40 Million Americans…

Here is Clinton’s site where she specifically addresses disability issues.  It was not included in the comprehensive list because it was just found.

At our LiveJournal community, Meg was nice enough to convert Obama’s more comprehensive attention to disability rights into text format (for those who have trouble with PDFs or have older screen readers).  I’m posting this separately so that it is easier to access and not because I am being partisan or pushing one candidate over another.

The text version is here.

This is a bit of overflow as far as the questionnaire answers posted earlier, but it is a comprehensive view of how different candidates address disability. Meg is the one who gets credit for compiling everything, I’m jost posting it here. She’d like to add that she has been trying to compile this information for quite a while, but it still, unfortunately, does not exist in any comprehensive format. “I’m talking about disability rights - including but not limited to health care, equal opportunity employment, education, voting rights and the like.”

Here’s the link to our LiveJournal community where it was originally posted.

Over 600 New Hampshire voters with disabilities and their families and friends showed up for Friday’s historic, first-ever national, cross-disability presidential candidate forum, hosted by a variety of New Hampshire advocacy organizations and sponsored by over twenty national disability organizations.

Who Showed Up

Continue Reading »

1. POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
   1. Do you support the creation and appointment of a permanent Assistant to the President for Disability Policy at the White House?
      Yes.
   2. How will you make sure qualified people with disabilities will be a part of your political team and, if elected, as part of your administration?My Administration would represent all Americans. Just as individuals with disabilities play a significant role in contributing to their local communities, they would play a significant role in contributing to the Dodd Administration.
2. EMPLOYMENT
   1. What steps would you take to reduce employment barriers and improve employment outcomes for Americans with disabilities?Despite progress made since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities experience unemployment at a rate far above the national average. Some estimates put the unemployment rate of people with severe disabilities at or near 70 percent. As President, I would encourage public/private partnerships as they relate to the recruitment, hiring and retention of people with disabilities, I would ensure that the tax code to encourages both private and nonprofit sectors to provide additional accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities and I would support funding of “disability program navigators” at state One Stop Career Centers created under the Workforce Investment Act. My Administration would also strengthen the EEOC’s enforcement of the ADA as it relates to job protections for people with disabilities, support efforts to increase the development of and access to assistive and universally designed technologies, and significantly expand efforts to ensure that federal jobs are fully accessible to all.
   2. How would you reform the federal income support programs (Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance) so that beneficiaries enjoy a greater standard of living and participate more fully in the labor market?As President, I would ensure that individuals who cannot support themselves due to a disability are provided with sufficient income through SSDI and SSI. In addition, I would work to revamp the current programs so that current recipients are not punished for what work they are capable of. Individuals that leave SSDI and SSI for full-time employment will have access to high-quality universal health care – universal in terms of affordability and access to the treatments, medications and medical devices that people need.

To see the rest, go to AAPD’s election page.

AAPD, ADAPT, NCIL, SABE Questionnaire – Senator Hillary Clinton Response

July 3, 2007 Continue Reading »

Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, took questions about his campaign platform during “Rocky Talk Live,” a live chat show conducted by Mark Wolf on Wednesday June 13, 2007, 11 a.m., Colorado local time.

AAPD submitted a question from the list developed in coalition with ADAPT, NCIL, and SABE. The relevant part of the transcript during which Gilmore spoke in regard to disability follows:

Mark Wolf: (Question via email from the American Association of People with Disabilities):

Do you support the creation and appointment of a permanent assistant to the President for Disability Policy? How will you make sure qualified people with disabilities will be part of your political team, and if elected, of your administration?

Gov. Jim Gilmore (Answer):
Disability policy will be carefully considered and the rights of disabled persons protected under my administration. This was my track record as governor. Administratively, I am more comfortable delegating policies such as these to the appropriate cabinet official. I would expect the Secretary of HHS to be accountable for and to coordinate disability in my Administration. My experience is this creates better results than a special assistant outside of the administrative structure.

The full transcript of this radio show is available at the Rocky Mountain News website.

Reposted with permission.

AAPD, ADAPT, NCIL, SABE Questionnaire – Senator John Edwards Response

June 12, 2007 Continue Reading »

AAPD, ADAPT, NCIL, SABE Questionnaire – Governor Bill Richardson Response

June 10, 2007 Continue Reading »

AAPD, ADAPT, NCIL, SABE Questionnaire – Senator Barack Obama Response

June 1, 2007 Continue Reading »