Campaign to Caption Campaign Videos

***PRESS RELEASE***

DECEMBER 04, 2007
Press Release

TOMHARKIN.COM PARTNERS WITH PROJECTREADON.COM TO PROVIDE CLOSED CAPTIONING OF WEB VIDEO TO DISABLED

Harkin campaign becomes the first Senate campaign to use innovative service to provide disabled persons with access to online video.

Des Moines, IA - Senator Tom Harkin's campaign website launched a new service to make the campaign's online video accessible to those with hearing disabilities through an innovative closed-captioning program provided by www.ProjectReadON.com.

A longtime champion for persons with disabilities, Senator Harkin authored the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 to protect the civil rights of more than 54 million Americans with physical and mental disabilities.

"The Internet has been instrumental in bringing our democracy closer to the people and it is our duty as Americans to ensure that that those with disabilities can have full use of the technology," said Senator
Harkin. "The recent CNN/YouTube debates illustrated the effectiveness of online video and I am proud to be partnering with Project readON to provide technology that helps to give Americans with disabilities an equal opportunity to engage in our democracy."

Project readON is the web's leading and most innovative closed-captioning service that works toward a single goal of making online media content available to all by giving users the power to decide exactly what videos they want captioned and by giving webmasters an innovative and easy to use caption player to install on their websites.

"When Senator Harkin's office contacted us I can honestly say that this was perhaps the highest point in our professional life of working in the closed captioning industry. To be sought out by the person that wrote the very act that spawned our industry is, to say the least, an honor. We look forward to contributing to online video captioning becoming the norm across the web, and it's a great personal pleasure to be a part of Senator Harkin's online video message as he takes the lead in that
effort!" -- Mateo Gutierrez, co-founder of Project readON.

The campaign will continue to update and add additional closed-captioned videos to this innovative service. For more information regarding Project readON's innovative services and technology please visit, www.projectreadon.com or contact Mateo Gutierrez at mateo.gutierrez@projectreadon.com

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Hillary Clinton Statement on Social Security Backlogs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2007

Contact: Press Office, 703-875-1271
press@hillaryclinton.com

Hillary Clinton Statement on Backlogs in the Social Security Disability Insurance System

“Today’s front-page New York Times story highlighting the human toll of the growing backlogs in our Social Security Disability Insurance system is a stark reminder that Congress and the President must act immediately to address this problem. I have for several years been calling on this Administration to adequately fund the Social Security Administration to ensure that people with disabilities and retirees can access the benefits they deserve. But the President has been more interested in spending $10 billion a month on a misguided war in Iraq and tens of billions each year in tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans than in funding key services for our most vulnerable citizens. As a result, the average delay for individuals seeking an appeal from a disability determination has doubled since 2000 to more than 500 days. 

“The President’s recent veto of additional funding for the Social Security Administration signals an unacceptable willingness to let this problem continue to grow. His veto will leave hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities to suffer and even die without our support. That’s why today I wrote the President urging him to reconsider his veto threat. I asked the President to make immediately clear that he will support the needed funding increase for SSA, and will sign it into law. I hope the President heeds this advice. But if he fails to act, then as President I will act immediately to address these growing backlogs, and ensure that the SSA has adequate support to serve Americans in need. People with disabilities and retirees deserve a President willing to stand up for their interests and ensure that government is delivering—not denying—them the support they need. I intend to be that President.”   

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