1) What’s Happening in the Nation’s Capital?
Obama Announces Intent to Nominate Chai Feldblum for EEOC Commissioner!
Independent Living Appropriations Update
2) National News
Act Now: Include the Community First Choice Amendment in Healthcare Reform!
Commission Approves Proposed ADA Regulations for Public Comment
Housing Choice Voucher Program Deficit Addressed by the Senate
Healthcare Reform Update
3) State News
Indiana Court Strikes Down Tough Voter ID Law
New York Advocates Outraged Over Governor Patterson's Vetoes
4) Announcements and Additional Resources
PBS Premieres "Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy"
Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998: Listening Session for Disability Stakeholders
Obama Announces Intent to Nominate Chai Feldblum for EEOC Commissioner!
WhAM! readers will remember Chai Feldblum from last year, when she decimated the opposition to the ADA Amendments Act in a hearing held by the Senate HELP Committee. Her fierce defense of the civil rights of people with disabilities was truly an amazing display, and if she is confirmed as Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, she will surely work diligently to turn the tide in discrimination against people with disabilities in the workplace.
Disability, Gay Rights Expert Picked for EEOC: Source: Washington Post, by Garance Franke-Ruta
President Obama announced Monday his intent to nominate Chai R. Feldblum for Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Feldblum, a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, previously served as legislative counsel to the AIDS Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she played a role in the drafting of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
"She has also worked on advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights" and "been a leading expert on the Employment Nondiscrimination Act," according to a biography released by the White House. Her degrees are from Harvard Law School and Barnard College, and she went on to clerk for Judge Frank Coffin on the First Circuit Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. The EEOC has five commissioners.
Independent Living Appropriations Update
With two weeks left in the fiscal year and not a single appropriations bill ready for the president’s signature, House Democratic leaders are moving forward with a continuing resolution to keep the government funded at current levels.
The Rules Committee on Tuesday will take up a continuing resolution likely to cover all government operations. The House has passed all 12 annual spending bills, but the Senate has passed only five, which still need to go to conference.
NCIL has been very pleased with the appropriations bills in the House and Senate that have provided an increase in Part C funding for the Independent Living Program (funding for Centers for Independent Living). NCIL hopes that the Senate and the House will pass their legislation with the funding increase and provide another much-needed increase to the Independent Living Program.
Act Now: Include the Community First Choice Amendment in Healthcare Reform!
Senator Charles Schumer, (D-NY) has introduced the language of the Community First Choice option as an amendment to the Senate Finance Committee healthcare reform legislation. Last week, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee released his Committee’s version of healthcare reform, which did nothing to end the institutional bias in Medicaid! NCIL strongly supports the Community First Choice (CFC) Amendment. More information about the CFC is included below. Now is the time to take Action. Here’s what you can do:
If your Senator is on the Finance Committee: Look at the list of Senators below. These are the people who will be debating the healthcare legislation, including the Community First Choice Option amendment, this week! If your Senator is on the list, call them right away and give them this message:
“Hello. My name is [Your Name] and I am a constituent from the state of [Your State]. I am calling to urge Senator [Your Senator] to support the Community First Choice Amendment, introduced by Senator Schumer. I ask the Senator to vote for this Amendment to make it possible for citizens in our state to have a choice to get services in their own homes instead of costly and dangerous institutions!”
Senators on the Finance Committee:
- Arizona: Jon Kyl (R): (202) 224-4521
- Arkansas: Blanche Lincoln (D): (202) 224-4843
- Delaware: Tom Carper (D): (202) 224-2441
- Florida: Bill Nelson (D): (202) 224-5274
- Idaho: Mike Crapo (R): (202) 224-6142
- Iowa: Chuck Grassley (R): (202) 224-3744
- Kansas: Pat Roberts (R): (202) 224-4774
- Kentucky: Jim Bunning (R): (202) 224-4343
- Maine: Olympia Snowe (R): (202) 224-5344
- Massachusetts: John F. Kerry (D): (202) 224-2742
- Michigan: Debbie Stabenow (D): (202) 224-4822
- Montana: Max Baucus (D) [Chair of Sen. Finance Committee]: (202) 224-2651
- Nevada: John Ensign (R): (202) 224-6244
- New Jersey: Robert Menendez (D): (202) 224-4744
- New Mexico: Jeff Bingaman (D): (202) 224-5521
- North Dakota: Kent Conrad (D): (202) 224-2043
- Oregon: Ron Wyden (D): (202) 224-5244
- Texas: John Cornyn (R): (202) 224-2934
- Utah: Orrin Hatch (R): (202) 224-5251
- Washington: Maria Cantwell (D): (202) 224-3441
- West Virginia: John D. Rockefeller, IV (D): (202) 224-6472
- Wyoming: Mike Enzi (R): (202) 224-3424
If your Senator is NOT on the Finance Committee: If your Senators were not on the list, you can still take action and make a difference. Call your Senator(s) right away and tell them the following message:
“Hello. My name is [Your Name] and I am a constituent from the state of [Your State]. I am calling to urge Senator [Your Senator] to tell Chairman Max Baucus to support the Community First Choice Amendment, introduced by Senator Schumer. This amendment will make it possible for citizens in our state to have a choice to get services in their own homes instead of costly and dangerous institutions!”
