Did Kerry ever mention handicapped people during debates?

I sure don't remember it and I saw all 3.

All he talked about was fighting terror, creating jobs, providing better health care, and paying down the deficit.

WHy did he reduce his discussion to wedge issues and not my pet issue of Americans with Disabilities Act and more far-reaching legislation?

I didn't hear anything.

And I would have noticed. I, too, am a disabled American (Asperger's syndrome).

Nice seeing him get attacked on every fucking thread today...the guy got MORE votes than any Democrat in history...MORE percentage of votes than Clinton did on BOTH shots...and came up short in Ohio...now he's what's for dinner?

MAKE NO MISTAKE...THIS BULLSHIT IS WHY WE LOSE. We EAT OUR OWN.

because I'm annoyed at the one about "Did he mention the poor?"

of course he f*cking mentioned the poor. What do you think unemployed people probably are? How bout those with no insurance?

no problem. I see I'm not he only one doing this

Freedom, Independence and Choices for Americans with Disabilities

John Kerry’s Policy Platform and Vision for America
“I am proud to have been part of the team of people with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities and others who advised the Senator and helped shaped what I believe is a historic and comprehensive blueprint for ensuring the first class citizenship of all Americans with disabilities… As Justin Dart told us many times: ‘We must vote as if our lives depend on it because they do.’ That is why I am supporting John Kerry and I hope you will too”.
Bob Williams
Disability Leader
Former Director, The Office on Disability, Aging and Long Term Care Policy at HHS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John Kerry believes that all Americans, including those with disabilities, have an inherent right to be treated as first class citizens of our nation. He believes we should not be investing in tax giveaways for the wealthiest Americans while the IDEA is underfunded and Medicaid is in danger of being weakened. John Kerry will work to strengthen Medicaid – and make it work better for people with disabilities through bills like MiCASSA, the Money Follows the Person Act, and the Family Opportunity Act. He will also strengthen Medicare for people with disabilities. He will strenuously oppose the far right’s efforts to undermine the Americans with Disabilities Act and other critical civil rights laws by appointing judges that will protect the rights they provide. Qualified individuals with disabilities will play a pivotal role in a Kerry Administration. As President, John Kerry will fully fund IDEA and promote creative solutions to address the transportation, technology, and housing needs of individuals with disabilities.

The following platform is John Kerry’s vision for an America that ensures freedom, independence, and choices for people with disabilities. It includes ideas on issues ranging from health care, community living and employment, civil rights enforcement and education, to transportation, technology, and housing, and continues the fight for fairness and equality.

John Kerry would particularly like to acknowledge a group of great leaders who have passionately advocated for Americans with Disabilities. Nearly a year and a half ago, we lost a great leader in the fight for human rights and freedom - Justin Dart. John Kerry will strive to make sure that his Administration will live up to Dart’s legacy of defending and improving rights for people with disabilities. Kerry would also like to acknowledge and thank Senator Tom Harkin for his long and passionate support of people with disabilities and his leadership on the Americans with Disabilities Act and many other important laws Last October, Tony Coelho challenged all candidates for the presidency to adopt a comprehensive agenda which strengthens the rights of Americans with Disabilities to work. John Kerry accepts this challenge. He agrees with the priorities Coelho outlined and they are reflected in this document. Finally, Kerry is appreciative of the many national leaders in the disability community who helped write this platform. People with disabilities will always have a seat front and center in the Kerry Administration.

Now more than ever people with disabilities of all ages can live fuller, more productive lives if afforded the right opportunities and supports. The federal government has a strong obligation and role to play in ensuring that these Americans have the same chance to succeed in life as all other citizens. The moral imperative is clear. The economic benefits are many. The initial costs may be high, but the renewed sense of purpose that it will bring about in our Nation is priceless.


Health Care and Community Living
High quality, accessible, and affordable health care should be a right for every American, but especially for people with disabilities. Without it, employment options become severely limited and the promise of full participation in our communities is only a dream. As President, John Kerry will work hard to protect and improve critical important programs like Medicaid; to fix those parts of Medicare that are broken; and to promote new solutions that will improve the health care access, coverage, and community living that assures people with disabilities the same dignity of freedom, choices, and independence promised to all Americans.


Protect / Strengthen Medicaid:
John Kerry cares very deeply about the future of Medicaid. He believes it must be strengthened and protected, not torn apart. He firmly opposes the Bush Administration’s proposals to slowly but surely defund and turn Medicaid into a block grant to the states. Investing in Medicaid will improve the health and independence of more than 10 million children, adults and older Americans with disabilities throughout our country. No one should be forced into a nursing home or another institution to have their most basic needs met just because they live in a State that chooses not to offer needed community living services.

John Kerry supports strengthening and improving Medicaid in several key ways:

We must pass the Family Opportunity Act. Parents with children with disabilities are unjustly punished for working hard to support and provide for their families. Currently, low-income families of children with severe disabilities receive federal disability benefits under Supplemental Security Income. However, if parents seek a better job or earn higher wages, their children with disabilities lose Medicaid coverage, which is essential to providing comprehensive health care for children who require complex and often costly care. In a recent survey of 20 states, 64 percent of parents of children with disabilities reported that they turned down jobs, raises, and overtime pay to remain under the income limits required to qualify for Medicaid coverage.

