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RE: VP Gore: Increasing Employment of People with Disabilities [withi n the Federal Government]
Thanks Steve... good resource material here...
Roger Wellman
Vice President,
Chief Information Officer
Easter Seals national headquarters
******As of September 1st my email address is changing to
rwellman@easter-seals.org . Please mark this down and make any appropriate
changes in your address book.******
-----Original Message-----
From: Jacobs, Steve I
[mailto:sj131264@exchange.DAYTONOH.NCR.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 1999 2:14 PM
To: EITAAC@trace.wisc.edu
Subject: VP Gore: Increasing Employment of People
with Disabilities [withi n the Federal Government]
Dear EITAAC Members,
In case some of you had not already seen it I have attached
Vice President
Gore's letter of support regarding increased hiring of
people with
disabilities within the Federal Government.
Sincerely,
Steve Jacobs
NCR Corporation
1529 Brown St. EMD-5
Dayton, Ohio 45479
(937)445-6396 Voice
(937)445-2468 Fax
(800)855-2880 TTY
steve.jacobs@daytonoh.ncr.com
http://www2.dol.gov/dol/_sec/public/programs/ptfead/main.htm
and,
http://www2.dol.gov/dol/_sec/public/programs/ptfead/rechart/index.htm
> ==============================================
>
> VICE PRESIDENT GORE EMBRACES REPORT FROM TASK FORCE AND
> TAKES STEPS TO INCREASE EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES
> December 14, 1998
>
>
> Today, the Vice President accepted "Re-charting the
Course," the first
> report of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of
Adults With
> Disabilities. According to the 1998 Harris Survey of
Americans with
> Disabilities, less than 30 percent of working-age adults
with disabilities
> are employed full or part-time, although 75 percent
indicate they would
> prefer to work. The Vice President commended the Task
Force for its
> powerful and thorough recommendations to create critically
needed
> employment opportunities for people with disabilities. He
applauded these
> proposals and called on the Administration to implement
specific
> recommendations right away.
>
> The Vice President called on the Administration to
immediately implement
> specific recommendations of the Task Force report. While
many of the
> recommendations made by the Task Force will require
legislation and new
> funding, the Vice President took steps to immediately
implement some of
> the
> Task Force's recommendations. The Vice President:
>
> Asked the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to
develop a model
> plan
> to increase representation of adults with
disabilities in the Federal
> workforce. To help address this problem, the Vice
President asked
> OPM
> to develop -- by March 1, 1999 -- a model plan for
all federal
> agencies to increase representation of adults with
disabilities in
> its
> workforce. This plan will include ways to involve
more students with
> disabilities in federal internship programs, give
employees with
> disabilities options to enhance their leadership
skills and advance
> their careers, and recruit more people with
disabilities at all
> levels
> of the federal workforce.
>
> Requested that the Small Business Administration
(SBA) launch a new
> outreach campaign to help Americans with disabilities
start their own
> businesses. People with disabilities have higher
rates of
> self-employment and small business experience than
the rest of
> America, yet they too often do not know what
assistance they may be
> eligible for. The Vice President asked SBA to begin
implementing
> right away the Task Force's recommendation to educate
people with
> disabilities who want to start their own business.
This major
> nationwide campaign will provide greater access to
entrepreneurial
> development programs, financial assistance
incentives, and government
> contracting opportunities, including the Section 8
(a) program, HUB
> Zones, the small disadvantaged business program.
>
> Gave the Hammer Award to the Computer/Electronic
Accommodation
> Program
> (CAP) and committed the Administration to assuring
that all Federal
> employees have access to accessible technology. The
Vice President
> gave the Hammer Award to the Department of Defense's
CAP program,
> which provides assistive technology to DoD employees
with
> disabilities
> to ensure that they have the telecommunications and
computer
> technology they need to perform their jobs. Since
its inception, CAP
> has filled over 14,500 requests for accommodations.
The Vice
> President
> also committed the Administration to assuring the
Federal government
> is a model employer by finding ways to assure that
these kinds of
> assistive technology programs are available to all
Federal employees.
