This is an attempt to provide information about how the three major presidential candidates and their disability policies/attitudes and legislation.
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Disaboom to Raise the Volume of the "Unheard Voice" of Disability Community at the Democratic National Convention
Disaboom (OTCBB: DSBO) (www.disaboom.com), the premier online community for people touched by disability, today announced that it will help the voice of the disability community to be heard at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver through the "Unheard Voice," a series of disability-focused events and activities. The series of "Unheard Voice" events, most of which are open to the public, will showcase the political issues of importance to people with disabilities, display accessible recreation opportunities and demonstrate how people with disabilities express themselves through visual and performing arts.
"People with disabilities represent 15 percent of the U.S. population, 37 million of us are registered voters, and politically, our voices haven't been heard -- we are the unheard voice of this nation," said Dr. Glen House, founder of Disaboom and a quadriplegic himself. "The Denver 2008 Host Committee has afforded Disaboom and other disability organizations the unique opportunity to talk about the issues of importance to our community and to showcase the ways we've turned disability into ability on a national scale."
Campaign Continues to Strengthen Constituency Vote Operation
Chicago, IL – Kareem Dale, founder and chief executive officer of The Dale Law Group (DLG) in Chicago, has been appointed as the Obama campaign’s Disability Vote Director, effective July 14, 2008. Dale, partially blind, will help broaden the campaign’s reach and involve even more voices in this coalition for change.
In his role as Disability Vote Director, Dale will be responsible for all disability outreach efforts for the campaign, including attending national conferences, coordinating grassroots efforts, speaking at events as a surrogate for the campaign, and ensuring that campaign locations are accessible for all Americans with disabilities.
“Throughout this campaign, Barack Obama has insisted that we can change our politics and involve new voters in the process if we focus on our common hopes as Americans,” Campaign Manager David Plouffe said. “Kareem Dale shares Barack Obama’s fundamental commitment to building a world free of unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination, and we’re excited he’s a part of this campaign.”
Fifty-four million Americans – roughly 1 in 6 – personally experience some form of disability. Senator Obama is committed to empowering people with disabilities so that they can fulfill the American dream and take full advantage of their talents and become independent, integrated members of society. “I look forward to encouraging all Americans with disabilities to support a candidate who is going to bring real change to their lives,” Dale said.
Prior to his appointment as Disability Vote Director, Dale also served as a volunteer on the Disability Policy and the Arts Policy Committees for the Obama For America campaign.
Dale is a native Chicagoan and received his bachelor’s degree in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He graduated Cum Laude with a law degree and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May, 1999.
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For Immediate Release
July 21, 2008
Obama Press Office; 312-819-2423
The Obama campaign has just recently confirmed Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) will act as the surrogate for Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) at the National Forum on Disability Issues in Columbus, Ohio next Saturday, July 26. Senator Obama will be out of the country on the day of the forum with a congressional delegation.
A long time friend of the disability community, the Obama campaign cites Senator Harkin as Obama's closest disability policy advisor, noting that before Obama released his "Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities," he and Harkin discussed the policy, and Harkin made specific suggestions for edits. Senator Obama's staff regularly consults with Harkin's lead disability staff on key disability policy pronouncements from the campaign.
Historic Presidential Forum Unites Thousands in Disability Community
WASHINGTON, July 10, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Forum to be Held on 18th Anniversary of Landmark Americans with Disabilities Act
Thousands of Americans with disabilities from across the country will join together at The National Forum on Disability Issues, a non-partisan presidential forum organized by the Ohio Disability Vote Coalition (ODVC) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, July 26, in Columbus, Ohio.
AAPD is the largest cross-disability membership organization in the country. ODVC, a political advocacy collaborative, includes nearly 30 organizations from throughout Ohio that represent the interests of people with disabilities.
The forum will feature time slots for presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain to present their visions for the future of disability policy in America to this influential voting bloc -- more than 40 million people with disabilities are eligible to vote in the U.S. Questions will be posed to the candidates by the forum moderator, news anchor and journalist Judy Woodruff ("The News Hour with Jim Lehrer").
The presidential candidates are invited to address their disability policy positions on employment, healthcare, long-term services and supports, housing, transportation, technology and education -- all vital issues to people with disabilities.
"People with disabilities and our family members represent a huge percentage of the voting population and we respond to candidates who address our issues," said Andrew Imparato, President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities. "This forum is a golden opportunity for Senators McCain and Obama to speak directly to an important segment of the electorate that can make a difference for either candidate in November."
More than 70 national, regional and state disability-related organizations, veterans groups and individuals are co-sponsoring the forum and will be represented at the forum. A full list of sponsors is available on the AAPD website at http://www.aapd.com.
The forum, the premier disability event of this election cycle, will also be simulcast on the web by Disaboom.com to tens of thousands across the country, many of whom plan to hold viewing parties in their communities. People with disabilities in Ohio unable to attend the forum and without Internet access will be able to participate via a live audio broadcast by Ohio radio reading services.
The forum is also a celebration of the 18th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), landmark civil rights legislation that has helped to transform the lives of the more than 50 million Americans who have disabilities. The forum comes on the heels of the historic June 25 House passage of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 3195), which will overturn four Supreme Court decisions that have inappropriately narrowed the protections of the ADA.
The forum will be held at the Conference & Technology Center, First Church of God, 3480 Refugee Rd., Columbus, Ohio.
