[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 132 (Wednesday, October 9, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S10225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 337--AUTHORIZING THE PRINTING WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF A 
DOCUMENT ENTITLED ``COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, UNITED STATES SENATE, 
                     135TH ANNIVERSARY, 1867-2002''

  Mr. BYRD (for himself and Mr. Stevens) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 337

       Resolved, That there be printed with illustrations as a 
     Senate document a compilation of materials entitled 
     ``Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, 135th 
     Anniversary, 1867-2002'', and that there be printed two 
     thousand additional copies of such document for the use of 
     the Committee on Appropriations.
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 151--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
  THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE STATES SHOULD MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO 
ENSURE A STABLE, QUALITY DIRECT SUPPORT WORKFORCE THAT PROVIDE SERVICES 
    AND SUPPORTS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION AND OTHER 
                       DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

  Mr. Hutchinson submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions:

                            S. Con. Res. 157

       Whereas there are more than 8,000,000 Americans who have 
     mental retardation or other developmental disabilities;
       Whereas individuals with developmental disabilities include 
     those with mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, Down's 
     syndrome, epilepsy, and other related conditions;
       Whereas individuals with mental retardation or other 
     developmental disabilities have a continuous need for 
     individually planned and coordinated services due to 
     substantial limitations on their functional capacities, 
     including limitations in at least 2 of the areas of self-
     care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, 
     self-direction, independent living, and economic self-
     sufficiency;
       Whereas for the past 2 decades individuals with mental 
     retardation or other developmental disabilities and their 
     families have increasingly expressed a desire to live and 
     work in their communities and to join the mainstream of 
     American life;
       Whereas the Supreme Court, in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 
     581 (1999), affirmed the right of individuals with mental 
     retardation or other developmental disabilities to receive 
     community-based services as an alternative to institutional 
     care;
       Whereas the demand for community supports and services is 
     rapidly growing, as States comply with Olmstead and continue 
     to move more individuals from institutions into the 
     community;
       Whereas the demand for community supports and services will 
     also continue to grow as family caregivers age, waiting lists 
     grow, individuals with mental retardation or other 
     developmental disabilities live longer, and services for such 
     individuals expand;
       Whereas our Nation's long-term care delivery system is 
     dependent upon a disparate array of public and private 
     funding sources, and is not a conventional industry, but 
     rather is financed primarily through third-party insurers;
       Whereas Medicaid financing of supports and services to 
     individuals with mental retardation or other developmental 
     disabilities varies considerably from State to State, causing 
     significant disparities across geographic regions, among 
     differing groups of consumers, and between community and 
     institutional supports;
       Whereas aside from families, private providers that employ 
     direct support professionals deliver the majority of supports 
     and services for individuals with mental retardation or other 
     developmental disabilities in the community;
       Whereas direct support professionals provide a wide range 
     of supportive services to individuals with mental retardation 
     or other developmental disabilities on a day-to-day basis, 
     including habilitation, health care, personal care and 
     hygiene, employment, transportation, recreation, 
     housekeeping, and other home management-related supports and 
     services that enable these individuals to live and work in 
     their communities;
       Whereas direct support professionals generally assist 
     individuals with mental retardation or other developmental 
     disabilities to lead a self-directed family, community, and 
     social life;
       Whereas private providers and the individuals for whom they 
     provide supports and services are in jeopardy as a result of 
     the growing crisis in recruiting and retaining a direct 
     support workforce;
       Whereas providers of supports and services to individuals 
     with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities 
     typically draw from a labor market that competes with other 
     entry-level jobs that provide less physically and emotionally 
     demanding work as well as higher pay and other benefits, and 
     therefore these direct support jobs are not currently 
     competitive in today's labor market;
       Whereas annual turnover rates of direct support workers 
     range from 40 to 75 percent;
       Whereas high rates of employee vacancies and turnover 
     threaten the ability of providers to achieve their core 
     mission, which is the provision of safe and high-quality 
     supports to individuals with mental retardation or other 
     developmental disabilities;
       Whereas direct support staff turnover is emotionally 
     difficult for the individuals being served;
       Whereas many parents are becoming increasingly afraid that 
     there will be no one available to take care of their sons and 
     daughters with mental retardation or other developmental 
     disabilities who are living in the community; and
       Whereas this workforce shortage is the most significant 
     barrier to implementing the Olmstead decision, undermines the 
     expansion of community integration as called for by President 
     George W. Bush's New Freedom Initiative, and places the 
     community support infrastructure at risk: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This resolution may be cited as the ``Direct Support 
     Professional Recognition Resolution''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SERVICES OF DIRECT 
                   SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS TO INDIVIDUALS WITH 
                   DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.

       It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government and 
     the States should work to advance our Nation's commitment to 
     community integration for individuals with mental retardation 
     or other developmental disabilities and to advance personal 
     security for such individuals and their families by making it 
     a priority to ensure a stable, quality direct support 
     workforce that provides services and supports for such 
     individuals.

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