No parent should have to turn down a job or give up the custody of a child to ensure that he or she gets health care. It defies both common sense and simple justice. The Family Opportunity Act will right these wrongs. It is also an essential investment in the health and independence of these young people that will strengthen America. This bill gives states the option to expand Medicaid coverage for children with disabilities up to age 18 in families with incomes up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level (or $46,000 per year for a family of four). Among other important provisions, the bill also grants immediate access to Medicaid services for those children with disabilities who are presumed eligible for SSI. This is a bureaucratic barrier that often unnecessarily limits health care access and must be removed.

We must fully implement the Olmstead decision. John Kerry believes that states must be given increased resources and tools to carry out the Olmstead decision and must be held accountable for doing so. As with racial segregation, we must put an end to the institutional bias that prevents millions of Americans of all ages from living fuller lives in their own homes and communities. States are experiencing tough fiscal times and many are slashing Medicaid funding for home and community based services. The Bush Administration has done nothing to stop this from happening. John Kerry is committed to finding ways to relieve these pressures on states and make certain that people with disabilities and older Americans receive the support they need to live in their own homes and communities.

We must enact MiCASSA and the Money Follows the Person Act. John Kerry believes we must assure equal access to community living services to Americans with disabilities of all ages nationwide. The ADA stands for the proposition that people with disabilities have the right to be a part of the American community rather than to live their lives separate and apart from it. That's why John Kerry is a proud original cosponsor of MiCASSA and the Money Follows the Person Act. Passage of both these bills is vital to ending the institutional bias that makes it impossible for millions of Americans to exercise the most basic of human liberties: Freedom. Choices. Independence. These are the birth right of every American. Our nation's long-term care policies and programs must promote rather than undermine these cherished values. To truly make such systems work, to offer realchoices, we must ensure equal access to quality home and community services throughout our nation. We must provide freedom, choice, and independence for all. John Kerry will not rest until we make this the law of the land. This issue is too important to wait until America elects John Kerry as President. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over both pieces of legislation, John Kerry will work with key leaders in both parties to ensure that hearings are held on both over the coming months. He welcomes the Bush Administration's support for the idea that when people receiving assistance from Medicaid are able to leave a nursing home or other institution, those funds should follow them back into the community to pay for needed support services. President Bush should make the passage of such legislation a key priority this year. John Kerry will work to increase funding for independent living centers, area agencies on aging and similar local organizations to build capacity and on-going support for people with disabilities to move out of or keep from needlessly going into a nursing home or another institution.

If we are serious about investing in the independence of people with disabilities we must also invest in providing decent wages and benefits to the community-based service workers who help make that independence possible everyday. As President, John Kerry will work with people with disabilities, older Americans, families and advocates, community living workers, union representatives, service providers and others to develop and pursue a range of strategies for assuring them a living wage and essential health insurance coverage.

We must and will adopt a Community First Policy in America. As President, John Kerry will reverse the institutional bias and ensure that Americans with disabilities of every age have the services and supports to live in the community of their choice. To this end, John Kerry will appoint - as one of his first acts in office - a national bipartisan Community First Commission made up of Members of Congress, Governors, distinguished older Americans, veterans, Americans with disabilities and other experts. The commission will identify short and long term policy reforms that could and should be pursued to:


Guarantee that all Americans with disabilities who can live in their community with affordable supports have equal opportunity to do so regardless of age, disability, state of residence, employment status or form of assistance required.

Create a greater federal role in equitably financing and enhancing the quality and appropriateness of all long-term services.

Eliminate the institutional bias in Medicaid and Medicare that robs millions of Americans of their most basic freedoms, dignity and daily independence.
The commission will submit findings and recommendations to the Administration and the leadership in both houses of Congress by July 26, 2005 - the 15th anniversary of the ADA. John Kerry will then work with the leadership from both parties in Congress to see to it that MiCASSA and other reforms are passed and ready for his signature within one year of when he takes office.


Strengthen Medicare:
There are many changes that must be made to improve the Medicare program for people with disabilities. John Kerry believes we must improve coverage for employed beneficiaries with disabilities. In enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, Congress declared that:

"(T)he Nation's proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for such individuals."

In approving the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA) nine years later, Congress further found that no one with a disability should be forced to give up critical health coverage to go to work. Thus, TWWIIA seeks to guarantee continued access to vital Medicare and Medicaid coverage to enable individuals with significant disabilities to become competitively employed under certain conditions.

As a result of this law, about half of the states today allow employed individuals with disabilities to buy into Medicaid if their incomes and assets do not exceed certain limits and meet other criteria set by each state. These Medicaid buy-in programs vary widely from one state to another, however, both in regard to the eligibility requirements they set and the benefits and services they make available. Moreover, if the current economic downturn continues, states that currently have these plans in place may have to cut back or eliminate them all together. Moreover, few other states will be in a position to create new buy-in programs.

Another important provision of the TWWIIA permits those on SSDI to return to work and keep their basic Medicare coverage for eight and a half years. This time limited coverage extension may help some people with disabilities on SSDI and Medicare resume competitive employment. But the fact that Medicare benefits have largely remained the same for over thirty years makes them unresponsive to the personal, health related, social and economic 21st century needs, abilities and aspirations of many working age Americans with disabilities.

