IN THIS ISSUE:

(1) Ensuring Basic Constitutional Rights in Institutions (CRIPA)

(2) CRIPA: US DOJ Settles Suit in Louisiana to Improve Educational Services in Juvenile Correctional Centers

(3) EPSDT Update

(4) NAPAS Resources Online

(5) Bazelon Resources Online

(6) ADA Updates

• Oklahoma County Settles with DOJ
• Greyhound Bus
• Target Sued
• City of Toledo Settles with DOJ
• Court Lets Lawton, OK Boy Play in Game
• Medical Provider Accessibility
• Impact on Insurance Underwriting
• Days Inn Settles Complaints with US DOJ

(7) New Web URL’s for ODLC and Redlands Partners

(8) Health Advocates Guide to the Internet (from NHeLP)

(9) Social Security Administration on WWIA of 1999

----

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/crtann.html#ensure

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/cguide.htm

The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to investigate conditions of confinement at State and local government institutions such as prisons, jails, pretrial detention centers, juvenile correctional facilities, publicly operated nursing homes, and institutions for people with psychiatric or developmental disabilities. Its purpose is to allow the Attorney General to uncover and correct widespread deficiencies that seriously jeopardize the health and safety of residents of institutions. The Attorney General does not have authority under CRIPA to investigate isolated incidents or to represent individual institutionalized persons.

The Attorney General may initiate civil law suits where there is reasonable cause to believe that conditions are "egregious or flagrant," that they are subjecting residents to "grievous harm," and

that they are part of a "pattern or practice" of resistance to residents' full enjoyment of constitutional or Federal rights, including title II of the ADA and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. For more information or to bring a matter to the Department of Justice's attention, contact:

Special Litigation Section

Civil Rights Division

U.S. Department of Justice

P.O. Box 66400

Washington, D.C. 20035-6400

(202) 514-6255 (voice/relay)

The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980 ensures that the rights of persons in institutions are protected against unconstitutional conditions. Those confined in government institutions include persons with disabilities, the elderly in government-run nursing homes, and prisoners.

In March, 1972, a group of parents, volunteer organizations and individual residents at the Willowbrook State School for the Mentally Retarded filed a federal lawsuit against the State of New York and the administrators of the school to correct conditions at the school. At that time, Willowbrook had a population of 5,700 housed in 43 buildings. Officially 65% over capacity, it was the largest institution of its kind in the United States. Over 75% of the residents were profoundly or severely retarded and over half had been in Willowbrook for more than 20 years. Conditions for the residents at Willowbrook were hazardous to the health, safety and sanity of the residents. The residences were dirty, people didn't have clean clothes to wear, the plumbing didn't work, and there were not enough doctors and nurses to take care of them. During 8 months in 1972, there were over 1,300 reported incidents of injury, assaults or fights. The Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of mental Hygiene in charge of Willowbrook described the institution as a "major tragedy." The Civil Rights Division intervened in the lawsuit as amicus curiae (which means "friend of the court") to help the parents and others prove that the rights of the residents were being violated. After 3 years of court actions, all the parties to the lawsuit agreed on a settlement to correct the conditions at Willowbrook. It was, however, several years before everything that was wrong with Willowbrook was fixed.

The Division remains firmly committed to protecting the civil rights of institutionalized persons. The Division is presently monitoring conditions in over 67 facilities covered by CRIPA consent decrees. In recent months, the Division conducted investigations of 11 jails in Georgia, all four state-operated mental retardation facilities in Tennessee, 11 juvenile detention centers in Georgia, four juvenile detention facilities in Tennessee and eight juvenile detention centers in Puerto Rico.

The Division has obtained civil contempt orders against District of Columbia officials for their failure to provide adequate care to patients of D.C. Village nursing home, consistent with court orders, and to provide adequate community-based mental retardation services developed to meet the needs of the former residents of Forest Haven.

The Division entered into a comprehensive consent decree with the Commonwealth of Kentucky requiring substantial improvements in all aspects of the operation of its juvenile detention centers statewide. This settlement will result in enhanced educational services, medical and mental health care, and the investigation and proper resolution of incidents of alleged abuse of juveniles.

Comprehensive investigations of 18 city and county jails in the State of Mississippi have resulted in numerous comprehensive consent decrees and the construction -- or planned construction -- of 9 new jail facilities.