>
> Reiterated the Administration's commitment to passing
a strong
> enforceable patients' bill of rights to improve the
quality of care
> for people with disabilities. The Vice President
also reiterated
> that
> a top priority when Congress returns should be to
pass a strong
> enforceable patients' bill of rights that includes
critical patient
> protections for people with disabilities, including
access to the
> specialists they need, continuity of care protections
to assure
> people
> with disabilities do not have an abrupt disruption in
care, and an
> independent external appeals process to assure people
with
> disabilities can address grievances with health
plans.
>
> These efforts build on the Administration's longstanding
commitment to
> improving opportunities for people with disabilities. The
Administration
> has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to improving
health,
> employment,
> and other opportunities for people with disabilities. The
Administration
> fought hard for the Health Insurance Accountability Act of
1996, which
> helps people with disabilities keep health insurance by
limiting
> preexisting condition exclusions; the Mental Health Parity
Act of 1996,
> which limits insurance discrimination based on mental
illness; and a new
> state option in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 that helps
people with
> disabilities to purchase Medicaid when they return to
work. The
> Administration also fought hard for the Jeffords-Kennedy
legislation in
> last fall's budget negotiations that would eliminate some
of the health
> insurance barriers to help people with disabilities return
to work and has
> made a commitment to saving Social Security First. The
Vice President is
> also hosting a summit on January 12th on "21st Century
Skills for 21st
> Century Jobs" which will bring together leaders from
business, education,
> labor, and government to discuss how to help working
Americans --including
> those with disabilities -- get the skills needed to get,
keep, and succeed
> in good jobs.
>
>
> ===========================================
>
>
> REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR VICE PRESIDENT AL
GORE
> PRESIDENT'S TASK FORCE ON EMPLOYMENT
> OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
> Monday, December 14, 1998
>
> I want to begin by thanking Secretary Herman and Tony
Coehlo for
> spearheading this report, and for showing us every day
that President
> Clinton picked exactly the right people to lead our Task
Force on
> Employment of Adults with Disabilities.
>
> I have had the pleasure of meeting with all of you
many times over
> the
> past six years. One event comes immediately to mind.
Five months ago, we
> met at the Memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, where I
had the
> privilege
> of announcing that a statue of FDR in a wheelchair would
be added to the
> memorial. I want to thank all of you once again for the
role you played
> in
> making sure that FDR is remembered for all the forces that
helped shape
> his
> life.
>
> I want to say how grateful I am --as an American --to
all of you here
> today who helped make the Americans with Disabilities Act
the law of the
> land, and who are working every day to turn the goals of
the ADA into a
> reality.
>
> I want to say a special word about two people today.
First, Senator
> Harkin. President Clinton likes to joke that when he and
Senator Harkin
> were on the campaign trail together back in 1992, Tom made
his brother
> Frank the most famous brother in America. As you all
know, Frank is deaf.
> Tom used to tell the story that when Frank was in school
back in the
> 1950's, he was told he could be one of three things -- a
cobbler, a
> printer, or a baker. Because he was deaf, he was told his
opportunities
> were limited. Thanks to the work of Senator Harkin and
all of you, we
> are
> moving toward a day when the only limits people with
disabilities face are
> the limits of their imaginations.
> I also want to thank one person who is working to
turn the goals of
> the ADA into a reality, one person who has dedicated her
life to ensuring
> that people with mental illnesses and disabilities can
participate fully
> and equally in the life of this great country --the person
who has taught
> me more than anyone else about the obstacles people with
disabilities
> still
> face today --the President's adviser on mental health
issues --my wife,
> Tipper.
>
> For more than 200 years, the greatness of America has
rested on a
> simple premise: that the strength of our nation should be
judged not just
> by the size of our national feast, but by the number of
people we can fit
> around the table. Thanks to the leadership of President
Clinton --and the
> work of many of the people in this room --this is a time
of great promise
> and prosperity for America. But we know that if America
is going to
> continue to live up to its promise of equal opportunity,
if our economy is
> going to continue to grow, we cannot be satisfied when
fewer than three in
> ten working-age adults with disabilities are employed.
Think of all that
> wasted talent and potential! We need to ensure that all
Americans
> --including the 30 million working-age adults with
disabilities --have the
> tools and opportunities they need to become full partners
in the American
> Dream.
>
> As you all know, for most people with disabilities,
the biggest
> obstacles they face aren't their own disabilities, but the
roadblocks set
> up by society: attitudes that say, you need a special part
for your
> computer, so it must mean you can't do the job; or since
you can't see,
> that must mean you can't perform. Some people see the
word "disabled" and
> read it as "unable." I believe that is terribly wrong.