The federal government must play a far greater role in ensuring that workers with disabilities have the insurance coverage they need to be as independent and productive as possible. Regardless of where these individuals live or how much they are able to earn, they should be able to buy in to a uniform, national set of benefits designed to do just this. To help achieve these ends, the Medicare program should provide for enhanced coverage for employed individuals with disabilities. Medicare should:

Eliminate the 2-Year Waiting Period: Persons would no longer have to wait a total of 29 months of when they first apply for SSDI to become eligible for Medicare. It makes no sense to deny people with disabilities access to Medicare at the time they need it the most to regain their health and independence.

Expand Coverage for Certain Other Competitively Employed Individuals with Disabilities: Medicare coverage would be extended to competitively employed individuals who are self supporting and receive no SSDI or SSI benefits but have a disability that would make them eligible to receive such income support payments absent their earnings.

Enhance Coverage for People with Disabilities: Medicare would be modernized to include the following services, devices and specialized health care:

Comprehensive Inpatient and Community-based Rehabilitation Services –Medically necessary services, including mental health services that are reasonable and necessary to improve a beneficiary’s health, independence and capacity to engage in competitive employment.

Community Transition Services – Services and supports that are reasonable and necessary to assist a beneficiary to make a smooth and effective transition to living in their own home and community and to return to work following a stay in a hospital or post acute care SNF or rehabilitation facility.

Mental Health Parity – Remove and remedy all current disincentives and additional co-payments in Medicare related to accessing medically necessary and reasonable inpatient and outpatient mental health services.

Durable Medical Equipment – Medicare should cover the devices, supplies and services that are both reasonable and medically necessary to assist a beneficiary to gain, improve or sustain their health and independence in their home, community or competitive employment setting.

Skilled Home Health Services: No one should be forced to choose between receiving the vital home health care they need to continue to survive and their right to leave their homes and participate fully in their communities. It will exempt beneficiaries who have a condition that requires them to receive home health services for the remainder of their lives from meeting the homebound rule regardless of their employment status.

Home Health and Independence Services: HHS should fund a series of demonstrations aimed at identifying cost effective ways that such services can best promote the health, independence and productivity of people with disabilities.

Allowing People to Buy into the Federal Employees Health Care Benefits Program. John Kerry’s health care plan also allows Americans to buy into the same plan that Members of Congress get today. This will make sure that people with disabilities always have an affordable group coverage option that does not discriminate based on health status.


Ensure Equal Access to Needed Services
We need to require full mental health parity once and for all. Recent breakthroughs in science have taught us so much about how genetic, social and environmental factors come together to cause mental illnesses. In addition, we have developed new effective drugs and better community health services. We have learned mental illness is treatable, often more treatable than common physical illnesses. Despite these many advances, mental illness continues to be treated differently from physical illness. We need full mental health parity, not just mental health parity for certain benefits or certain mental health conditions or with unnecessary loopholes that allow insurers to skirt their responsibility. John Kerry will fight for legislation that requires full mental health parity.

We must provide real prescription drug coverage. The prescription drug plan passed this year is less about prescription drug benefits and more a prescription to benefit big drug companies. John Kerry will replace this bill with a plan to lower prescription drug costs, make sure seniors can choose their doctors instead of forcing them to join an HMO, expand coverage for those who currently have it, and ensure that there is always a Medicare-run plan for every senior and person with a disability with access to providers that are fairly reimbursed for their high quality services.


Employment Opportunities
We need to have a more focused effort on recruiting and employing people with disabilities in America. One place we can start is with a targeted effort in the federal government. John Kerry is proud to be working with an expert group of national advisors he assembled on disability policy issues. As President, he will guarantee that qualified individuals with disabilities will play a pivotal role in his transition team and in his Administration. John Kerry will seek out the best and brightest to serve in multiple capacities throughout the government and in the White House. He will utilize the skills and wisdom of the disability community in shaping policy and programs that will benefit the entire country.

Among John Kerry’s priorities for using the federal government to improve recruitment and employment of people with disabilities:

He will reinstate the Executive Order by President Clinton to hire 100,000 qualified individuals with disabilities as federal employees over five years. The federal government has massive spending powers that can and should be used to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities. In a Kerry Administration, this will occur. The Office of Federal Contracts and Compliance Programs at the Department of Labor will be held accountable in ensuring that federal contractors are not just reaching out to people with disabilities, but hiring them as well. Further, goals will be set for the hiring of people with disabilities similar to the ones set for women and veterans. He will also ensure that people with disabilities are selected to serve in government sponsored arts and humanities programs. Artistic and creative skills flow throughout the disability community – this should be enhanced and nurtured so that more individuals can flourish in this arena and ultimately seek gainful employment.

Private sector companies have already demonstrated that for tasks such as customer service call center work, claims processing and transcription, use of "virtual workers" can be a cost effective business strategy. When the federal government outsources such tasks, ensuring that qualified teleworkers with disabilities are given priority for the work can create jobs for home-based individuals with disabilities.

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of the U.S. economy, but for too long entrepreneurs with disabilities have not been able to participate in the programs administered through the Small Business Administration. While promoting an increase in the goal for small business contracting, John Kerry will advocate for a special set aside for small business owners with disabilities, thereby ensuring that they have equal status to other minority business owners.

Many of the technological advances made through the work of the Defense Department and NASA are transferable to people with disabilities, and could enhance their capacity to work. This technology should and will be made available when appropriate for use by people with disabilities.