Institutionalized Persons (Native Americans)

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/indian/broch.html

The Civil Rights Division enforces the constitutional and Federal statutory rights of residents of publicly-operated residential facilities such as jails, prisons, juvenile detention facilities, mental retardation facilities, and psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes, regardless of their race. Thus, if American Indians residing in a county-owned nursing home are not being provided adequate medical and nursing care, the Division’s Special Litigation Section (telephone (202) 514-6255) can investigate and file a lawsuit against the county and the nursing home to force improvements in the quality of care. This authority does not cover tribal governments or federally operated facilities. If an American Indian woman were to seek reproductive health services and encounter undue interference in the form of blockades or other harassing methods, Federal law provides the Division with authority to file a lawsuit to prohibit individuals or groups from interfering with the woman’s access to the services.

Juveniles confined in all of Louisiana's secure correctional facilities will now receive improved educational services under an agreement reached today between the state, the Justice Department, and private plaintiffs. The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, resolves claims brought in three related lawsuits pending in federal court before Chief Judge Frank J. Polozola in Baton Rouge. The lawsuits allege that the facilities have failed to provide adequate regular, vocational, and special education services as required by law. As a result of the agreement, the state will take immediate steps to improve all three areas of services. The Justice Department and private plaintiffs are still negotiating with the state over claims that conditions in the facilities subject juveniles to abuse, excessive force, and inadequate protection from harm, and that the facilities are not providing adequate medical care, mental health care, treatment, and rehabilitation. "It is very important that juveniles confined in correctional facilities continue to receive appropriate education," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "Returning these juveniles to their communities with educational and vocational skills is vital for everyone in Louisiana. Today's agreement is a positive first step to resolve our lawsuit against Louisiana but our work is not yet done. We will continue working to resolve the remaining issues in this case."

The Justice Department began investigating the juvenile facilities in Louisiana in 1996 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) and the pattern or practice provisions of the 1994 Crime Act after receiving complaints about conditions. The Justice Department has the authority to investigate public institutions, including juvenile correctional facilities, to ensure that youth are receiving adequate care and treatment. In 1997, the Justice Department informed the state that conditions in the facilities violated the rights of the confined youth. Efforts to settle the case broke down, and the Justice Department sued Louisiana in 1998 to remedy conditions in the facilities. In 1999, renewed efforts to settle, rather than litigate, the case ensued.

"I am delighted that the educational component of this lawsuit has been resolved amicably," said L.J. Hymel, U.S. Attorney in Baton Rouge. "The attorneys for all of the parties to this litigation have worked long and hard in reaching this agreement. With this kind of continued dedication to the remaining issues, I am optimistic that they can be similarly settled."

As a result of the agreement, the state will:

• hire a State Director of Education to oversee educational services throughout the juvenile system;

• decrease class size in regular, special, and vocational education classes;

• hire 21 new special education teachers throughout the system and hire a sufficient number of regular education teachers to meet the new lowered class size requirements;

• improve the qualifications of teaching staff, including efforts to obtain full certification of teachers with provisional or temporary certification and increase teacher pay to reach parity with local school districts;

• hire 26 special education related services personnel, including school psychologists, diagnosticians, social workers, speech therapists, and transition coordinators in addition to 15 additional teacher aides;

• provide pre-vocational or vocational education to all students, build 11 additional classrooms for vocational education, and hire 11 additional vocational education teachers;

• build 35 additional classrooms for regular and special education classes;

• develop a new, system-wide curriculum designed for a correctional environment;

• improve the processes for screening and identifying youth who are eligible for special education services and increase parental participation in special education services and ensure that female youth receive equivalent academic and vocational education services as male youth; and,

• create a quality assurance program for educational services.

The agreement also contains provisions for enforcement and monitoring. When the state has complied with the agreement, it can ask the court to dismiss the education claims in the three related cases.

HCFA has issued a Dear State Medicaid Director letter revising EPSDT reporting on the Form HCFA-416. Although the new form includes some new and helpful elements, the overall effect is to reduce the ability to track trends in preventive services for children. (October 16, 1999--posted Oct. 25, 1999) http://www.healthlaw.org/pubs/199910EPSDT416.html

Abuse & Neglect/Community Integration

http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com/abusen2.htm

Employment

http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com/employ2.htm

Housing

http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com/housing2.htm

Managed Care

http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com/managca2.htm

Medicare/Medicaid

http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com/medicar2.htm

Special Education/IDEA

http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com/idea2.htm

Transportation

http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com/transp2.htm

Special Articles

Disability-Based Bias Crimes

http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com/hatepnts.htm

NAPAS Fights to Convince States Not to Join Georgia on Olmstead v. L.C.