>
> When President Clinton and I appointed this Task
Force last March, we
> did so to overcome those barriers. And this is not about
hand-outs. This
> is about giving all Americans the opportunity to work in
real jobs with
> real pay, to be full and productive members of society,
and to be seen
> --as
> this report so eloquently says --as people with
characteristics that just
> happen to be disabilities, like eye color or hair color.
>
> I am personally committed to making this Task Force
successful. What
> you are doing is critically important --not only for the
disability
> community --but for the entire country. I want to commend
the entire Task
> Force for your terrific work these past nine months.
There are some
> powerful ideas in this report. Some of these
recommendations call for new
> investments --and over the next few months, we will be
actively reviewing
> these recommendations as we move forward on next year's
budget. But I am
> proud to announce today that we are moving forward
immediately on several
> of these recommendations, to create new employment
opportunities for
> people
> with disabilities.
>
> First, we all know that small businesses are the
primary engine of
> job
> growth in America today. We also know that people with
disabilities have
> higher rates of self-employment and more small business
experience than
> the
> rest of America. Today, I am asking the Small Business
Administration to
> launch a new outreach campaign to help Americans with
disabilities who
> already own their own small businesses, or want to start
their own
> businesses. Too often, people who are eligible for
assistance don't get
> it
> because they don't even know that it exists. This
campaign would open the
> doors wider to SBA programs to help Americans with
disabilities get the
> assistance that they need to create businesses that create
jobs.
>
> I believe the federal government must do more to set
an example for
> the rest of America. We're proud of the fact that many
task force members
> are currently working --through their own departments like
the Department
> of Education, the Social Security Administration, the
Department of Labor,
> and the Department of Agriculture --to promote the
employment of people
> with disabilities. Today I am asking the Office of
Personnel Management
> to
> develop --by March 1st --a model plan to increase
representation of adults
> with disabilities in the Federal workforce. This plan
will include ways
> we
> can involve more students with disabilities in federal
internship
> programs,
> give employees with disabilities more options to enhance
their skills, and
> recruit more people with disabilities at all levels of the
federal
> workforce --including senior executive positions.
>
> Leading by example also means recognizing people who
are providing
> strong leadership. Many of you already know about our
efforts at
> reinventing government. We call it REGO --that's Gore
spelled sideways;
> I've worked hard on it. One agency that has done it right
is the
> Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program at the
Department of Defense.
> The CAP program was designed to provide technology
accommodations to
> ensure
> that people with disabilities have equal access to all the
opportunities
> at
> our Defense Department. Listen to this statistic: over
the past eight
> years, CAP has filled more than 14,500 requests for
accommodation. Today,
> I am proud to present the CAP program with a Hammer Award
for its good
> work
> --and I ask the members of the program to be recognized.
I want you to
> know that I am personally committed to making sure that
all federal
> employees have the accessible technology they need to do
their jobs.
>
> Finally, while quality health care is crucial to all
Americans, it is
> especially important for people with disabilities. So I
say once again:
> when Congress returns in January, our first priority is to
pass a strong,
> enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights that ensures people
get the care they
> need, when they need it. Assuring access to health
insurance is also a
> major barrier for people with disabilities who want to
return to work. We
> took steps in last year's balanced budget to break down
these barriers by
> helping people buy into Medicaid --and we are committed to
working with
> Senators Jeffords and Kennedy and all of you to do even
more.
>
> Improving opportunities for people with disabilities
is a win-win
> situation for everyone. For people with disabilities, it
means inclusion,
> freedom, and empowerment. For business, it means more
customers, higher
> profits, and additional qualified workers. For taxpayers,
it means
> millions more people contributing to the system, and fewer
people
> dependent
> on it. We know it won't be easy. We know we can't just
pass a few laws
> and change attitudes overnight. But day by day, person by
person, we can
> make a difference. Together, let's not just complete the
work of the ADA
> --let's say to the whole world: this is one country that
knows we don't
> have a person to waste, and we're moving into the next
century --together.
>
> As Justin Dart has often reminded us, ADA doesn't
just stand for the
> Americans with Disabilities Act. It also stands for
"American Dream for
> All." Working together --guided by your work, your
commitment, and God's
> grace --we will get there. Thank you.
>