Employment discrimination is rampant against people with disabilities. This will not be tolerated in a Kerry Administration. His appointments to head the U.S. Department of Justice and to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will be instructed to use their respective roles as enforcers in the most stringent ways.

As President, John Kerry guarantees that all policies developed in his Administration will take into account the implications of such policies on people with disabilities. Disability policy will never be made in hindsight in a Kerry Administration.


Civil Rights Enforcement
The Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act are the most important civil rights laws for persons with disabilities in our country's history. John Kerry believes that it is vital that we enforce these laws, and that we fight recent judicial and legislative actions that weaken them.

Integration of persons with disabilities: An important purpose of the ADA is to put an end to the segregation that persons with disabilities historically have suffered, and June 22, 1999, marked a pivotal moment in that effort. On that date, the United States Supreme Court held in Olmstead v. L.C. that under some circumstances, the ADA requires states to provide community-based services rather than institutional placements for individuals with disabilities.

John Kerry believes that the de-institutionalization and integration of persons with disabilities into the community is of fundamental importance. By providing persons with disabilities the opportunity to work, participate in civic life, and become community leaders, we strengthen our entire community. As President, John Kerry would support programs such as MiCASSA that promote integration of persons with disabilities (see health care section for more details on this provision).

Enforcement by the Department of Justice: The Department of Justice plays an important role in ensuring that the ADA is enforced, but it must have sufficient resources to fulfill this role. As President, John Kerry would increase funding to the Department of Justice to be used specifically for the enforcement of the ADA.

Clarifying the insurance safe harbor: The ADA has a safe harbor provision concerning insurance pricing and underwriting decisions that affect persons with disabilities. John Kerry would work to clarify that this provision only applies when an insurer can demonstrate that the disability (1) increased the risk that the insurable event would occur, and (2) posed a more significant risk than other factors that the insurer did not take into consideration in making its pricing or underwriting decision.

Enacting civil rights tax relief: Currently, persons who bring ADA, Rehabilitation Act, and other civil rights actions in our legal system face a number of hurdles even if they successfully resolve their action at trial or through settlement. These hurdles include: (1) Unfair taxation on rewards. Unlike personal injury awards for wages and emotional distress, discrimination awards involving either back wages or non-physical injuries – including emotional distress – are taxable; (2) Unfairly being forced into higher tax brackets for payments on awards. Because back pay awards are considered taxable income, and IRS regulations require that they be taxed in the year received even though the award covers many years worth of wages, back pay awards are taxed at a higher rate than would be the case if the worker were paid annually; and (3) People who bring civil rights cases can be taxed on the portion of the award paid to their attorney as attorneys' fees, thus causing the same award to be taxed twice, since attorneys are taxed on it as well.

As President, John Kerry would promote a Civil Rights Tax Relief Act. This Act would do away with these unfair barriers to the enforcement of our civil rights laws by eliminating the taxation of emotional distress damages, providing for income averaging of back pay awards, and eliminating the taxation of attorneys' fee awards in these cases.

Opposing the ADA Notification Act: Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have proposed legislation known as the ADA Notification Act, which would require that before filing a lawsuit for violations of Title III of the ADA, a plaintiff must notify the defendant of the specific facts that constitute the violation and give the defendant time to fix the violation.

John Kerry strenuously opposes the ADA Notification Act because it would aid those who seek to evade the ADA by allowing them to ignore its requirements until they receive notice of their violations. As President, he would work against this legislation and would veto this bill if it ever came to his desk.

Reverse Buckhannon: Under a recent Supreme Court decision, Buckhannon Board and Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Dep't of Health and Human Servs., 532 U.S. 598 (2001), plaintiffs in civil rights suits are not entitled to statutory attorneys' fees where their litigation is the catalyst for the defendant to correct its discriminatory behavior unless the case is litigated all the way to a judgment or court-enforced settlement. This is so even if the defendant refused to correct its behavior in the absence of litigation and even if the plaintiffs and their attorneys have put months or even years of work into the case. This has seriously impeded the ability of individuals to challenge discrimination, especially in cases brought under Titles II and III of the ADA, where the only remedy is often injunctive relief -- that is, a change in behavior -- rather than damages. It has also made settlement more difficult and spawned additional litigation concerning the scope and standing of the Buckhannon decision.

John Kerry would support legislation to reverse Buckhannon. This will encourage defendants to remedy discriminatory conduct earlier in the process of litigation and will support reasonable settlements. It will also ensure that individuals who have suffered discrimination are able to retain counsel to challenge that conduct.


Education
If the goal of the disability-rights movement is to create opportunities for Americans with disabilities equal to those of their peers without disabilities, then education is the key that opens those doors. A doctor with a disability is not handed a stethoscope simply because she is has a disability. She has earned it by rising through the ranks of medical school like any other doctor. A carpenter with a disability is not handed a hammer because of a mandate from Washington. He has learned his trade through years of practice. And a prosecutor with a disability isn’t hired out of pity. She has proven herself a skilled litigator after a rigorous law school career.

Providing the education such Americans require can sometimes present a significant financial burden. As human beings, we should view that challenge as both a moral obligation and a wise investment. By empowering Americans with disabilities to be productive, job-holding, tax-paying citizens, it’s an economic win for everyone.