http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com/lc.htm

You Have an Advocate in the Protection and Advocacy System

http://www.bazelon.org

(one of the national back up centers for the protection and advocacy systems)

The Americans with Disabilities Act

http://www.bazelon.org/ada.html

Child welfare

http://www.bazelon.org/rc.html

Children's mental health services

http://www.bazelon.org/children.html

Choices in mental health treatment (advance directive)

http://www.bazelon.org/advdir.html

Community services for older people

http://www.bazelon.org/agingiss.html

Fair housing for people with disabilities — New booklet!

http://www.bazelon.org/housing.html

Managed behavioral health care

http://www.bazelon.org/mancare.html

Medicaid

http://www.bazelon.org/medicaid.html

Palliative Care

http://www.bazelon.org/palliate.html

SSI for children

http://www.bazelon.org/kidsssi.html

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, DOJ COMPLAINT NUMBER 204-60-22

Agreement located at: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/oklaco.htm

The complainant alleged that the programs, services and activities offered in the Oklahoma County Courthouse are not accessible to persons with mobility impairments. The agreement describes the alterations that must be made. The Policy on Accessibility is important to read so that you will know how to request accessible services.

SUMMARY OF SETTLEMENT: The Department entered an agreement with Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, resolving a complaint concerning the accessibility of programs, services, and activities offered in the county courthouse. The county will remove physical barriers to access and adopt a policy describing its program accessibility and effective communication obligations that will be published on the county s web site and in a county newspaper. An accessible entrance into the courthouse will be provided, toilet rooms on the first and seventh floors of the courthouse will be altered, elevator signage will be modified to improve accessibility, two courtrooms will be designated as accessible to persons who use wheelchairs and the elements of those courtrooms will be modified to provide an accessible route that connects the main courtroom entrance, spectator seating area, participant seating area, witness stand, jury box area, jury deliberation room and jury rest room. In addition, wheelchair seating will be provided in the jury box, witness stand, and spectator seating area.

RESOURCES FOR UNDERSTANDING TITLE II REQUIREMENTS FOR GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES:

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/statute.html

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/reg2.html

28 CFR PART 35

Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/taman2.html

Title II Technical Assistance Manual

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/taman2up.html

Title II Technical Assistance Manual Supplement

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pubs/t2qa.txt

Common Questions About Title II

by Marilyn Golden, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)

mgolden@wli.net

Good news for advocates of access to Greyhound! On September 10, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment to the Department of Transportation (DOT) in the lawsuit challenging DOT's final regulation on over-the-road buses (OTRB's) used by private entities, published about one year ago (American Bus Association v. Rodney Slater). This means that DOT has won the lawsuit at the district court level. Even though an appeal is expected, this is an important victory for DOT's regulation requiring Greyhound and other fixed route OTRB companies to purchase only accessible buses after October 2000.

A summary of this regulation is available at DREDF's website (http://www.dredf.org).

Oakland, CA—Today (October 6, 1999) in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Schneider & McCormac filed a nationwide class action lawsuit of first impression (Lundstrom v. Target) against Target Stores, a division of Dayton Hudson Corporation, for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Target discriminates against persons with hearing disabilities by failing to provide the accommodations necessary to ensure effective communication in the workplace.

The ADA requires places of public accommodation, such as retailers or department stores, to provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities during the interview process. For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, retailers must provide the necessary accommodations to achieve effective communication between the hearing and deaf persons. For deaf people, interpreters are a necessary accommodation to bridge the communication gap between sign language and English users. Target, however, has exhibited a pattern and practice of refusing to provide interpreters during the job application process which severely disadvantages deaf people’s opportunities to fairly and equally compete for employment. As one of the largest retail stores in the nations, with a annual revenues of over $20 billion, Target can well afford the costs of such accommodations.

The individual named Plaintiff, Gary Lundstrom, represents a state and nationwide class of all persons with hearing disabilities who have been injured in the legal right or are threatened with such injury because of Target’s conduct in establishing and implementing discriminatory policies and practices against deaf and hard of hearing job applicants. Plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief that will force Target into compliance with federal civil rights laws.