For more information about the forum visit the AAPD website, http://www.aapd.com.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, organizes the disability community to be a powerful voice for change - economically, politically, and socially. AAPD was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To learn more, visit the AAPD website: http://www.aapd.com.
SOURCE American Association of People With Disabilities
Members of the Atlantis Community CIL and Denver ADAPT met with the Republican presumptive presidential candidate John McCain at a Town Hall Meeting today. Six members of ADAPT, including teenagers from the Summer Youth Program, sat in the front of the auditorium to listen to McCain's policies for his administration. When he took comments from the audience he handed the microphone to Dawn Russell. She explained the legislation called the Community Choice Act and asked him why he was not signed on. Mr. McCain stated he would not support the legislation. He then offered several poor reasons for his decision and ended by saying we would have to let the voters decide that one. Having recaptured the microphone, he did state he supported the ADA, but had no interest in hearing that the ADA was entirely different from the CCA.
ADAPT encourages you to attend McCain's campaign events and continue to challenge him to support the CCA! Show him disability rights supporters across the USA believe in real choice, believe in CCA and believe he needs to do the same. CCA supports family values, it supports putting control in the hands of the individual instead of Government, it supports states' ability to use limited Medicaid funds for community services which people prefer and which are more cost effective. These are all consistent with Republican values, as well as consistent with American values.
Presumptive Presidential Candidate Barak Obama has signed on as a co-sponsor to the bill already.
Distributed to CIL list at the request of Marsha Katz, Montana ADAPT
Statement of Senator Barack Obama on the House Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Ortiz, 202 228 5566
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act, H.R. 3195.
"We have a collective responsibility to ensure that every American has access to the opportunity to fulfill their dreams and live independent lives. With nearly fifty-four million Americans living with disabilities today, it must be a priority for our government to do everything it can to protect and respect the needs of these Americans.
"The House of Representatives took an important step today by passing this legislation, and I applaud Leader Hoyer and Congressmen Conyers, George Miller, and Sensenbrenner for their efforts. I look forward to working with a true leader on this issue, Senator Harkin, to reaffirm our nation's commitment to giving every American an equal chance."
Alaska Primary Election Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2008
All candidates who have filed with the Division of Elections as of June 2, 2008 5:00pm or have withdrawn their name from consideration will be listed on this web page.
Along with the Iraq War and his efforts to democratize the Middle East, President Bush will be remembered for bringing a more open embrace of religion into his administration. He campaigned on a promise to forge a partnership between government and religious organizations that deliver social services, and in his first week as president, created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
All the candidates have made comments about keeping the office in some form. Barack Obama has been the most direct, saying during a televised forum on religion in April that he would preserve the office and focus it more on reducing poverty. John McCain and Hillary Clinton have said they support federal funding of faith-based social services, but haven’t said specifically whether they would keep the office in the White House.Read the whole story here.
Candidates for political office are judged on many factors including foreign policy, healthcare plans and domestic issues to name just a few. Those of us with disabilities look beyond these criteria and consider how a candidate might respond to our issues which include upholding the ADA and other disability legislation, potential decisions they might make on Medicare and Medicaid funding, and their experience with disability issues. As America determines who the candidates for President will be, its imperative that we know and understand their positions on issues that impact our community.
John McCain has been a leading advocate in the Senate for disabled veterans throughout his entire career. He fought for nearly fifteen years, introducing numerous bills, to ensure that veterans with service-connected disabilities can receive the retirement benefits that they have earned, as well as the disability compensation benefits that they are entitled to. He has also worked to ensure that veterans can have their disability claims processed in a timely manner, working with the VA to rectify its huge backlog of claims and providing additional resources for that purpose.
John McCain believes very strongly that service members who suffered permanent injuries in service to our nation should not be forced to give up their disability compensation in order to collect their retirement pay. For this reason, John McCain has been a staunch supporter of repealing the historic ban on receiving both disability and retirement pay at the same time. Over the past few years, John McCain has successfully pushed for provisions to compensate disabled retired veterans for this disparity. Now, because of his efforts, veterans with severe combat-related disabilities are able to collect their retirement and disability compensation at the same time. John McCain will continue to fight for equal treatment of disabled veterans under the retirement system. In an effort to help disabled veterans with their health care, he cosponsored a measure to allow disabled veterans to be enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the same health insurance offered to Senators and Congressmen. He has also supported higher payments to disabled veterans and survivors of veterans who died because of service connected injuries.
John McCain has worked to increase VA resources for paralysis research, and he spearheaded an effort to establish a Blind Rehabilitation Center in Tucson, Arizona to help the 1,200 vets on waiting lists for rehab services for the blind
Clinton - AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES: Remarks at the Granite State Independent Living Forum
"Disability rights are civil rights – the right to be treated equally. They are human rights – the right of all people to fulfill their God-given potentials. And they are an urgent issue for America – because America will never achieve our potential until all Americans can achieve theirs.
Now obviously we have come a long way in this country. But, we have our work cut out for us if we're going to keep the promise that we should – that we will continue to work for a more perfect union that includes Americas. For the past seven years, it's as though people with disabilities have been invisible to this President and his administration.
If you're a child who can't get the special education classes you need – you're invisible.
If you're a citizen who wants to vote, but the polling place doesn't have the right equipment or the right help – you're invisible.
If you're a worker wants a job, but can't find one that accommodates your disability – you're invisible too.
Well, people with disabilities may be invisible to George Bush, but they are not invisible to you, and they will never be invisible to me.
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Obama - Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities
“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 has a chance to get the education they need and live independently as full citizens in their communities.”