More information about the Community First Choice (CFC) Amendment.
Commission Approves Proposed ADA Regulations for Public Comment
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) revising its regulations to provide that an individual seeking protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) establish that he or she has a disability consistent with the original, expansive intent of Congress when it enacted the ADA in 1990. The NPRM, approved by 2-1 vote, carries a 60-day period for public comment.
The NPRM makes several significant changes to the definition of the term “disability” necessitated by enactment of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The NPRM is posted on the Commission’s website, www.eeoc.gov, along with a question-and-answer guide about the proposal and instructions for submitting public comments. The EEOC voted June 17 to adopt the rules changes, which then went to the Office of Management and Budget for review, and to federal agencies.
Consistent with the ADAAA, the NPRM emphasizes that the definition of disability -- an impairment that poses a substantial limitation in a major life activity -- must be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA, and should not require extensive analysis; that major life activities include “major bodily functions”; that mitigating measures, such as medications and devices that people use to reduce or eliminate the effects of an impairment, are not to be considered when determining whether someone has a disability; and that impairments that are episodic or in remission, such as epilepsy, cancer, and many kinds of psychiatric impairments, are disabilities if they would “substantially limit” major life activities when active. The regulation also provides a more straightforward way of demonstrating a substantial limitation in the major life activity of working, and implements the ADAAA’s new standard for determining whether someone is “regarded as” as having a disability.
The 60-day public comment period on the proposed rule-making will officially commence upon publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register, which is expected to be published the week of September 21, 2009. The EEOC encourages the public to offer its views and suggestions. More information.
Housing Choice Voucher Program Deficit Addressed by the Senate
Last week, the Senate completed the 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) Appropriations Act, H.R. 3288. In addition, T-HUD’s Chairwoman, Senator Patty Murray offered an amendment to cure the current Housing Choice Voucher Program deficit. This amendment was adopted by unanimous consent and provides $200 million to fix the projected $130 million shortfall.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released the article “Funding Shortfalls Causing Cuts in Housing Vouchers Tens of Thousands of Low-Income Families Facing Higher Rents, Loss of Assistance This Year”. According to the CBPP, the housing voucher program assists more than 2 million people with rental assistance by helping low-income families with housing by providing vouchers to pay for rent and utilities. In 2009, there was a funding deficit that affected this program. The shortage was caused by a shortfall in the projected budget and a decline in income due to the current economical climate. As a result, almost 400 state and local housing agencies are using cost cutting measures like discontinuing housing vouchers to waiting list candidates, increasing the rent for voucher recipients, and ending future vouchers.
Healthcare Reform Update
After months of speculation, and a process that was closed to all but six Senators, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-MT), released his Committee’s version of healthcare reform. The legislation was met with complaints from fellow Democrats that the bill did not do enough to make health insurance affordable, did not include a public health insurance option, and burdened the middle class by taxing high-cost private health insurance benefits. Republicans were upset that the bill cost too much and did little to control the costs of healthcare. One thing was clear from the release of the legislation: this is seen as a starting point and Senators on both sides of the aisle will be ready with over 500 amendments, as the Senate Finance Committee begins its mark-up session today. There were aspects of the bill that were similar to the legislation passed out of three Committees in the House of Representatives, including creation of a health insurance exchange, subsidies to eligible people to buy health insurance in the exchange, and expansion of Medicaid to cover non-elderly, non-pregnant, childless adults. The differences lie in the amount of the subsidies and the size of the Medicaid expansion. NCIL will be working on getting out information about this legislation and how it affects people with disabilities. NCIL will also be on Capitol Hill this week pushing for our priorities.
