[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 10, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   REMARKS OF SENATOR HARLAN MATHEWS

  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, earlier today our colleague Senator 
Mathews delivered a salute to State administrators of vocational 
rehabilitation.
  I commend our colleague for this fine speech and I ask unanimous 
consent that the text of the address be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the address was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

      Salute to State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation

                      (By Senator Harlan Mathews)

       Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Washington and 
     Capitol Hill. I am delighted to be with you again. As you can 
     imagine, many people visit Washington seeking support for 
     their programs. Sometimes I get into trouble because I 
     question what those people and their programs really achieve. 
     I certainly have no such questions for you.
       What an incredible record you have:
       You are a $3 billion service delivery program that returns 
     about $10 on every $1 invested;
       You assist a million of our society's citizens with 
     disabilities every year, and every year you situate a quarter 
     of a million of those Americans in meaningful and productive 
     jobs; and
       Within 4 years, the reduction in public assistance payments 
     for people who've received your services offsets the amount 
     it took to rehabilitate them. That's a human investment 
     program in every sense.
       But what's most impressive to me is that public service is 
     not just your job but a life commitment. Some of you draw 
     your commitment from difficulties you face in your own lives. 
     Others draw your commitment from the hardships of friends and 
     family. But for each of you, whatever your reason, helping 
     people with a disability to hold competitive employment is a 
     genuine purpose in your lives. I know a bit about that 
     purpose, because I share my life with someone who has it.
       My thoughts for you today come more from my 43 years in 
     Tennessee State government than from my 1\1/2\ years in the 
     Senate. I think that's appropriate, because V-R has enjoyed 
     great respect with governors and state legislators. What's 
     more, my experience as Commissioner of Finance and 
     Administration and as State Treasurer taught me which 
     programs worked and why. I know that for a government-
     assisted program to work, it has to concentrate its efforts 
     where they're productive.
       Today there's a great deal of effort underway to make 
     government more effective, and I can't help remarking on how 
     much those efforts could learn from studying the Vocational 
     Rehabilitation Program.
       You all know of Vice President Gore's initiative to 
     reinvent government and make it more effective and 
     responsive. The V-R effort is the finest example I know of a 
     government-assisted program that is precisely that--effective 
     and responsive.
       President Clinton's administration is committed to equal 
     opportunity and economic access for all Americans. In many 
     ways, Vocational Rehabilitation is the ultimate example of a 
     public effort bringing equal opportunity.
       Congress is about to undertake serious and substantial 
     steps toward reforming welfare. The goal will be to lift 
     people off the public roles and place them onto private 
     sector payrolls. Vocational Rehabilitation has been doing 
     exactly that for three-quarters of a century.
       Vocational Rehabilitation Program is a sterling example of 
     what government is trying to accomplish and of what it's 
     possible to accomplish when you do things right.
       A worthy cause that's responsibly administered and shows 
     tangible results will deserve and find nearly universal 
     support. Vocational Rehabilitation certainly has--through 
     thick times and thin, one Congress after another, one 
     economic cycle after another. Your results are the reason 
     why.
       V-R has become one of the oldest programs on the public 
     books and has remained intact these past 73 years because it 
     generates independence, has been accountable, and doesn't 
     take forever to produce results. It provides a leg up, not a 
     hand out.
       There's no question that the American public is growing 
     more and more insistent that public-supported programs are 
     run effectively and justify the money that's spent on them. 
     When it comes to public service programs like V-R in 
     particular, they want to know that resources and attention 
     are centering upon the people who are supposed to be served. 
     So it's especially important that you remove the barriers 
     impeding quick, cost-effective, appropriate services to 
     all citizens.
       I remember an incident when I was Commissioner of Finance 
     in Tennessee. A surgeon had performed an elaborate and costly 
     procedure on a V-R client, and he could not be paid. The 
     doctor called my office because we were responsible for 
     issuing checks. My staff looked into it, and told me the 
     problem was that the counselor had not moved the client to a 
     Status 16. I wondered then and I wonder now whether the 
     process was being served or whether people were being served. 
     That kind of situation is what I mean by removing barriers 
     and focusing on people not processes. We waste too much time 
     and money at the federal level because of a bureaucratic 
     preoccupation with process, and I don't want it to happen 
     with you.
       If I were to counsel you on one thing it would be this: 
     don't stray from the path that's made you successful. 
     Vocational Rehab was founded with its emphasis squarely on 
     vocational, and that's the emphasis you have to keep.
       Some people in your profession and outside it have 
     forgotten that. They want to indulge disability. They want to 
     sustain dependency rather than foster independence. They want 
     your program to be about everything but employment. And they 
     believe that administering a huge process with an infinity of 
     services its own end.
       I honestly believe that the V-R Program will cease to be 
     recognized as a leader in the disability arena the day that 
     you drop the emphasis on employment outcome. State 
     legislatures across the nation will start to regard V-R as a 
     welfare program, not as a highly successful manpower program. 
     So will the Congress. That change in perception would be 
     detrimental to your future and to the people you serve.
       You must continue to be and continue to remain known as the 
     employment program for people with disabilities. I don't see 
     any benefit in permitting V-R to become anything else. Hold 
     yourselves to the same outcome-based goal that you stress for 
     those you serve. And that goal is to run an accountable, 
     effective manpower program that generates economic 
     independence in a time-limited framework.
       All of you here have a tremendous task ahead of you if V-R 
     is to survive as we know it today. But I know you're up to 
     the job. I want all of you and your staffs to know that a 
     great number of us in Congress admire your dedication and 
     commitment to a job that's sometimes very difficult--the kind 
     of commitment and dedication that Joe Owens and Jack Duncan 
     have shown. They are two strong advocates for you and for 
     people with disabilities. I salute them and all of you for 
     the good work you've done. I wish you every success in the 
     years ahead.

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