Strengthening “IDEA”:
In 1975, Congress made a deal with our state and local school boards. Give our children with disabilities the free and appropriate education they deserve, Congress said. When you do, the federal government will pay 40 percent of the additional cost…no matter how much it takes. That is an expensive commitment. But without it, our values of fairness and self-sufficiency are shallow at best, a cruel joke at worst.

“Mandatory” Full-Funding: Twenty-nine years later, President Bush is picking up less than half of the federal tab. Because of that broken promise, schools across the country have had to pit special education against all other programs. Yet even after class sizes increase and after-school activities are cut, kids with disabilities are still not getting the services they need. We need predictable full-funding. Under a Kerry Administration, we will have it.

Strong Enforcement and Real Compliance: Politicians sometimes forget that the laws they write are not instantly transformed into reality. With IDEA, we know that nothing could be further from the truth. Regardless of funding, a law will only be as good as its enforcement. Across the country – in school districts large and small – this law is not being followed.

In many cases, the good intentions of teachers and principals are undermined by a lack of understanding of the law. The same is true for many parents, who often do not know the rights to which they are entitled. In some cases, school officials need to be taught that IDEA isn’t just a guideline, it’s the law. Exhausted parents cannot and should not bear that burden. That is why strengthening IDEA enforcement will be a Kerry Administration priority.

Situations involving non-compliance, no matter how unintended, cannot be resolved so long as they go undetected. A strong monitoring system is therefore the cornerstone of effective enforcement. John Kerry proposes a four-part plan:

We will measure key educational and functional indicators on both the state and local levels. These indicators should include, but not be limited to, assessment performance, dropout rates, and graduation rates (in accordance with IEP timetables). It is also vital that these results not be viewed in isolation, but in comparison to results for children without disabilities.

We will require every state to file a federal compliance plan. Such a plan will set specific benchmarks for the monitored outcomes.

We will deploy an array of tools to ensure compliance. Initial failure to meet the agreed-upon benchmarks should result in sanctions that are constructive in nature, rather than punitive. By targeting funds for technical assistance or specific services, the Department of Education can help stop a problem in its earliest stages. Over time, however, non-compliance should be tied to a loss of federal administrative dollars and/or referral to the Department of Justice for legal action. We ought not to neglect those at the other end of the spectrum: schools that perform exceptionally well should also be recognized for their success.

As a last line of defense, John Kerry will defend all “procedural safeguards.” Parents are often the best on-the-ground compliance monitors. They must be empowered to protect their child’s access to free and appropriate public education. John Kerry will strongly oppose any cap on attorney fees and will not tolerate any infringement on the rights to self- or non-attorney representation. These are not special disability rights; they are basic American civil rights. With effective enforcement, they may be exercised even less often than they are now (just 0.31 percent of all students were the subject of an impartial hearing). In the rare instance when it is unavoidable, John Kerry will not allow the initiation of due process to serve as an excuse to remove a student from a setting in which the school is accountable for his or her educational outcomes under No Child Left Behind.

Of course, we must provide the funding to make such data collection and oversight possible. While the Bush Administration has left states largely unprepared for the demands of No Child Left Behind, it has left them alone in the wilderness on IDEA. But coupled with proper funding, John Kerry believe these steps will finally hold schools accountable for implementing the services, dispute resolution options, and overall environment promised by law. Better focus yields better results.


Maintain Accountability for Special Education:
The most recent education reform passed by Congress was not called ‘no able-bodied child left behind’. It was not called ‘no child with a disability in private school left behind’. It was called ‘No Child Left Behind’ because it meant that no child would be denied the tools needed to succeed.

The law is far from perfect. Many changes must be made before it can hope to live up to its promise. But the one change John Kerry will not support is one that undermines the long-overdue accountability for special education students. It is our most vulnerable children who most need our protection.

Instead, we must do a better job of educating our schools in the use of alternative assessments. John Kerry will direct the Secretary of Education to provide states with the guidance that, again, has been sorely lacking under this Administration.


Promote Participation in Service Learning:
Every day, more American high schools are adding community service to their list of graduation requirements. This is a wonderful development. When community service is woven into academic learning, the lessons can be profound. Students learn practical skills, develop a greater attachment to their community, and feel empowered to make a real difference in the world. Both students and teachers can develop a newfound motivation.

Unfortunately, many school systems fail to engage students with disabilities in what they see as “physical” activities. The benefits to be gained from involving special education children in those programs are great and the benefits of matching them with their peers without disabilities are extraordinary.

In Western Massachusetts, the Hampshire Educational Collaborative has developed groundbreaking programs that do just that. For special education students, it is a wonderful chance to be an integral part of a team, to uncover hidden talents, and to share a meaningful experience with their peers without disabilities. For regular education students, it is a chance to overcome prejudices and appreciate the challenges that children with disabilities must overcome.

As President, John Kerry will work to spread such programs across the country. He will also encourage efforts within the Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps) to reach out to individuals with disabilities. This kind of barrier-breaking will be the foundation of future understanding between Americans with and without disabilities.


Improve Access to Higher Education:
A college education is now a near-universal requirement for professional employment. Unfortunately, that level of independence is still but a dream for many of our youth with disabilities. As members of the minority group with the highest rate of unemployment in America, they continue to face significant barriers to higher education. John Kerry is committed to equipping the next generation of students with disabilities with the tools to succeed, and he will work hard to solve these problems.

