FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Press Secretary, U.S. Senator Pat
Roberts
(202) 224-4774
Laura
Capps
Communications Director, U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy
(202) 224-2633
Maureen
Golga
ONE
PERCENT COALITION
(202)
585-2097
Senators
Roberts and Kennedy Introduce Legislation
To
Create Jobs for People with Severe Disabilities
New Coalition
Will Push for Passage of S. 1570
The Employer
Work Incentive Act for Individuals with Severe Disabilities
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October
6, 2005) —Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS)
and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), joined by former Senator Bob Dole (R-KS) and
national disability advocates, today unveiled legislation aimed at reducing the
high unemployment rate for people with severe disabilities.
“It is time for a change in
the way we think about employing individuals with severe disabilities,” said
Senator Pat Roberts. “We must create job
opportunities for people with severe disabilities in the national workforce,
not just in government-operated programs.”
“This legislation can help
our citizens with disabilities become full and participating members of their
community, while creating the employment opportunities needed to fulfill that
dream,” said Senator Kennedy. “Government and the private sector must work
together to provide all Americans with the opportunity to achieve personal and
economic self-sufficiency. Individuals
with disabilities deserve the dignity and satisfaction that comes from earning
a living wage.”
The Employer Work Incentive Act for Individuals with
Severe Disabilities will offer businesses that competitively employ people with
severe disabilities the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in the
performance of federal contracts and subcontracts. It will also require United States government
agencies to adopt policies and procedures to ensure that eligible businesses
that employ substantial numbers of individuals with disabilities are offered a
procurement advantage.
More than 9.4 million
Americans are considered severely disabled, meaning that they have a physical or
mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity
with respect to employment (e.g., mobility, communication, self-care,
self-direction, work tolerance or work skills). The legislation will expand competitive
employment opportunities for individuals with severe disabilities by offering
businesses an incentive to hire and continually employ them at a competitive
rate.
“Americans with disabilities,
including many veterans, are counting on us,” said Senator Dole, who serves as
co-chair of the One Percent Coalition, a new coalition working towards the goal
of competitive employment for one percent of all individuals with severe
disabilities in the United States. “The
co-sponsors of this bill and I are deeply committed to doing what we can to
help Americans with severe disabilities seek and maintain employment.”
“We’ve heard from people
with disabilities, who have great untapped talents and abilities, that they
don’t want a handout, they want an opportunity, and we’ve heard from the
business community that they want real incentives,” said Senator Roberts. “We’ve found a way to do both, and to put
that great talent pool to work for the federal government.”
“This legislation encourages
companies that do business with the federal government to truly open their
doors and employ these individuals,” Senator Kennedy added. “I urge my
colleagues to pass this important initiative.”
In addition to
providing greater employment opportunities to people with severe disabilities,
the legislation will also save taxpayer dollars. If just 94,000—or one percent—of people with
severe disabilities now receiving federal Social Security Disability Insurance
(SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments and related health benefits
were to become gainfully and competitively employed, the projected ten-year
cost savings to the federal treasury would be more than $45 billion.
The ONE PERCENT COALITION is committed to the achievable goal of
helping at least one percent (94,000) of severely disabled Americans find
competitive employment. We believe that
government, business and the disability community can work together to achieve
the modest, yet realistic, goal of improving their employment rate by at least
one percent.
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