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REMARKS BY: TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING EFFORTS TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO COMMUNITY LIVING FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, WASHINGTON, D.C. DATE: JULY 25, 2001
I'm so pleased to see so many men and women from the disabled community with us this morning, including national leaders like Tony Young, Andy Imperato and Mike Auberger. Thanks to each of you for being here.
We're here to recognize not only the leaders in the fight for disabled rights but the disabled men and women of our country themselves. You represent courage, perseverance, and a desire to contribute to our country. You have our appreciation and our deep respect.
I'm glad to note that Bobby Coward is here. Bobby is a District resident who works with people currently living in nursing homes who wish to move into the broader community. Bobby helps these men and women identify the services and housing they need to leave nursing home care and become participants in the regular stream of life. Bobby, thank you for what you are doing.
We're here celebrating the 11th anniversary of a remarkable piece of legislation - the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Former President Bush signed the bill into law on July 26, 1990. It literally opened doors for millions of Americans, giving them access to many areas of public life from which they had, for far too long, been shut out.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one out of every five Americans lives with some form of disability . and nearly one in eight reports having a severe disability.
Whether a physical disability that impairs hearing, mobility, speech or sight or a mental or emotional disability, millions of people in our country struggle to make their way through a society that often makes too little provision for them.
Yet for a person using a wheelchair, a curb can seem like a small mountain. For someone without sight, finding the right floor on an elevator can be confusing.
The ADA began to change those painful realities. Curbs on sidewalks have become accessible. Finding Braille on everything from cash machines to office nameplates is becoming commonplace. In a host of ways, people with disabilities are finding the public square a place of welcome rather than a forum of pain and frustration.
In my home state of Wisconsin, our program for the disabled had a name I like a great deal - "Pathways to Independence." We developed a program that allows the disabled to enter the workforce without losing Supplemental Security Income benefits.
The President's New Freedom Initiative and state programs like "Pathways to Independence" are based on a simple but profound idea: Most people with disabilities want to work. They want to help build a stronger country and to build their own independent lives. Advances in technology and the kinds of access the ADA is providing are making it possible for them to be productive, to give back and to be independent.
That's the real goal of the ADA and of all the initiatives we will be discussing today: giving men and women with disabilities the capacity to live more independent lives. And during the month when we are celebrating the 225th anniversary of our country's Declaration of Independence, striking a blow for the independence of the more than 50 million disabled Americans is very fitting.
In the words of President George W. Bush, "Old misconceptions about physical and mental disability are being discredited. Old barriers are falling away." But, said the President, that's not enough. As he put it, "We must speed up the day when the last barrier has been removed to full and independent lives for every American with or without disability."
The President has taken action to fulfill that commitment, and today I want to share with you what direction that action is taking.
The President's New Freedom Initiative provides $8.6 billion to give disabled Americans more of the help they need. Among its many programs, the Initiative provides federal funding that will help people obtain loans to buy newer, more effective technologies to assist them.
The President has issued an Executive Order that calls on the federal government to evaluate how it can better serve the needs of Americans with disabilities. To fulfill that order, we're creating Interagency Council on Community Living in which the Departments of Education, Justice, Labor, Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services and the Social Security Administration will participate. The President has asked me to head the Council. I've enthusiastically accepted, and thank my cabinet colleagues for their leadership in this area, as well.
The President's Order calls for a broad review of federal laws, programs and policies that might interfere with community-based living for disabled men and women. The Council will identify ways to help the disabled to live closer to family and friends, to live more independently and become employed.
The Council will also coordinate federal efforts that affect persons with disabilities and will look for specific and practical steps to continue bringing down the physical barriers that create barriers to opportunity, as well.
As I noted, the Council draws on the strengths of several Cabinet departments. We've already worked with HUD to hold a national technical assistance conference-call to discuss community-housing options for persons with disabilities. More than 6,000 consumers, advocates and state and local agencies participated. That kind of input is going to make a difference.
As one of the Council's first efforts, we're beginning a nationwide listening and idea-gathering initiative that will help us better understand what actual, real-world barriers remain and how we can pull them down.
We're announcing a written comment process in this week's Federal Register. And we're developing a novel series of toll-free teleconference sessions to help people throughout the country share their experiences and ideas.
During my first few weeks in office, I made $50,000 grants available to each state so they can begin planning to implement the New Freedom Initiative. And we've made more than $70 million available to states to plan major systems changes so that the disabled can enter the community more easily.
Today I'm pleased to announce $9 million in new grants to 18 states and the District of Columbia to help carry out the Ticket-to-Work Act.
So, on a variety of fronts, we're moving forward and making changes that will help achieve the President's vision, a vision in which every American has the access needed to be a full participant in the life of our country.
Here with us is someone who represents the fulfillment of that vision. Michael Taylor lived for 30 years in institutions for children and adults with mental retardation. He now works for The Arc of Maryland as a "Living Free" consultant, helping more people with mental retardation leave institutions. He lives in a group home in Randallstown near Baltimore and is planning to move into his own apartment in the near future. Michael, thank you for your courage and for all that you do to make life better for so many people.
Like Michael Taylor, every American should have full access to the opportunities our country affords and the assistance needed to live productive lives. That's what the Americans With Disabilities Act, the New Freedom Initiative and the Interagency Council are all about.
The President and his Cabinet are committed to opening doors and tearing down walls. We're committed to fostering greater liberty of movement and freedom of participation for every American.
Just as, 225 years ago, our country declared its national independence, so we must work to provide greater personal independence for our fellow citizens who struggle with physical, mental and emotional disabilities.
I know each of you join us in that commitment. It's a pleasure and an honor serving with you. Thank you very much.