[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2169-E2170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   DISABILITIES EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH--A PACIFIC PERSPECTIVE ON 
                     INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 14, 1998

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, Guam is the place where America's day 
begins. While small, idyllic and remote, it is a place where lots of 
things happen first. Today, I rise to inform my colleagues of a new 
first, we are the first to bring our other brothers and sisters from 
the international community of persons with disability together to 
develop our own local solutions to the global issues of rehabilitation 
and employment in the Pacific. We have used our own talent and skills 
from our communities to study what we can do to address the issues of 
unemployment of persons with disability on Guam and the rest of the 
Pacific. The importance of these locally-developed solutions cannot be 
overstated as persons with disabilities face barriers and problems that 
are endemic to our way of life. From my friends at the Rehabilitation 
Research and Training Center of the Pacific at San Diego State 
University, I have learned that over 16,000 individuals with a 
disability in the Pacific have applied for assistance in order to work, 
train and attend school in 1995. The unemployment rate of persons with 
disabilities in the Pacific is four times that of any other group. 
Applying this statistic anywhere else with any other group in America 
and it would be deemed a travesty. However, we have also learned that 
through our own studies and methods, we are in the best possible 
situation to remedy these inequities.
  Over the last four years, our friends and colleagues at San Diego 
State University, University of Guam, Northern Marianas College, 
American Samoa Community College, College of Micronesia--FSM, and the 
College of Marshall Islands have established local steering committees 
for rehabilitation research and training. This work culminates in the 
first ever international conference, entitled ``Pacific Perspectives 
for the Employment of Persons with

[[Page E2170]]

Disabilities in the 21st Century.'' The conference will be convened on 
Guam from October 28-30, 1998.
  It is momentous that this conference will be held in concert with 
``Disabilities Awareness Month'' in the Pacific. Our own local network 
on Guam of rehabilitation professionals, educators, teachers, 
researchers and consumers acknowledge the people from our business 
communities employing persons with disabilities. On Guam on October 26, 
1998, we are awarding those members of our own business community for 
their continued support by employing persons with disabilities. Mr. 
Rodney Priest, the Chairperson of the Guam Rehabilitation Advisory 
Council and a research associate with San Diego State University, was 
instrumental in organizing this event. The October 26 event maintains 
our commitment to our greatest resource, the people of Guam.
  Hiring the disabled is an asset for us all. There are similar 
ceremonies acknowledging employers in the islands across the Pacific 
this month. Events will also be held in the Marshall Islands, the 
Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, the Republic of Palau 
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.
  October is Disabilities Awareness Month. During this month, we 
commemorate individuals with disabilities and pay tribute to their 
contributions in our communities. None of the activities this month 
would have been possible without the successful collaboration between 
institutions of higher education, community service organizations, 
responsive government officials and supportive consumers from our 
villages. These recent cooperative efforts have been coordinated by San 
Diego State University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center of 
the Pacific, funded by the National Institute on disability 
Rehabilitation Research.
  The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center of the Pacific 
adopted a model for research that focuses on participation, action and 
local priorities. This unique approach resulted in the sponsorship of 
the Guam Rehabilitation Research Local Steering Committee led by people 
with disabilities who live in my district. Together with other similar 
committees led by persons with disabilities from the islands, these 
groups are improving our ability to address our systems of service and 
economic development which result in real jobs, careers and life-long 
learning impacting our communities today and in the future. This is an 
example of community leadership combined with university skills that 
can positively affect the lives of numerous individuals in the 21st 
century. It is a Pacific perspective that should be acknowledged and 
replicated.
  Mr. Speaker, this message would be incomplete without mentioning 
other individuals and organizations contributing tremendously to 
assisting individuals with disabilities. I commend Dr. Fred McFarlane, 
Director of the Interwork Institute and the Rehabilitation Research and 
Training Center of the Pacific (RRTCP) and Dr. Kenneth Gelea'i, Co-
Director and Research Coordinator of the RRTCP. I also commend the 
Association of Pacific Island Legislatures (APIL), presided by Senator 
Carlotta A. Leon Guerrero, for their commitment to individuals with 
disabilities, as evinced by their resolution passed by APIL's 17th 
General Assembly. I also congratulate Mr. Rodney Priest for his 
tireless efforts on behalf of Guam's disabled community.

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