[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 86 (Thursday, June 17, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7211-S7213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                WORK INCENTIVES IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1999

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, the time has come. Our friends with 
disabilities have waited patiently. Our bipartisan coalition has 
remained united. The last obstacles have been resolved. Assurances have 
been given. I am referring to yesterday's passage of the landmark 
legislation, S. 331, the Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999.
  When I came to Congress in January 1975, one of my legislative 
priorities was to provide access to the American dream for individuals 
with disabilities. It was not an easy task. I learned quickly that 
providing access for Americans with disabilities was complicated.
  It involved providing access to education, it involved removing 
physical barriers, and it involved ensuring access to rehabilitation, 
job training, and job placement assistance. It required obtaining 
access to assistive technology and health care. Most importantly, 
access to the American dream for people with disabilities meant gaining 
the opportunity to choose and to participate in the full range of 
community activities. Moreover, it involved making sure that the 
federal government, along with other entities, be made to comply with 
laws affecting access for people with disabilities. We have made 
tremendous progress in the last 24 years.
  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Rehabilitation 
Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Assistive Technology 
Act have changed, and will continue to change lives. Children with 
disabilities are being educated with their peers. No agency or 
individual, including the Federal Government, can discriminate against 
individuals on the basis of disability in employment, transportation, 
public accommodations, public services, or telecommunications. Job 
training and placement opportunities for individuals with disabilities 
are ever expanding because of the reforms we achieved in the Work Force 
Investment Act of 1998. I am proud of these accomplishments.
  I began work on the Work Incentives Improvement Act more than 2 years 
ago. Since then, I have learned a great deal. I suspect the same holds 
true for the 79 other co-sponsors of this bill. S. 331 addresses a 
fundamental flaw in federal policy. Individuals with disabilities must 
choose between working or having health care. This is an absurd choice. 
Yet, current federal law forces individuals with disabilities to make 
this choice. People with disabilities want to work, and will work, if 
they are given access to health care. S. 331 does just that--it gives 
workers with disabilities access to appropriate health care--health 
care that is not readily available or affordable from the private 
sector. People with disabilities want to work, and will work, if they 
are given access to job training and job

[[Page S7212]]

placement assistance. S. 331 does just that--it gives individuals with 
disabilities training and help in securing a job.
  Over the past several months, we have all received letters in support 
of S. 331. I would like to share one such story with you. Don is a 30 
year-old man, who has mild mental retardation, cerebral palsy, a 
seizure disorder, and a visual impairment. Don works, but only part-
time.
  At the end of his letter, Don wrote:

       The Work Incentives Improvement Act will help my friends 
     become independent too. Then they can pay taxes too. But most 
     of all, they will have a life in the community. We are 
     adults. We want to work. We don't need a hand out, we need a 
     hand up.

  S. 331 will give Don and his friends a hand up. Doing so would be 
good for Don, and good for the nation.
  Hard facts make a compelling case for S. 331:
  The growth rate of Social Security disability programs between 1989 
and 1997 was 64 percent.
  Social Security disability cash payments grew from $34.4 billion in 
1989 to $62.9 billion in 1997.
  For 1997, GAO estimated weekly disbursements in cash payments to be 
$1.21 billion.
  In my state of Vermont, 24,355 Social Security disability 
beneficiaries are waiting for S. 331 to become law. Nationally, that 
figure is 7.5 million. Under current law, if these people work and earn 
over $500 per month, they lose cash payments and health care coverage 
under Medicaid or Medicare. There are few if any private insurance 
options available to these individuals, so only one-half of one percent 
of the 7.5 million forgo cash payments and federally subsidized health 
care, and work without health insurance. Would any of us take that 
risk?
  Let's take a closer look at some numbers. As I indicated, there are 
7.5 million Social Security disability beneficiaries. Of those who 
work, very few make more than $500 a month. In fact, of working 
individuals with disabilities on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), 
only 17 percent make over $500 per month and only 10 percent make over 
$1000 per month. Another 29 percent make $65 or less per month.
  Let's assume that S. 331 and the companion bill in the House, H.R. 
1180 become law, and only 200 Social Security disability beneficiaries 
in each state work and forgo cash payments. That would be 10,000 
individuals across the country out of the 7.5 million disability 
beneficiaries. The annual savings to the Federal Treasury in cash 
payments for just these 10,000 people out of 7.5 million would be 
$133,550,000! Imagine the savings to the Federal Treasury if this 
number were higher.