While the release of the Senate Finance Committee legislation was highly anticipated, it was not a final step in the process to reform the healthcare and long-term care system in America. This week, the Finance Committee will mark-up their legislation by offering amendments. It is felt this process could take two weeks, as there are many amendments being offered. If the Finance Committee is successful in passing their bill, members of the Committee will need to meet with members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and merge the two bills into one to be voted on by the full Senate. This is expected to go well into the fall. In the meantime, the House of Representatives will be working on their legislation. If the House and the Senate pass different bills in their respective chambers, a conference committee will need to work out the differences. If this conference bill can then be passed by each chamber, it will go to the President to sign or veto.
In the House, work has been occurring to meld the three committee versions of H.R. 3200, which differ only slightly from one another. The House is also expected to consider a late package of largely noncontroversial amendments from the Energy and Commerce Committee, which were not included in the July markup of the bill because the panel ran out of time. A second markup for the leftover amendments is expected to happen on September 23rd.
Indiana Court Strikes Down Tough Voter ID Law
Source: Associated Press, by Charles Wilson and Mike Smith
The state Court of Appeals on Thursday struck down an Indiana law requiring government-issued photo identification for voters, overturning on state constitutional grounds a strict law previously upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Considered one of the nation's toughest voter identification laws, it requires that a state or federal photo ID card be presented at the ballot box. Critics have said it disenfranchises some poor, older and minority voters. Supporters contend it is needed to prevent voter fraud at the polls, which critics say is rare.
Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels called Thursday's 3-0 ruling "an act of judicial arrogance." "It would be one thing if this thing had not already been litigated from the bottom up through the federal system, and multiple court rulings — including the Supreme Court of the United States — hadn't already spoken," Daniels said.
The Indiana Democratic Party previously challenged the law in federal court, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution. But the nation's highest court upheld 6-3 in April 2008. The League of Women Voters then challenged the law in state courts, arguing it violated the Indiana Constitution by imposing a requirement on some, but not all, voters.
A Marion County judge dismissed the suit in December, but the League appealed, and this time a panel of judges ruled in its favor. In a 29-page ruling, Judge Patricia A. Riley wrote that the trial court must declare the law void because it regulates voters in a way that is not "uniform and impartial." Read More.
New York Advocates Outraged Over Governor Patterson's Vetoes
Source: New York Association on Independent Living and Center for Disability Rights
New Yorkers with disabilities were stunned last night when Governor Paterson vetoed not one, but two critical pieces of civil rights legislation. Both bills were passed overwhelmingly by the state legislature, and would require state law to conform with existing federal requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). In response, disability advocates are calling on the state legislature to override the Governor’s vetoes and ensure people with disabilities in New York are treated as fairly in New York State as they are under existing federal law.
“By vetoing these bills, the Governor is denying millions of people with disabilities fundamental civil rights,” said Melanie Shaw, executive director of the New York Association on Independent Living (NYAIL). “We are appalled that that the Governor would veto two civil rights bills passed by a proportion of the Legislature sufficient to override a veto, bills that simply write existing federal rights into state law for clarification and enforcement.”
“It is unconscionable and highly ironic that a governor with a disability has vetoed these bills.
We are very disappointed that, by these actions, he has failed to offer the leadership we hoped he would bring to the governor’s office,” said Christine Zachmeyer, NYAIL board member and chair of the New York State Independent Living Council (NYSILC).
One bill, A.781-B (Paulin)/S.5396 (Huntley), adds federal American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Title II language into state statute, clarifying the obligations of government officials and strengthening the civil rights protections for people with disabilities. Title II of the ADA protects people with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of disability in services provided by public entities, including state and local governments. In the proposed bill, public entities would be required under state law to make reasonable accommodations—the same accommodations already required by federal law—and individuals with disabilities would gain critical access to the administrative enforcement mechanisms through the State Division of Human Rights. This bill imposes no new or additional requirements upon local governments or businesses.
Another bill, A. 584 (Cahill)/S.1058 (Addabbo), would require all polling sites to comply with the accessibility guidelines of the ADA. Across the state, polling sites are notorious for violations of the ADA, infringing on people with disabilities’ right to vote. The new law will update state election law consistent with federal requirements, eliminate outdated waiver language, increase the likelihood of compliance, and increase procedures for enforcement. Inaccessible sites can either be moved, consolidated, or modifications can be made and counties can be reimbursed from pre-existing state and federal HAVA funds for costs incurred in making polling places accessible to individuals with disabilities, including the blind and visually impaired.