Target systematically fails to provide very basic accommodations to deaf and hard of hearing job applicants during the employment application process. Target’s refusal to provide deaf and hard of hearing applicants with sign language interpreters for interviews forces them to communicate with interviewers by writing notes. Target also refuses to provide hearing disabled applicants with interpreters for written job examinations administered by Target. An investigation of Target stores across the nation shows that Target routinely denies deaf job applicants’ requests for interpreters for job interviews. Of ten deaf people across the nation, six were discriminated against by one form or another. For example, three people were told that Target would not provide an interpreter for the job interview. Two other people were told that Target was not currently hiring. However, when hearing persons inquired about job openings at the same stores, they were told that Target was currently hiring and were encouraged to apply. Only one deaf individual was told that Target would provide him with an interpreter and that he would receive a call to schedule an interview. Despite his repeated TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) calls and messages concerning scheduling an interview, Target never returned his messages. The last time he called to follow up on an interview, he was told that Target was already conducting interviews.

The named class representative in this suit is Gary Lundstrom, who is deaf. Mr. Lundstrom states, "Target didn’t even give me a chance. I asked for an interpreter and they said they would give me one. But before the interview, they called me and told me they could not find an interpreter and just told me to come in for the interview anyway. I told Target that I needed an interpreter, but they insisted that I should just interview without one. I decided to go to the interview anyway because I needed a job and I wanted to try. But, without an interpreter at the interview, I was not able to understand what was being said, ask questions easily, understand most of the questions on the test, or talk about my skills."

Rowena Gargalicana, an attorney for the plaintiff, notes: "It is ironic that Target’s web page boasts about the company’s commitment to diversity and about the company’s Diversity Task Force. However, Target’s practice of routinely denying deaf job applicants sign language interpreters during job interviews is proof that Target does not want to hire deaf people."

Plaintiffs are represented by Disability Rights Advocates, a national civil rights nonprofit law firm exclusively representing people with disabilities and Schneider & McCormac, a prominent San Francisco civil rights firm.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE CITY OF TOLEDO, OHIO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COMPLAINT NUMBER 204-57-35 Regarding accessibility to city services, programs and activities, completion of a self evaluation and transition plan, effective communications with people with disabilities and compliance with the ADA Accessibility Standards in new construction and alteration of facilities

Go to: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/toledo.htm

(e) Court Lets Lawton, OK Boy Play in Game

Court lets disabled boy play (11/13/99)

U.S. District Judge David L. Russell issued an emergency court order directing the Lawton Evening Optimist Soccer Association to allow 9-year-old Ryan Taylor and his walker to compete in a pee-wee soccer game. The boy has cerebral palsy and uses a walker. The Lawton soccer association had banned the walker from games -- labeling it a safety hazard. The judge's ruling did not address whether Ryan will be allowed to play with a walker in any future season.

The walker is two feet tall, has four wheels and has been heavily padded by Ryan's parents in an effort to gain approval of referees and league officials. Dr. Shane Ross, a physician who has a daughter on Ryan's team, testified he would consider the soccer goal posts to be more of a hazard than Ryan's walker.

An Oregon obstetrics practice will now provide sign language interpreters to patients and

their partners whenever either person is deaf, under an agreement reached today with the Justice Department. The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, resolves allegations that Perinatal Associates, P.C. violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it refused to provide an interpreter to an expectant father who was deaf. The ADA requires that private doctors take appropriate steps to ensure effective communication with patients and their partners unless doing so would result in an undue burden.

The Justice Department became involved in this case in August 1999, when it joined a private lawsuit filed by Jennifer Drew and Brian Morace and the Oregon Association of the Deaf. Drew and Morace filed their lawsuit after Perinatal Associates informed them they would not provide a sign language interpreter to Morace, who is deaf, because he was not the primary patient. Today's case was settled through voluntary alternative dispute resolution.

"Expectant mothers and fathers with disabilities must have the same opportunity to communicate with the doctor and staff as other patients do," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "An interpreter is necessary for an effective discussion of the parents' medical history, possible complications for the mother or the baby, and types of care that might be needed. This is one of the primary purposes of the ADA."

As a result of the agreement, Perinatal Associates will: institute a policy of providing sign language interpreters for deaf patients or deaf partners in order to ensure effective communication; provide training for doctors and staff on the obligations of the ADA; and, provide compensation for the couple of $25,000 in monetary relief.