  Clearly, the Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 is targeted, 
fiscally responsible legislation. It enables individuals with 
significant disabilities to enter the work force for the first time, 
re-enter the work force, or avoid leaving it in the first place.
  These individuals will no longer need to worry about losing their 
health care if they choose to work a forty-hour week, to put in 
overtime, or to pursue a career advancement. Individuals who need job 
training or job placement assistance will get it.
  Private insurers will begin to have access to data that describes the 
health care-use patterns of workers with disabilities, and as a result, 
will be able to expand or develop appropriate health care packages for 
individuals with disabilities who work.
  I would like to highlight a few of the health care provisions in S. 
331. First, S. 331 allows states to expand Medicaid coverage to workers 
with disabilities and to require the workers, depending on their 
income, to pay a part or all of the premium for this coverage.
  A state that elects to expand coverage receives a grant to support 
the design, establishment, and operation of infrastructures to support 
working individuals with disabilities.
  The bill also includes a 6-year trial program that permits Social 
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries to continue to 
receive Medicare coverage if they work.
  Finally, the legislation includes a time-limited demonstration 
program allowing states to extend Medicaid coverage to workers who have 
a disability which, without access to health care, would become severe 
enough to qualify them for Social Security disability cash payments. 
This demonstration will produce important information on the cost 
effectiveness of early health care intervention in keeping people with 
disabilities from becoming too disabled to work.
  S. 331 reflects what individuals with disabilities say they need. It 
was shaped by input across the philosophical spectrum. It was endorsed 
by the President in his State of the Union Address. And, it's companion 
bill H.R. 1180 has recently been reported out of the House Committee on 
Commerce with unanimous support.
  The passage of S. 331 allows responsible change to federal policy and 
the elimination of a perverse dilemma for many Americans with 
disabilities--if you don't work, you get health care; if you do work, 
you don't get health care.
  S. 331 is a vital link in making the American dream, an accessible 
dream, for Americans with disabilities.
  Let me tell you about the dream of a young constituent of mine. Her 
name is Maria, and she faces many daily challenges as a result of her 
disabilities. She contacted my office to let me know that she is 
counting on S. 331 being signed into law. Maria is a junior majoring in 
Spanish at a college in Vermont. She plans to graduate next year, and 
hopes to attend graduate school to become a Spanish teacher for 
children and adults from Central and South America.
  Maria has her whole life ahead of her. She has dreams, and she has 
contributions to make. Yesterday's passage of S. 331 made Maria's 
dreams possible. She will be able to pursue a career without fear of 
losing the health care she needs.
  The enactment of S. 331 is our graduation present to Maria . . . and 
to the millions of other Americans with disabilities, who also want to 
work, a sign of our recognition of their right to contribute to the 
economic and social vibrancy of America.
  In closing, I would like to thank my many colleagues who contributed 
to making yesterday, with a record vote of 99-0, a reality.
  First, I must thank my bipartisan co-sponsors Senators Kennedy, Roth, 
and Moynihan the original co-sponsors of this bill. Each of them made a 
commitment many months ago to work together to create a sound piece of 
legislation to address a real problem for millions of Americans with 
disabilities. Such commitment represents the best of what the Senate 
can accomplish when principle is placed above partisanship.
  I also thank the additional, original 35 co-sponsors of this bill and 
the subsequent 45 co-sponsors who represent a total of over three 
quarters of this body, perhaps a Senate record on health care 
legislation. Together, we have come to understand the importance of 
health care and a job to individuals with disabilities. Sometimes the 
power of common sense and the voices of reason transcend politics and 
help us to forge new policy that will make America a better place for 
all of its citizens.
  Over the last two weeks, the Majority Leader has been the driving 
force who urged us to work out policy differences that were delaying 
floor consideration. We did so through good faith efforts that 
broadened support for the bill and reduced its overall modest cost. In 
particular, I want to recognize Senators Nickles, Bunning, and Gramm 
for their willingness to reach consensus with us on policy without 
compromising the integrity of the legislation, thus, allowing S. 331 to 
move forward.
  I must strongly thank the over two hundred national organizations 
that offered time, energy, and ideas to create and support a bill that 
will improve the quality of life for millions of Americans with 
disabilities who want to work.
  And finally, I would like to thank several individuals and groups who 
have contributed to the development and to the Senate passage of this 
legislation. In particular, I would like to thank my staff including 
Patricia Morrissey, Mark Powden, Paul Harrington, Lu Zeph, Erik 
Smulson, Joe Karpinski, Leah Menzies, Chris Crowley and the many others 
who worked long and hard to bring this bill about.
  Additionally, I would like to recognize and thank the staff members 
of the three other primary co-sponsors who took the lead in their 
offices: Connie Garner from Senator Kennedy's

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Staff, Jennifer Baxendell and Alec Vachon from Senator Roth's staff, 
and Kristen Testa from Senator Moynihan's staff.
  In addition to staff, I would like to recognize the contributions of 
the Work Incentives Task Force of the Consortium for Citizens with 
Disabilities who met weekly with staff for over a year to build the 
consensus necessary to get us here today.
  Thank you, Mr. President.

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