Beto O'Rourke is advocating for the disabled community. That's partly because of his sister Erin.

CONNECTING THE POLICY TO THE PERSONAL: In between the campaign events, town halls, television hits, and flights across America aimed at winning the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, there’s one person that Beto O’Rourke always makes time to catch up with: his 39-year-old sister, Erin, who was born with intellectual disabilities.

The former Texas congressman, who once served as his younger sister’s legal guardian, hops on the phone with Erin at the end of many of her workdays at a residential facility for adults and children three hours from El Paso, N.M., where she lives and works. Erin watched the Democratic debate last Tuesday in which her big brother became the first 2020 contender to discuss people with disabilities on the big stage.

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The proposal: So when O’Rourke rolled out a portion of his disability proposal last week — a plan to expand health-care coverage of medical equipment, inspired after meeting a woman who has struggled to find a way to pay to fix her power wheelchair — it didn’t just grow out of the countless meetings he’s had with families, caretakers and individuals in the U.S. disability community. It was also because of Erin.

• The former Texas congressman's complete disability plan is expected to be rolled out by his campaign soon: It focuses on addressing what O’Rourke calls an “institutional bias that exists in federal funding and priorities right now” against those with disabilities.

• What it does: O’Rourke wants to ensure disabled individuals receive long-term home and community-based services and that the federal government provide states with additional funding for the disabled community.

• The proposal will also bolster existing protections designed to support the disabled — such as funding the federal enforcement of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead v. L.C. decision ruling that under the Americans With Disabilities Act, appropriate individuals with disabilities should be integrated into the community instead of being forced to live in nursing homes or institutions.

• O'Rourke's proposal aims to “strengthen enforcement of existing civil rights laws, including the Americans With Disabilities Act,” according to his campaign.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/powerup/2019/10/23/powerup-beto-o-rourke-is-advocating-for-the-disabled-community-that-s-partly-because-of-his-sister-erin/5daf9d58602ff10cf14f96e2/

Beto leads the 2020 Democrats on increasing resources for the disabled.