                               The White House
                        Office of the Press Secretary

                            For Immediate Release
                        January 13, 1999 - 12:58pm EST

                          Remarks by the President
                          on Disability Initiative

                                The East Room


THE PRESIDENT: On behalf of all of us in our administration, many of whom are
here, I want to thank all the advocates for persons with disabilities in our
audience. I thank especially Tony Coelho; Becky Ogle; Paul Marchand; my great
friend, Justin Dart; Paul Miller and others. I want to thank all the people
in the administration, those in the Cabinet who are here with me and the
agency heads and the others in the White House who have done so much to help
to sensitize me and the Vice President and others to the challenges and our
obligations.  

I say a special word of thanks to Tom Harkin, who has personally taught me a
lot about the issues we discuss today; to Senator Ted Kennedy and to Senator
Jeffords. I knew if I listened long enough that Republican rhetoric would
finally sound good around one issue. (Laughter.) And you did it today, and I
thank you. You were just great. It was great.  

I'd also like to thank two great friends of this cause who are in the
audience: Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island, and Congressman Ben Cardin
from Maryland. We thank them for being here. (Applause.)  

You know, a lot of things have already been said, and I would like to say
something not in my notes. I hope nobody will take this the wrong way,
because everybody knows what a great enthusiast I am of athletics. Most of
the cameras at this hour are somewhere else, and I want to say, on behalf of
my wife -- from Chicago -- and myself, that we wish Michael Jordan well. We
admire him, we like him very much, and we thank him for years of thrilling
exploits.  

In my life, I don't know that I ever saw another athlete with such a
remarkable set of qualities of mind, body and spirit -- not only somebody who
had a body that would do things no one else's would do, but who always
expected to do whatever it was he tried to do. And I think it's appropriate
that the sports fans around America take a day or two to "ooh" and "aah" and
hold their breath again, and be glad again. But the courage of Karen Moore,
and all the people like her, is greater still by far. (Applause.)  

I remember once, many years ago, after I lost an election and became the
youngest former governor in American history -- (laughter) -- with very dim
future prospects, a wise old country lawyer wrote me a letter. And he said,
Bill, you know, it takes a little bit of strength to sustain a terrible
setback; but the real courage in life is living through the grind of
day-to-day existence with dignity and nobility and charity.  

How much more true is that for people with disabilities, for whom daily
existence can be a greater grind, for whom charity is harder to muster of the
spirit because so many of the rest of us have been so blindly insensitive to
things which would enable all of us to get through that daily life better.  

A lot of good things have happened since the '70s -- Senator Kennedy talked
about it -- since these gentlemen and others passed the Americans With
Disabilities Act. We did have a great renewal of the IDEA a year or so ago.
But 75 percent of Americans with disabilities are still unemployed. You just
heard why. Millions are forced to make the impossible choice between going to
work and keeping their health insurance. Millions more lack the tools and
services that could make the difference between dependence and independence.  

We all know working is a fundamental part of what we say is the American
Dream. Maya Angelou once said that work is "something made greater by
ourselves, and in turn, that makes us greater." You heard Karen, you heard
what she said -- how I'm working, how I love being at work, oh, by the way,
my family life is better and I don't get sick as much. That is not an
accident. Every single one of us, we want to be fully engaged in life. And we
ought to have the chance to do so.  

I like what Senator Jeffords said about how the Congressional Budget Office
might or might not estimate this initiative, and I had that argument before
and lost it, so I'm not going to get into that. But let me ask you this. When
we've got the largest surplus in our history, the longest peacetime expansion
in our history, perhaps the strongest economy we've ever had, if we cannot
address this issue now, then when will we ever address it? Now is the time.
(Applause.)  

So here is what we propose to do. First, you've already heard about the
landmark legislation by Senators Jeffords, Kennedy, Roth, and Moynihan, to
assist millions of Americans with disabilities who want to work. Today I am
pleased to announce that the balanced budget I will present to Congress fully
funds this vitally important initiative. (Applause.)  Americans should never
have to choose between the dignity of work and the health care they need.
With this legislation they'll have a ticket to work, not an impossible
choice.  

I will also continue to work with Congress to pass legislation I know is very
important to the disability community, a strong, enforceable patients' bill
of rights. (Applause.)  And to strengthen Social Security for the 21st
century, not just for retirees, but also for people with disabilities -- and
we ought to do it this year, with no excuses. (Applause.)  

Second, we must make it easier for people with disabilities to get to work.
As anyone with a disability can tell you, it takes more than a job to enter
the work force. Often, it takes successful transportation, specialized
technology or personal assistance. And the cost can be prohibitively high.
Today, I am pleased to announce a new $1,000 tax credit so hundreds of
thousands of people with disabilities will be helped to meet these critically
important expenses. (Applause.)  

Finally, we have to give people with disabilities the tools they need to
succeed -- we all need that. I hope all of you had a chance to experience and
see the amazing displays out there in the Grand Foyer -- from a portable
computer kiosk that helps people with disabilities vote or find a job, to the
latest voice recognition software that lets you use a computer without
touching a keyboard, to a new generation of mobile telephones that connect
directly to hearing aids, to a device to immediately translate music into
braille.  

This kind of "assistive technology," as it is called, will empower people as
never before. Today, I am pleased to announce that my budget will double our
investment in this sort of technology, to make it more available to people
with disabilities. (Applause.)  

We also will help states to expand low-income loan programs to help more
people afford these promising products. The federal government will become a
model user of assistive technology; we will increase our commitment to
research and development to continue our progress.  

Increased access to health care, more assistance at home and in the
workplace, remarkable new technologies made more available: This is how we
can make sure that all Americans can take their rightful place in our 21st
century workplaces.  

Last summer the Vice President announced our plan to build at the FDR
Memorial a new statue of President Roosevelt in the wheelchair, from which he
led our nation -- the wheelchair he then felt compelled to hide because of
the negative attitudes of his time. Well, we've come a long way since those
days and, even though we in public life get to make the speeches, I think
it's clear to all of us that you deserve the credit -- all of the work you
have done. (Applause.)  

People with disabilities are increasingly a powerful presence in America,
from our schools to our businesses to the halls of government -- but maybe
equally important, increasingly a welcome, comfortable, normal presence.
President Roosevelt said, "No country, no matter how rich, can afford to
waste its human resources."  This is really all about living up to that
objective.  

Thank you, Karen. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Let's go out and pass this
legislation. Thank you. (Applause.)  