"No doctor should exclude or otherwise deny equal services to a person based upon disability or deny equal services to a person based upon his or her relationship or association with a person with a disability," says United States Attorney Kristine Olson. "Preventing discrimination by health care providers against patients based upon the patient's association with a person known to have a disability is a matter of public importance."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Wednesday that the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits an insurance company "from refusing to offer its policies to disabled persons by reason of their disabilities." Allstate Life Insurance Company had denied a life

insurance policy to a husband and wife solely because of their history of mental illness. The couple sued alleging this was prohibited by the ADA and New York State Insurance Law. In 1998, the U.S. District Court in Albany dismissed their claim against Allstate, and yesterday the Court of Appeals reinstated their claim. The decision is expected to affect insurance practices nationwide.

The question of whether the ADA applies to insurance underwriting practices has been hotly contested by insurance companies around the country.

The court concluded that Congress clearly intended to "provide a clear and comprehensive mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities," and that Congress explicitly prohibited insurance companies from refusing to sell policies to persons with disabilities by reason of their disabilities.

The plaintiffs were represented by Disability Advocates, Inc., an Albany,, New York based non-profit public interest law office. Tim Clune, the attorney who represented the couple, noted that "the good hands of Allstate must now truly be open to everyone, including people with disabilities. What Allstate did was not unique. Now the 'business as usual practice' of refusing to insure people with disabilities will no longer be tolerated."

The case is entitled Pallozzi v. Allstate Life Insurance Company, Docket No. 98-7552 (decided December 1, 1999).

The world's largest hotel chain has agreed to implement a nationwide initiative designed to make hundreds of its new hotels across the country more accessible to persons with disabilities, under an agreement reached today with the Justice Department.

The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Pikeville, Kentucky, resolves five lawsuits filed by the Justice Department in February 1996. The suits allege that Days Inns of America, Inc, and its parent company, Cendant Corporation (formerly HFS, Inc), violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by constructing new Days Inn hotels that denied equal access to persons with disabilities. The ADA requires that those participating in the design and construction of places of public accommodation and commercial facilities, including hotels, motels, inns, and other lodging facilities, to comply with specific architectural guidelines known as the ADA Standards for Accessible Design to ensure that the facilities are readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.

"We are pleased that Days Inns will initiate a program to make its recently-built hotels across the country accessible," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "I hope that other hotels and hotel franchises follow Days Inns' example and implement systemwide changes to make each of their facilities fully accessible to persons with disabilities."

Under the agreement, Days Inns will:

+ require new hotels to certify that they are in compliance with the ADA Standards before they open for business as Days Inns;

+ pay for an independent survey program designed to identify ADA problems at newly constructed hotels;

+ establish a $4.75 million revolving fund to provide interest-free loans to franchisees of newly constructed hotels to finance repairs and renovations required for ADA compliance; and,

+ pay $50,000 to the United States.

The cases against Days Inns were part of groundbreaking litigation brought by the Justice Department to challenge the failure of some companies to design and construct places of public accommodation and commercial facilities to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, as required by law. Today's agreement ends four years of litigation that followed an 18-month investigation of newly constructed Days Inn hotels across the country.

The investigation revealed that the hotels did not meet the ADA's accessibility requirements. Similar accessibility problems existed throughout the chain, including, for example, insufficient accessible parking, inaccessible entrances and walkways at the facilities; inadequate space for persons who use wheelchairs to maneuver in guestrooms and bathrooms; insufficient visual alarm systems for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing; inadequate signage for persons who are blind or have low vision; inaccessible routes throughout the hotels; and guestroom and bathroom doors that are not wide enough to allow wheelchairs to pass inside.

"Everyone who participates in the design and construction of a building shares responsibility to follow the law," added Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Today's agreement is the result of more than a year of mediation and is an excellent example of how the Civil Rights Division is using mediation to resolve civil rights disputes."

The owners, contractors and all but one architect for each of the five hotels named in the lawsuits have already entered into Consent Decrees or settlement agreements with the Department. The agreement announced today resolves the remaining claims against Days Inns of America and Cendant Corporation.

To help hotels and hotel chains comply with the ADA, the Department has published three new documents designed to assist hotel owners, franchisors, architects and contractors gain a better understanding of ADA requirements for newly constructed hotels. The publications are: Common ADA Problems at Newly Constructed Lodging Facilities, the ADA Checklist for New Lodging Facilities, and Five Steps to Make New Lodging Facilities Comply with the ADA.

