NEWSROOM: March 2007

Employment Discrimination: The ADA Needs You!

Many people with disabilities want to work and are able to work, but they find that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not protect them in the workplace. While the ADA was intended to protect people from employment discrimination, the courts have eroded its employment protections. At press time, it was expected that legislation would soon be introduced to restore the intended meaning of the ADA on employment issues.

Your story is important! Members of Congress respond when they hear how real people have been affected by government policy. The more examples we can provide to Congress, the greater the chances of restoring the original intent of the ADA on employment discrimination.

Please tell us your own story or that of a friend or loved one. We are aiming for stories from every state and every Congressional district.

Examples might include:

• An employer said you were “too disabled” to do the job but “not disabled enough” to be protected by the ADA.

• An employer would not hire you-or fired you-because he or she thought you could not do the job, even though you were able to do it, with or without reasonable accommodation.

• An employer failed to provide you with reasonable accommodation for your disability-or punished you because you asked for it.

• You did not pursue an ADA claim because you have been told, or believed, you could not win.

Please tell us your own employement and discrimination story:

• by phone 800-404-2898, ext. 311

• by fax 718-803-0414 (labeled “Attn: Stories for Policy Makers”)

• by e-mail: publicpolicy@unitedspinal.org

• by letter. Send to:

Stories for Policy Makers
United Spinal Association
8605 Cameron Street, Suite 315
Silver Spring, MD 20910

President’s 2008 Budget Hurts Domestic Programs

The President’s proposed 2008 Budget is disappointing for people with disabilities who need services and supports that are important. It cuts domestic discretionary funding by $13 billion dollars in FY 2008 alone, with even deeper cuts through 2012. Among other things, it:

• Cuts $65.5 billion from Medicare over 5 years (Source: House Budget Committee, p. 68)
• Cuts $24.7 billion from Medicaid over 5 year, including targeted case management and limiting reimbursement for rehabilitation services (House Budget Committee, p. 64- 66)
• Cuts other health care services by $4.1 billion over 5 years (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities[CPBB])
• Cuts employment and training services by $5.8 billion over 5 years (CBPP)
• Cuts health care research and training, primarily at the National Institutes of Health, by $9.8 billion over 5 years (CBPP), including eliminating the Traumatic Brain Injury program (House Budget Committee, p.13)
• Cuts social services, including programs funded under the Older Americans Act, by $8.3 billion over 5 years (CBPP)
• Cuts other income security programs, including the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (despite increases in energy costs) and administrative costs for the Supplemental Security Income program, by $3.6 billion over 5 years (CBPP)
• Cuts rental assistance for the disabled by $112 million (47.3%) and rental assistance for the elderly by $160 million (21.88%) for FY 2008
• Freezes funding for Housing Assistance Vouchers and proposes a budget for project-based rental assistance that will not even renew all existing housing projects – House Budget Committee (House Budget Committee, p. 12)
• Cuts special education grants to states to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by $291 million for FY 2008 (House Budget Committee, p. 12)
• Cites savings from reduced spending on Medicare domestic programs but does not specify what would be cut to achieve these savings (House Budget Committee, p. 71)
• Makes permanent nearly all of the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 at a cost of $317 billion in 2012 alone

You can help us fight these cuts by contacting your own representatives in Congress. To learn more, please contact Peggy Hathaway of United Spinal’s Department of Public Policy at 301-495-4460, ext. 103, or send her an e-mail at phathaway@unitedspinal.org.

Contact Your Representatives

• Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to ask for the office of your Senators and Representatives.

• For e-mail addresses and direct phone numbers, go to www.senate.gov or www.house.gov.

• Write to Senators at U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510, and to Representatives at U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515.