Improve Transitional Planning: As with other at-risk youth, early outreach programs can be enormously successful in affecting positive change. Yet despite the mandate for such services under IDEA, transitional-planning programs seem to be an early casualty of non-compliance.

Much can be accomplished with John Kerry’s IDEA enforcement plan. He will further leverage Department of Education resources to create and advertise a single national resource for transitional planning assistance, as recommended by the Youth Advisory Committee of the National Council on Disability.

Promote Access and Awareness in Disability Services: Simple decisions can have profound consequences. At many colleges, the disability services office is located on the second floor of a building without an elevator. Incoming students with known disabilities are often not informed that their school maintains such an office. Such easily-correctable problems can wreak not-so-easily-correctible havoc on a student’s life. As President, John Kerry will encourage institutions to re-evaluate both their outreach and physical accessibility to students with disabilities.

Improve Service Coordination: Making sense of the web of college financial assistance programs is a difficult task. When disability-assistance services are added to the mix, the task becomes overwhelming. Conflicting eligibility requirements, varying legal interpretations and institutional biases can make for insurmountable obstacles.

What makes sense in Washington does not always make sense in the real world. We must better coordinate vocational rehabilitation, SSI, and federal student aid services in a way that is meaningful for students, not bureaucrats. John Kerry looks forward to tackling this problem with the help of an advisory council with strong student representation.

Provide Work-Study Alternatives: Lacking neither in work ethic nor financial need, many students with disabilities are physically incapable of utilizing work-study programs. Such assistance can mean the difference between attending university and staying home. It is in all of our best interests to ensure fair alternatives.

The Youth Advisory Committee has suggested that scholarships be provided to those who overcome significant disabilities to achieve academic excellence. John Kerry will work closely with the Council to explore this and other ideas for getting students with disabilities the full financial aid for which they are eligible.

Collect data on students with disabilities: Even today, we rely primarily on anecdotal information when discussing disability issues in higher education. We lack a true scientific understanding of the realities on the ground.

That must change if we are to adequately plan for the future. Policies can only be effective so long as they are practical. As President, John Kerry will direct the Secretary of Education to solicit disability status and accommodation-cost data so that we might arm ourselves with the tools to take meaningful action.


Transportation
Nearly fifteen years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, there remains much work to be done in the area of accessible transportation. We as Americans rely daily on many types of transportation to accomplish even our most mundane tasks such as going to work, shopping, and participating in community activities. We must work to ensure that all transportation options in our community are accessible to people with disabilities.

Over The Road Busses (OTRBs): OTRBs are the only transportation for people in many rural parts of the United States. It is also one of the most affordable forms of transportation for lower income individuals. Although it is becoming increasingly accessible, it is taking too long to achieve the level of accessibility necessary for people with disabilities to feel comfortable with relying on this form of transportation.

The OTRB industry operates on thin financial margins. As President, John Kerry will encourage Congress to offer low interest to no-interest loans to facilitate the bus companies’ purchase of new accessible busses to increase the reliability of transportation for people with disabilities.

Paratransit: In many communities, paratransit services cease operations in the late afternoon and offer no service on weekends. Paratransit customers are often confronted by obstacles such as no night-time service, refusal to cross city and county lines, and inconsistent rules and compliance. The result is that people with disabilities and the elderly have little to no access to transportation and their community.

As President, John Kerry will work to ensure that the Department of Transportation funds startup grants, particularly in rural areas, to encourage communities to exceed their obligations under the ADA. He will also direct the Secretary of Transportation to convene a special advisory committee of paratransit services to explore other mechanisms for improving consumers’ access to services. The committee will include strong representation from the disability community.

Mass Transit/Transit Authorities: Millions of Americans (particularly those in urban areas) rely on Mass Transit every day to meet their transportation needs. Many agencies are working hard to meet their responsibilities under the ADA. Accessible public transportation is far more affordable to provide than paratransit service.

A Kerry Administration will be tasked to work with Transit Authorities across the country to ensure their compliance with the ADA. We must encourage people with disabilities to use mainline transportation wherever it is accessible. His Administration will fund innovation grants to accomplish this goal.

Air Transportation: Too many people with disabilities have faced discrimination by air carriers or had wheelchairs and other medical equipment damaged. Without access to their mobility equipment, a person’s vacation or business trip can be ruined.

A Kerry Administration will enforce the Air Carrier Access Act. The Department of Transportation will work with air carriers to reduce the incidence of broken medical equipment.

In addition, John Kerry will propose legislation clarifying that there is a private right of action under the Air Carrier Access Act and provide that the prevailing party in actions brought under the Act is entitled to recovery of attorneys’ fees. This will bring the Air Carrier Access Act into line with the vast majority of federal civil rights laws.

Taxi Service: Although taxi cabs are not required to be accessible under the ADA, there must be accessible taxi services available in any community which has taxi service. Many communities do not have accessible service despite this requirement. In addition, in communities which have accessible taxis, people with disabilities are often confronted with long waits and inequitable service. This is not acceptable. John Kerry will appoint an Attorney General who will make it a priority to enforce the ADA and other civil rights laws. We must ensure that accessible transportation services are comparable to the services provided to the general public, not second class in nature.

Private Carriers and Ground Transportation: All transportation services must serve people with disabilities. John Kerry will appoint an Attorney General who will strictly enforce the ADA and other civil rights laws.