ODLC's webpage has changed URL -- You may reach our webpage by using:

http://www.oklahomadisabilitylaw.org

The Redlands Partners page is changed to:

http://www.redlands-partners.org

"Health Advocates' Guide to the Internet" The full text has been placed online by Francis Cheng, NHeLP (National Health Law Program). This guide is a brief introduction to the Internet for health advocates. September 1999 http://www.healthlaw.org/pubs/199910HAInternet.html

SSA's web publication on the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999

(1) Social Security Legislative Bulletin

(106-13R), December 3, 1999

"Congress Passes the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999"

[includes summary of legislation]

http://www.npnd.org/CongressPassesttheTickettoWorkandWorkIncentivesImprovementActof1999.htm

(2) "Clinton Signs Law to Help Disabled Workers"

Associated Press News Article, December 17, 1999

http://www.foxnews.com/national/121799/disabled.sml

(3) FROM: Justice For All, jfa@jfanow.org

President Bill Clinton Signs WIIA

December 17, 1999

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT SIGNING CEREMONY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 1180 WORK INCENTIVES IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1999, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Washington. D.C.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Senator Kennedy, Senator Jeffords, we thank you for your leadership and your remarks today. And, Senator Roth, we thank you very much. We know this couldn't have happened without you. And, Senator Moynihan, Representative Lazio, thank you, sir. And, Representative Waxman and Representative Brown who are here, and Representative Dingell who is not here -- I want to thank all of you for your leadership in the House. Give them all a hand. (Applause.)

I also want to thank the members of the administration who were particularly active in supporting this bill – Secretary Herman, the co-chair of my task force on the employment of adults with disabilities -- (applause) – Secretary Shalala, Secretary Summers, Social Security Commissioner Apfel -- (applause.) I'd like to thank, in the White House, my Chief of Staff John Podesta, Chris Jennings, and Jeanne Lambrew, who had a lot to do with this bill, as all of you know. (Applause.)

I want to thank Senator Dole, especially, and through him all the citizens who came forward and made it possible for this to be a genuinely American bill. I want to welcome the members of the Roosevelt family who are here today, particularly Jim and Ann Roosevelt, my longtime friends. And now Jim is a member of this administration, something I'm very proud of.

I want to thank you, Justin Dart, and the members of the disability community who are here, for this and every other issue that we've worked on for over seven years now. (Applause.) And I want to acknowledge -- James Sullivan really spoke for three others who are here -- Donna McNarnee, Paul Marshall, and Wesley Vinner. I thank them for being up here, because every one of them represents a different, slightly different story of someone who will benefit from this bill. And I thank them for sharing their stories with us. (Applause.)

I think it's kind of interesting, don't you, that Mr. Sullivan, from New Hampshire and Senator Jeffords, from Vermont, are the only two people up here without coats on? (Laughter.) This is a warm December day in New England. (Laughter.)

Senator Jeffords, you made that remark that President Roosevelt never carried Vermont. You know, my family communes with the Roosevelts on a regular basis -- (laughter) -- you may remember that. And Eleanor told Hillary last night you're forgiven, all is forgiven now. (Laughter.) This wipes the slate clean, this bill does. (Laughter.)

John Sweeney, we thank you for being here. And we thank the labor community for their support of this legislation, as well. (Applause.)

I think it is wonderfully fitting that this is the last piece of legislation a President of the United States will sign in the entire 20th century. (Applause.) We do it at this magnificent memorial, the Franklin Roosevelt, who from his wheelchair lifted our nation out of depression and led the free world to victory in World War II; who laid the building blocks for world peace and security that we enjoy today, and accomplished it all as an American with a disability.

In his time, as we all know -- and we've had a lot of debates about that in this memorial context -- Roosevelt felt he needed to keep his wheelchair from public view. Most people believed being disabled meant being unable, though he proved them wrong every day. Today, in the spirit of his leadership and the wake of his accomplishments, we move further along on our nation's marvelous journey of equal opportunity for all. (Applause.)

This is a good time for our country. We're ending the century on a high note, with 20 million new jobs since 1993; the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years; the lowest welfare rolls in 32 years; the lowest poverty rate in 20 years; in February, the longest economic expansion in our entire history. But in spite of this good economic news, we know that three out of four people with significant disabilities are not working. They're ready to work, they're willing to work, and they are very able to work. But as we have heard, they face the daunting barrier of losing their Medicare or Medicaid coverage if they get a job.

