Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Election
By Kim Dority
According to the U.N., 650 million people –or 10 percent of the world’s population –
live with disabilities, a number that designates people with disabilities as the
world’s largest minority. With the 2008 election season ramping up in the United
States, this often-ignored constituency deserves to be addressed and heard. To
aide in this effort, Disaboom, the largest online community for people living with or
touched by disabilities, is encouraging presidential candidates to post their official
profile, biography, position statements, record on disability issues, and blogs on its
site to promote open political dialog with the diverse community of people living
with and affected by disabilities. The site, which also allows visitors to ask
questions of the candidates, currently has one participant, Barack Obama; his
profile can be found at http://www.disaboom.com/BarackObama/.
According to a March CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, the top issues for the 2008
election are the economy, war in Iraq and health care. Although these issues affect
everyone, people with disabilities have a long list of additional concerns that involve
both immediate and long-term impacts. Ranging from a national healthcare crisis to
issues that affect the well-being of families affected by disabilities, the following
topics are among those most critical to millions of Americans.
Healthcare
On June 24, 1997, then Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich introduced the MiCASA
bill to the cheers of millions of Americans living with disabilities. The legislation—
lobbied for by a consortium of disability rights groups—was intended to eliminate
the institutional bias that made it difficult for individuals to use their Medicaid
payments for community-based attendant care instead of nursing homes. Despite
bipartisan support, the bill never made it to a vote. Today there are over 53,000
individuals with developmental disabilities on waiting lists for community-based
care, while the Community Choice Act, now co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
and Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL), is still waiting to be prioritized.
K-12Education
Another top priority is the funding of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education
Act (IDEA). The act governs how states and public agencies provide early
intervention, special education and related services to the more than 6.5 million
eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities. According to New
American Foundation, if IDEA was fully funded the federal government would
provide 40% of the estimated excess cost, of educating children with disabilities.
The excess cost is the amount above what is spent on the average child without a
disability. However according to the foundation, in the fiscal year 2006 IDEA only
covered 17.7% of this cost; a decrease from 18.5% the year before. If IDEA was
fully funded in 2006, the federal government would have distributed $23.85 billion
to cover education expenses for children with disabilities, $13.28 billion more than
appropriated.
Higher Education
Veterans’ issues include access to quality medical care; financial assistance for
retrofitting existing homes to accommodate newly disabled vets; vocational
rehabilitation and employment support, which includes training; financial support
for education, training, and small business start-ups; and accelerating the process
for granting “100% disabled” status. Currently, veterans who are determined by
the Department of Veterans Affairs to be rated at 100% disability have to go
through a second evaluation often resulting in delayed compensation.
Accessible Transportation