Ray - Excellent post.  I would urge you  to  forward a copy to the White 
House.

George L. Bousliman

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "rayilynlee" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 5:00 PM
Subject: Obama and Disability Community


> What an amazing record in first 60 days!!!!
> President Obama and the Disability Community
> April 15, 2009 by diverdonreed
>
> OBAMA AND THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY
>
> Before my son Roman received a spinal cord injury, I never gave much 
> thought as to what it meant to be disabled. I was polite, of course. If I 
> met a person in a wheelchair, I just went around. But what was it like to 
> be denied the use of one's limbs? Or to be unable to hear? Aside from an 
> occasional movie, like the "The Miracle Worker", Helen Keller's true story 
> of being both blind and deaf, the subject never seemed to come up.
>
> Disability was just a word.
>
> Then, in an instant, everything changed. Roman became paralyzed, and he 
> (and indirectly his family) became part of the disability community.
>
> I had no idea how many citizens with disabilities there were.
>
> According to the most recent U.S. Census, roughly one in five Americans 
> has a disability: meaning she or he has difficulty with everyday 
> activities: like breathing, or seeing, or getting dressed in the morning.
>
> The disability community is America's largest minority-even without their 
> families! If organized, we can win any election.
>
> This vast potential power has not gone unnoticed.
>
> During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Sarah Palin and John McCain tried 
> to rally the disability community against the Democratic party. Their 
> campaign stated that Obama's tax plan would hurt disabled people, by 
> taxing families who had set up trust funds for their special needs family 
> members.
>
> That was a surprise to me. Trust funds? Most folks in the disability 
> community are poor: financially struggling to make ends meet. Even in the 
> best of times, unemployment for disabled workers is like the Great 
> Depression. When you are worried about scraping together enough money to 
> put food on the table, there is no extra cash for stocks or bonds or any 
> kind of trust fund.
>
> I was glad to hear Obama spokespeople respond strongly. One advisor, Jason 
> Furman, called the attack a "blatant lie", saying that Obama would work 
> with the Treasury department to "make sure tax rates do not.increase on 
> any family making less than $250,000 a year." Another (Bill Burton) said 
> that Mr. Obama "has a comprehensive plan to support families that have 
> children with special needs and empower individuals with 
> disabilities." -Wall Street Journal, Chozick and Timiraos, October 24, 
> 2008.
>
> Were they telling the truth?
>
> Like millions of Americans, I was a volunteer worker for Obama, seeing his 
> leadership as crucial for the nation as a whole, and the disability 
> community in particular.
>
> One of the people I worked with on the campaign was Kareem Dale. He was in 
> charge of outreach to the disability community. We never met, just talked 
> on phone conferences, where he was invariably calm and affable, very 
> focused and on top of the situation. I did not realize till much later 
> that he was blind.
>
> So, after the campaign, did Mr. Dale go back to what he had been doing 
> before? Did the Obama campaign tell him, thank you very much, we 
> appreciate your support, see you next election?
>
> Not exactly.
>
> A new position was created in the White House.
>
> And a few days ago, I received the following information from Kareem Dale, 
> now Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy..
>
> Kareem Dale may be visually challenged, but he sees deeply into the 
> problems of the disability community, and he is right there beside the 
> President, making sure our families will never be forgotten.
>
> Remember the disability community saying, "Nothing about us, without us"? 
> Disability folks do not want occasional handouts, crumbs tossed from the 
> table-we want to be seated at the table of power, contributing and 
> participating when decisions are made.
>
> The rest of this column is from Kareem Dale, listing some of the steps the 
> Obama Presidency has already taken in support of Americans with 
> disabilities.
>
> ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN DISABILITY COMMUNITY IN FIRST 60 DAYS
>
> SIGNINGS
>
> ? (President Obama) signed SCHIP, which will provide insurance to millions 
> of children, including children with disabilities.
> ? Signed stem cell Executive Order, which will open the door to potential 
> cures for many disabilities.
> ? Signed Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, which will, for the 
> first time in history, bring together the best minds across the country to 
> collaborate on research, rehabilitation and improvement of quality of life 
> for people living with paralysis.
>
> RECOVERY ACT
>
> ? People with disabilities were included as never before in the recovery 
> plan.
> ? Provided a one-time additional payment of $250 to people who receive 
> Social Supplemental Income.
> ? Provided $500 million to the Social Security Administration to help 
> reduce backlogs.
> ? Provided $87 billion in Medicaid funding for states.
> ? Provided $140 million in funding for independent living centers.
> ? Provided over $500 million in funding for vocational rehabilitation 
> services to help with job training, education and placement.
> ? Provided $12 billion in funding for the Individuals with Disabilities 
> Education Act.
>
> APPOINTMENTS
>
> ? Appointed a Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy 
> with responsibilities in the Domestic Policy Council and Office of Public 
> Liaison for the first time in history.
> ? Appointed a Special Assistant to the President in the White House Office 
> of Personnel to focus on disability appointments for the first time in 
> history.
> ? Appointed a Senior Advisor on Disability Policy in the Domestic Policy 
> Council for the first time in history.
> ? Nominated a person with a disability, Kathy Martinez, to be Director of 
> ODEP.
> ? Nominated Seth Harris, a long time disability advocate, to be Deputy 
> Secretary of Labor.
> ? Nominated Tom Perez, a long-time supporter of the disability community, 
> to head the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
>
> OUTREACH
>
> ? President hosted a greet with 10 disability leaders following the 
> signing of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act.
> ? Vice-President led a delegation to the Special Olympics.
> ? Included people with disabilities at all public White House events.
> ? Invited Carmen Jones, an African American woman with a disability, to 
> participate in the small group meeting with seven other small business 
> owners to discuss issues with the President facing small business owners.
> ? Invited six leaders from the disability community to the signing of 
> SCHIP.
> ? Invited disability leaders to participate in the White House and 
> regional healthcare summits, including members of CCD, ADAPT, National MS 
> Society, mental health groups, autism groups and many other disability 
> groups across the country.
> ? Invited CCD to participate in the fiscal summit.
> ? Hosted outreach meetings with disability leaders and organizations.
> ? Hosting briefing and meeting for presidents of national disability 
> organizations.
>
> Rayilyn Brown
> Director AZNPF
> Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
> [log in to unmask]
>
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