The Governor’s vetoes come just ten days after the state was found to have violated the ADA and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision by discriminating against people with psychiatric disabilities in adult homes in New York City. In response to that ruling, disability advocates are calling on Governor Paterson to direct the state not to appeal the decision, and to redouble efforts to produce an Olmstead plan which meets the court’s requirements and a budget that implements the plan as soon as possible.
Disability advocates now call on the New York State Legislature to override these vetoes and ensure the civil rights of all New Yorkers with disabilities:
- Override the Governor’s veto of A.781-B (Paulin)/S.5396 (Huntley) to incorporate the provisions of Title II of the ADA into state law and strengthen protections for people with disabilities against discrimination in New York State!
- Override the Governor’s veto of A. 584 (Cahill)/S.1058 (Addabbo) to ensure that the state’s 3.3 million voters with disabilities have access to their most fundamental citizenship right to vote!
PBS Premieres "Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy"
The film “Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy” chronicles the life of two of the country’s most remarkable advocates for people with disabilities. Diana Braun, who has Down syndrome, and Kathy Conour, who has cerebral palsy, met three decades ago and vowed to fight to live independent lives. Fearful of being shut away in a nursing home or forced into a state-run institution, Diana and Kathy broke the rules, escaped the system, and modeled a grand experiment in independent living.
As a result of their efforts today Diana and Kathy are well-known as a tireless and dynamic pair of lobbyists and activists in the disability movement. Although Kathy is non-verbal, through the help of a mouth stick and the Pathfinder assistive communication device, she writes articles for national magazines and has a lively email correspondence with leaders in the disability rights movement. Kathy also serves on boards, and continues to lobby effectively for disability rights--Kathy was once even arrested, power chair and all. Diana drives, cooks, shops, takes care of scheduling doctor’s appointments and has been Kathy’s personal assistant and friend for more than 35 years.
The film chronicles a journey from their home in Springfield, IL to Washington, D.C. The trip is physically dangerous and technically illegal—Medicare rules require them to be homebound. History has shown, however the benefits of breaking rules can sometimes outweigh the risks. Although they comprise the largest minority in the United States, people with disabilities are routinely denied equal access and rights. “Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy” exemplifies the abilities of people with disabilities and helps us understand an important and complex social issue.
“Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy”, will have its television premiere this fall on PBS in as part of the network’s National Disabilities Awareness programming. Read More and find your local listings.
Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998: Listening Session for Disability Stakeholders
Date: 10/01/2009
Time: 2pm Eastern (1:00pm/Central, 12:00pm/Mountain, 11:00am/Pacific)
Length: 180 minutes
Registration: http://www.workforce3one.org/view/5000926034463890808/info
Please join Seth Harris, Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor; Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA); and Kathy Martinez, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) for a "listening session" focused on the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, and its impact on programs and services for people with disabilities.
We have an extraordinary opportunity to provide input to the Secretary of the Department of Labor, Hilda Solis, on the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The Secretary has asked the ETA to conduct a series of "listening" opportunities to hear from all interested stakeholders about reauthorization. The purpose of this listening session is to solicit input from disability stakeholders. ETA and ODEP will be jointly conducting this WIA reauthorization listening session on the following topics:
- What is working well in WIA and should be continued?
- What is not working well and should be discontinued or altered?
- What opportunities does reauthorization present for innovation and change?
There will be a number of pre-scheduled five minute presentations by disability stakeholders as well as an opportunity for all participants to provide comments. Interested attendees must register at Workforce3One.org. Registrants will be able to participate in the listening session either in person at the Department of Labor or remotely via Webinar or teleconference. A teleconference number and Webinar link with access to closed captioning will be provided to those who wish to remotely attend the listening session.
If you are interested in attending the listening session in person, please contact Randee Chafkin at chafkin.randee@dol.gov. Please also contact Ms. Chafkin if you are requesting an accommodation. Space is limited and participation in person will be on a first registered basis; if there are more registrants who want to attend in person than there is space, you will be notified by e-mail prior to the session and will be able to participate by Webinar or teleconference.
Written comments are also welcome and can be submitted to: WIA.Reauthorization2009@dol.gov through October 15, 2009. This listening session will be recorded and archived on Workforce3One.org so that interested parties may access the recording and transcript at any time.
We look forward to hearing your comments and appreciate your taking the time to provide input about the WIA reauthorization. Thank you.
Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration
Kathy Martinez, Assistant Secretary, Office of Disability Employment Administration Policy
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September 22, 2009