Tour Operators: Many Americans rely on Tour Operators for meeting their vacation needs. This is particularly true for older Americans, yet often these services do not comply with the ADA.

John Kerry will instruct the Attorney General and the Department of Transportation to offer more training opportunities for operators to foster their compliance with the ADA.

Automobiles: Americans rely on cars more than any other transportation option. This is also true of people with disabilities. Unfortunately, many people with disabilities have to make expensive modifications to their vehicles to meet their needs.

To assist people with disabilities who rely on automobiles, we must work to ensure all rest stops and toll collection systems are accessible to people with disabilities. We will also encourage states to waive the application fee for electronic toll collection passes for people with disabilities, since such electronic passes make it easier for people who use hand controls to leave their hands free for driving.

Accessible vehicles: People who need wheelchair accessible vehicles often have to spend ten to twenty thousand dollars to modify their vehicles.

As President, John Kerry will personally work with the Big Three automakers to encourage them to produce an affordable, wheelchair-accessible vehicle. This would reduce the need for costly modifications. It will also make accessible taxi service more feasible and will allow people with disabilities and people with elderly parents to own accessible vehicles.

Training for Consumers in Integrated Transportations Options: When we travel, we often rely on multiple forms of transportation and multiple providers. Many times people with disabilities are not aware of their options, because they have little experience with using public transportation. John Kerry supports funding projects which enable people with disabilities to learn more about their transportation options.

Expanding Project ACTION: Over the past decade Project ACTION at Easter Seals has been at the forefront of increasing communities’ knowledge of best practices in providing accessible transportation. Now that we know the best practices, we must make sure that all transportation providers, both public and private, are aware of their legal responsibilities under the ADA and other civil rights laws.

John Kerry would like to see Project ACTION expand their role in ensuring that consumers are aware of their civil rights with regard to transportation services. An educated consumer base is one of the best mechanisms for ensuring compliance with civil rights laws.

Project ACTION’s funding is not commensurate with the valuable role they play, and John Kerry’s view of their increased role. His Administration will increase funding for Project ACTION to $10 million per year.

Technology
John Kerry has long been a champion of the use of technology to level the playing field for people with disabilities. He strongly believes that we must effectively harness technology to empower people, particularly those who are often the least empowered in our society. The technology/telecommunications boom that our country has witnessed now allows people with disabilities to accomplish things their bodies will not let them do on their own.

Often, we do not know what the future growth of technology holds. Interference by government in the regulation of technology is very difficult for policy-makers. We must be careful not to stifle innovation. However, we must be sure that technology is not used in a discriminatory manner. We are at our best as a society when technology empowers everyone, not just some of us.

Technology as a Tool for Independence: We must be able to put technology in the hands of people who can use it. Many people with disabilities in our society would benefit from technology, but cannot afford it. New technology is often costly, as the first people to use the technology are underwriting a large proportion of the development costs. The problem is that the persons most in need of the liberation the technology provides are often the least able to afford it.

As President, John Kerry would direct federal agencies to assess their research and development programs to identify how much money, and what percentage of their budgets, has historically been devoted to developing technology designed to assist people with disabilities and the elderly with maximizing their independence and living in their community. He would work on promoting a goal to increase targets across the board. John Kerry wants our government to cultivate new, cutting-edge technology through research dollars that the private sector finds too risky to fund.

Funding for Technology: People who need assistive technology are often confronted with a bewildering array of potential funding sources that are difficult to sort out. In theory, federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Vocational Rehabilitation, Early Intervention, the Veterans Administration, and education funds can pay for costs related to assistive technology. However, most of these funding sources view themselves as the “payer of last resort.”

A Kerry Administration will assemble an intergovernmental team to review current programs which pay for assistive technology and require them to develop a comprehensive plan of cooperation. The plan would investigate the potential of pooling the various federal funds to create a single funding mechanism.

Technology and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): John Kerry is extremely concerned that some are arguing that the ADA does not apply to the World Wide Web and e-commerce. The argument has been made that when Congress defined places of public accommodation, they only stipulated physical locations such as theatres, restaurants, malls and doctors’ offices. This argument is folly. As a supporter of the ADA, John Kerry can attest that Members of Congress did not know the potential of the Internet in 1990. None of them could have known that one day many of the products and services sold in our economy would be conducted electronically.

He would promote legislation to clarify that the Americans with Disabilities Act is applicable to e-commerce and web-based places of public accommodation.

Making electronic and information technology truly accessible: In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to include Section 508. This section requires that Federal Agencies make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Inaccessible technology interferes with an individual’s ability to use information quickly and easily.

Section 508 is important because it is the federal government using its considerable economic power to encourage and lead private enterprise in building a more accessible society.

John Kerry is concerned, however, that some of the standards developed under this historic legislation are less stringent than they should be. As an example, the accessibility criteria for web sites under Section 508 should be as robust as the standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium.

Enforcing telecommunications accessibility laws: Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires that telecommunications manufacturers and service providers make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities, if readily achievable.

John Kerry is concerned that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is not proactively enforcing Section 255. As President, he would appoint FCC Commissioners who would vigorously enforce this section of the law, and would consider expanding the Act to allow private right of action. This would allow individuals who have been negatively affected by the lack of accessibility to file suit against the manufacturer or service provider.

