• Obama's Address on Empowering Americans with Disabilities
  
  
• Obama Statement on the International Day of Disabled Persons
  
  
• Obama on the 17th Anniversary of the ADA

 

Obama's Address on Empowering Americans with Disabilities

Barack Obama released the following "Comprehensive Agenda to Empower Individuals with Disabilities". The Obama campaign has added a new section to thier website that addresses Obama's disability policy, which includes a video address [transcript below], as well as a full overview the plan (PDF). No Worries, though, we've also created a Text (.txt) version.

Check it out at www.barackobama.com!

"I learned about the experience of living with disability from my father-in-law, Frasier Robinson. At the age of 30, Frasier was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. For the next 25 years, as his condition progressed, he carried out his responsibilities to his family with grace and dignity. My wife, Michelle, has told me about the hidden toll it took on her family. The added burden on her mother, the complexity of planning even the smallest family outing to avoid the barriers they were sure to encounter, the uncertainty of the family’s future.

Frasier’s story reinforces some simple and indelible lessons. That we must build a world free of unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination. That 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. And that every nation has a special responsibility to look after those who can’t live on their own. Because everyone deserves to live with dignity and respect.

The U.S. should lead the world to achieve this vision. But 17 years after Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act, America’s leadership has faded. As President, I will restore it. We’ll start by ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

But we also have work to do here at home. First, we must provide Americans with disabilities the educational opportunities they deserve, which is why I support full funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and expanding college opportunities for students with disabilities.

But we can’t wait until children arrive at the schoolhouse door. We should screen all infants for the full array of potential impairments and set a national goal to re-screen all two year olds. Some conditions, like autism, don’t appear until age two, so infant screening is not enough. And to meet the needs of the growing numbers of Americans with autism, we need a comprehensive approach that includes not just screening but early intervention, research, and education services.

Second, we must end workplace discrimination – something I fought against as a former civil rights lawyer. I strongly support the ADA Restoration Act to overturn those Supreme Court decisions that wrongly narrowed the ADA. And my administration will lead the way by hiring more federal employees with disabilities and encouraging private sector companies to do the same. Moreover, if we’re serious about bringing more Americans with disabilities into the workplace, we need to sign universal health care into law, which is what I’ll do by the end of my first term. And with the growing number of veterans returning with combat stress disorders and traumatic brain injuries, we should ensure that we’re providing the resources to address these conditions.

Finally, we must support independent community-based living for everyone who chooses it. That’s why I’m proud to support the Community Choice and CLASS Acts. And it’s why I will expand access to assistive technology as President. Together we can build a world that’s just and inclusive for all. Thank you."

Obama Statement on the International Day of Disabled Persons

CHICAGO, IL— Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the United Nations’ International Day of Disabled Persons.
                      
“On this International Day of Disabled Persons, I stand with the roughly six hundred million people around the world, including fifty-four million Americans, who experience some form of disability.  I share their vision of an inclusive and just world that is 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, fulfill their potential, and live independently as full citizens in their communities. And every nation has a special responsibility to look after those who can't live on their own - because every human being deserves to live with dignity and respect.”

“The United States should lead the world to achieve this vision.  But seventeen years after Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act, leading other nations to pass similar laws, our leadership has faded.  As president, I will restore America's leadership.  I will make the United States a signatory to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - the first human rights treaty approved by the UN in the 21st century and a critical step toward respecting the rights of people with disabilities worldwide.  And I will urge the U.S. Senate to swiftly ratify the Convention.”

“Next week, I will lay out a detailed agenda for reforming American society to break down the barriers that exclude Americans with disabilities.  We need to build an America where those with disabilities have the same opportunities as everybody else.  That is my goal, and I will accept nothing less.”

Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the Seventeenth Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act:

July 26, 2007

“On July 26, 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a law that aimed to ensure that Americans with disabilities have equal access to the American Dream, was signed into law. As a former civil rights lawyer, I know firsthand the importance of strong legal protections against discrimination and an abiding commitment to equal opportunity. As we celebrate the ADA’s anniversary today, we must also re-commit ourselves to strengthening the law and enforcing it more vigorously and effectively.

“The ADA declared that people with disabilities are welcome throughout American society. The ADA assumed, rather than doubted, that people with disabilities can be productive workers contributing to our economy and the support of their families. Perhaps most important, the ADA was a formal acknowledgment that people with disabilities are American citizens with the same rights as other Americans: a right to belong, a right to participate fully in the American experience, and a right to have dignity and respect in the workplace and beyond.

“This right is not just something to celebrate today, it’s something we must work to uphold in the months to come. We must overcome the Supreme Court decisions that have weakened this right by making the ADA Restoration Act the law of the land – a law that will bring us closer to the ADA’s ideal of barring discrimination against anyone on the basis of disability.”

Contact: Obama Press Office 312-819-2423