For many Americans with disabilities, medical bills, as you just heard from our previous speaker, may cost thousands more than what is typically covered by an employer's private health insurance. For some, including some on this stage, those medical bills, because of the attendant care services, may add up to more than any reasonable salary a person with disabilities could ever hope to earn.

And, yet, quite beyond the human cost of denying people the dignity of work, this defies common sense and economic logic. It doesn't make sense for people to be denied the dignity of work and for the taxpayers to pay the bills, whether they're working or not, and, therefore, losing the benefit of the productivity, the contributions to our economy and society and, as you just heard, the tax receipt of working Americans.

Secretary Summers is here. You wouldn't believe how much time we spend arguing over how much longer this economic expansion can go on. How can we keep it going without inflation? How many expansions in the past have been broken because inflation finally burst through and had to be taken down and that led to a recession?

Well, one way we can keep this economic expansion going is to take it to people and places who aren't part of it. That's what our New Markets Initiative to poor areas of America is all about. And make no mistake about it, that will be one big objective of this bill. This is an inflation-free way to keep America's economy growing. You are helping every single American -- not just Americans with disabilities -- every single American will be helped by this legislation today. (Applause.)

But, of course, even more compelling than the economic argument is the human one. Today, we say with a simple, but clear voice, no one should have to choose between taking a job and having health care. (Applause.)

This legislation reorients our policy by saying health care ought to be a tool to getting a job, earning a salary, paying taxes, and living up to one's God-given potential. You don't have to worry about losing Medicare or Medicaid anymore.

This landmark measure will also make a real difference to people who are facing the early onset of diseases like AIDS, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's or diabetes. Right now, they may be able to work, but their work conditions are not deemed severe enough to qualify for Medicare. In other words, they may only become eligible for health care when they're no longer able to work. Now, the problem is they're uninsurable because of the conditions they have, even though they're not disabled. So they're also in a different kind of double-bind.

With this bill -- thanks again to bipartisan support in Congress, and to the fact that the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee found a way to fund it -- we are going to have a $250 million demonstration program that will allow these Americans to buy into the Medicare program, so they can stay on the job and don't have to give it up to get health care when they're perfectly capable of working. This is also a very important feature of this bill. (Applause.)

And finally, both Senator Kennedy and Senator Jeffords mentioned the Ticket to Work legislation that's a part of this bill. This creates long-overdue reforms of the job-training program, so people with disabilities can make their own choices about vocational rehabilitation services, the ones that are best for them. (Applause.)

Taken together, clearly, this is the most significant advancement for people with disabilities since the Americans with Disabilities Act almost a decade ago. It continues our administration's efforts to replace barriers to opportunity with policies based on inclusion, empowerment and independence.

That's why we reformed welfare, to reward the dignity of work; why we doubled the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working people, particularly those with children; raised the minimum wage; enacted the Family and Medical Leave law. This bill takes us another huge step in the right direction of both liberating and rewarding the creative energies of all Americans. (Applause.)

But our task isn't done. I often think it's ironic that when we have these bill signings the Presidents get to make the speeches and sign the bills, but the members of Congress must be sitting out there thinking they did all the work. (Laughter.) And, in truth, they did the lion's share, and I was proud to support them.

But now it's our turn. We have to make it work in the lives of real people. I have instructed Secretary Shalala, Secretary Herman and Commissioner Apfel to take immediate action to implement this legislation, to team up with the states, advocates, businesses and others who are crucial to make this bill work. (Applause.)

Now, all of you here who had a hand in this know that the way it's set up, states have a vital role to play. We want to take every opportunity to help every single state in America take maximum advantage of the new options provided under this legislation. We want to encourage employees to reach out and tap the talented pool of potential workers that are now available. We want to work with all of you to ensure that we effectively get the word out to people who have disabilities so they actually know about the benefit of this legislation.

This is about more than jobs or paychecks -- I'll say it again -- it's about more than keeping our recovery going. It's fundamentally about the dignity of each human being; about the realization of a quality of opportunity; about recognizing that work is at the heart of the American Dream.

In the end, the counsel of Franklin Roosevelt that's etched in the walls of this memorial guides us still. He said, "No country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources." That is ever more true as we cross the threshold into the new millennium.

I think Mr. Roosevelt would be proud of all of you today. I think we have honored his life and his legacy. In the new century, America will realize even more of it's promise because we have unleashed the promise of more Americans.

Congratulations, and God bless you all. (Applause.)

I'd like to ask the members of Congress and the administration to come up for the bill signing now.

(The bill is signed.)