Telework and Telecommuting: Telework and telecommuting offers many advantages for companies and workers in our society. They could be especially advantageous for employees or workers with disabilities who have trouble getting to an office due to inclement weather, lack of transportation, or physical difficulties.

John Kerry supports implementing a $1,000 tax credit for companies which provide telecommuting opportunities to employees with disabilities.


Housing
Too many people in our society do not have access to safe, affordable housing. As President, this is a challenge John Kerry would confront. For people with disabilities, housing must also be accessible, affordable, and integrated. For too long our society has cast aside those it did not want in our community off to institutions, out of sight and out of mind.

Now, with the Olmstead decision, a new day has dawned in America for people with disabilities. We must embrace the challenge and begin the work of ensuring an adequate supply of accessible, affordable, and integrated housing in the United States.

Lifetime Homes and Universal or Inclusive Design: Often people are forced to move from their homes when they acquire a disability or a family member can no longer live safely in the home due to their age. When the number of senior citizens doubles over the next thirty years, it will create a large gap between accessible housing and those who require this housing.

Officials in London have coined a phrase “lifetime homes.” In the United States, housing designers have worked on a concept called “universal design.” Quite simply, these concepts mean that housing can be used safely and easily by as many people as possible without undue effort, separation, or special treatment. Studies have found that a good number of older Americans want to live in their own homes during their golden years.

We can no longer afford to build new housing which is not flexible enough to meet the existing and changing needs of most households. We need to work towards the goal of having all new housing built in the United States incorporate this philosophy. John Kerry would support tax credits for builders and/or demonstration project funding for non-profit organizations to help increase the stock of universal design housing

Enforcement of public housing set asides: Some housing authorities do not have five percent of their units accessible, despite legal mandates. John Kerry will direct the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to ensure that all housing authorities are meeting this target. Many people with disabilities also face housing discrimination despite the Fair Housing Act. No one should be illegally denied housing in the United States.

Public Housing Accommodations: With the exception of the eight years under the Clinton Administration, the last quarter century has witnessed strong disinvestment in affordable housing in the United States. We must recommit to ensuring that people have a place to live. John Kerry is particularly concerned that many housing developments have limited their populations to those over the age of 65. Over the last decade, housing developments for the elderly and people with disabilities have had the right to convert to elderly only. The effect of this policy has been a reduction of this stock of affordable, accessible housing. We need to protect both those with disabilities as well as the elderly.

Housing Vouchers: There is currently a cap on Section 8 vouchers, which means that some people who have been waiting for five years for their name to come up will now not be able to receive a voucher. John Kerry would work to remove the cap entirely and expand the cap in the interim. He would also target additional vouchers to enable those in nursing homes and other institutions to move back into their own homes and communities.

Home ownership: Many people with disabilities have never had the option of owning their own home. Even as home ownership levels in the United States have risen to record levels, it remains an elusive dream for most people with disabilities. We must explore a variety of housing options for people with disabilities, including home ownership.

We need to make low interest and/or no interest loans available so that families can make their homes accessible if a family member requires accessibility. Why should a family struggle with carrying a child up a flight of stairs, or moving their parent to a nursing home simply because they cannot afford to modify their home?

Olmstead Decision: In order for the goals of the Olmstead Decision to become a reality for millions of Americans who are living in nursing homes and institutions, we must invest in housing for people with disabilities. A person cannot “live in the community” without housing.

We must also establish programs for senior citizens to “age in their own home.” Too many people are forced to move into alternate housing because their own home cannot accommodate their growing physical limitations.

Veterans
America's veterans with disabilities have special needs that must be met by the federal government whose responsibility it is to provide for those who have borne the battle. To meet these needs, John Kerry has fought for mandatory funding of veterans’ healthcare, streamlined disability claims, and a robust research and treatment agenda at VA hospitals.

He also believes that military retirees with disabilities should not be taxed by a system that provides for others what it does not provide them. Because of a century-old law, military retirees are prohibited from collecting both VA disability compensation and military retirement pay. This prohibition against "concurrent receipt" is offensive. In each of the last two years we have been able to expand concurrent receipt, but hundreds of thousands of veterans are still locked out of the system. No other federal retiree is forced to surrender retirement pay to receive disability compensation. This is a punitive tax and it must stop. John Kerry has outlined a comprehensive plan for America’s veterans that can be found on his website www.johnkerry.com.

Voting Accessibility
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires states to ensure accessible voting. While Congress has appropriated some funding, many states have not taken advantage of it. John Kerry would encourage states to meet HAVA’s requirements as quickly as possible. Americans with disabilities must be represented on HAVA planning commissions, voting-related materials must be available in accessible formats, poll workers must be trained to work with Americans with disabilities, and every polling place must have at least one accessible voting machine by the year 2006. Furthermore, John Kerry will ask states to include a definition of accessibility and a deadline by which all polling places will be accessible in the compliance plan which they submit to the Election Assistance Commission.


http://www.johnkerry.com/communities/awd/awd_vision.html

If the question was not asked...

he would not have been able to work it into a response perhaps.

That does not mean he did not talk about it on the stump. He did.

He let the Bushies and media frame the campaign. His position on issues of concern to people with disabilities was far superior to Bush's but he never brought it up. He really should have--most people support things like the Money Follows the Person bill, when they hear about it. After all, it is both more humane and more economical. How often does that happen?