[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 9, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5001-S5004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO SENATOR BOB DOLE

  Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
remarkable accomplishments of a former Member of this body, a friend of 
many Senators, who delivered his first speech in this Chamber 34 years 
ago next week.
  It was April 14, 1969, when the gentleman from Kansas, Senator Bob 
Dole, stood not far from here to address his Senate colleagues for the 
first time. He spoke eloquently about a group of Americans who were 
very close to his heart . . . Americans who, prior to his involvement, 
had largely been ignored.
  It was a group of Americans he had joined exactly 24 years earlier, 
when on April 14, 1945, he was wounded in the hills of Italy as he led 
his men in battle. As a result of his wounds, Bob spent 39 months in 
various hospitals, and doctors operated on him eight times. Eventually, 
he was left without the use of his right arm.
  So it was that Senator Bob Dole who rose on April 14, 1969, not just 
to speak as a U.S. Senator, but as one of the millions of Americans who 
have a disability.
  Mr. President, at this time, I ask unanimous consent to have printed 
in the Record a copy of the April 14th speech.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                         Handicapped Americans

       Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, my remarks today concern an 
     exceptional group which I joined on another April 14, twenty-
     four years ago, during World War II.
       It is a minority group whose existence affects every person 
     in our society and the very fiber of our Nation.
       It is a group which no one joins by personal choice--a 
     group whose requirements for membership are not based on age, 
     sex, wealth, education, skin color, religious beliefs, 
     political party, power, or prestige.
       As a minority, it has always known exclusion--maybe not 
     exclusion from the front of the bus, but perhaps from even 
     climbing aboard it; maybe not exclusion from pursuing 
     advanced education, but perhaps from experiencing any formal 
     education; maybe not exclusion from day-to-day life itself, 
     but perhaps from an adequate opportunity to develop and 
     contribute to his or her fullest capacity.
       It is a minority, yet a group to which at least one out of 
     every five Americans belongs.
       Mr. President, I speak today about 42 million citizens of 
     our Nation who are physically, mentally, or emotionally 
     handicapped.


                        who are the handicapped?

       Who are the handicapped?
       They are persons--men, women, and children--who cannot 
     achieve full physical, mental, and social potential because 
     of disability.
       Although some live in institutions, many more live in the 
     community. Some are so severely disabled as to be homebound, 
     or even bed-bound. Still others are able to take part in 
     community activities when they have access and facilities.
       They include amputees, paraplegics, polio victims. Causes 
     of disability include arthritis, cardio-vascular diseases, 
     multiple sclerosis, and muscular dystrophy.
       While you may have good vision and hearing, many persons 
     live each day with limited eyesight or hearing, or with none 
     at all.
       While you may enjoy full muscle strength and coordination 
     in your legs, there are those who must rely on braces or 
     crutches, or perhaps a walker or wheel chair.
       While you perform daily millions of tasks with your hands 
     and arms, there are many who live with limited or total 
     disability in theirs.
       And in contrast to most people, thousands of adults and 
     children suffer mental or emotional disorders which hinder 
     their abilities to learn and apply what is learned and to 
     cope adequately with their families, jobs, and communities.
       Then there are those who are affected with combination or 
     multiple handicaps.


                         not just the handicap

       For our Nation's 42 million handicapped persons and their 
     families, yesterday, today, and tomorrow are not filled with 
     ``everyday'' kinds of problems which can be solved or soothed 
     by ``everyday'' kinds of answers. Their daily challenge is: 
     accepting and working with a disability so that the 
     handicapped person can become as active and useful, as 
     independent, secure, and dignified as his ability will allow.
       Too many handicapped persons lead lives of loneliness and 
     despair; too many feel and too many are cut off from our 
     work-oriented society; too many cannot fill empty hours in a 
     satisfying, constructive manner. The leisure most of us crave 
     can and has become a curse to many of our Nation's 
     handicapped.
       Often when a handicapped person is able to work full or 
     part time, there are few jobs or inadequate training programs 
     in his locale. Although progress is being made, many 
     employers are hesitant to hire a handicapped person, ignoring 
     statistics that show he is often a better and more dependent 
     worker.
       The result is that abilities of a person are overlooked 
     because of disabilities which may bear little or no true 
     relation to the job at hand. The result to the taxpayer may 
     be to support one more person at a cost of as much as $3,500 
     per person a year. To the handicapped person himself, it 
     means more dependency.


                               statistics

       Consider these statistics: Only one-third of America's 
     blind and less than half of the paraplegics of working age 
     are employed, while only a handful of about 200,000 persons 
     with cerebral palsy who are of working age are employed.
       Beyond this, far too many handicapped persons and their 
     families bear serious economic problems--despite token 
     Government pensions and income tax deductions for a few, and 
     other financial aids. I recall a portion of a letter received 
     recently from the mother of a cerebral palsy child in a 
     Midwestern urban area: ``There are the never-ending 
     surgeries, braces, orthopedic shoes, wheelchairs, walkers, 
     standing tables, bath tables and so on . . . we parents 
     follow up on every hopeful lead in clinics and with 
     specialists; we go up and down paths blindly and always 
     expensively . . . I have talked with four major insurance 
     companies who do not insure or infrequently insure CP 
     children . . . although our daughter is included in her 
     father's group hospitalization plan, many families are not as 
     fortunate. These are just a few of the problems, compounded 
     by the fact we must try to adequately meet the needs of our 
     other ``normal'' children. In many cases, some kind of 
     financial assistance would enable us and others like us to 
     provide for our children in our homes, avoiding overcrowding 
     of already overcrowded facilities and further adding to the 
     taxpayer's burden costs for complete care.''
       There are other problems--availability and access of health 
     care personnel and facilities at the time and place the 
     individual with handicaps needs them. In my own largely rural 
     State of Kansas, many handicapped persons travel 300 miles or 
     more to receive the basic health services they require.
       Education presents difficulties for many parents of 
     handicapped children. Although a child may be educable, there 
     may be few, if any, opportunities in the community for him to 
     receive an education. Private tutoring, if available, is 
     often too expensive. Sadly to date, the Council for 
     Exceptional Children estimates less than one-third of the 
     Nation's children requiring special education are receiving 
     it.
       In rehabilitation, the Department of Health, Education, and 
     Welfare said recently 25 percent of America's disabled have 
     not received rehabilitation services and do not know where to 
     seek such help. They estimate that at least 5 million 
     disabled persons may be eligible for assistance.
       Other problems the handicapped person faces each day 
     include availability and access of recreation and 
     transportation facilities, architectural barriers in 
     residences and other buildings, and many, many more.


                       still a promising outlook

       We in America are still far from the half-way point of 
     assuring that every handicapped person can become as active 
     and useful as his capacities will allow. The outlook for the 
     handicapped person in 1969, however, is not altogether bleak. 
     Unparalleled achievements in medicine, science, education, 
     technology as well as in public attitudes have cemented a 
     framework in which the handicapped person today has more 
     opportunities available to him than ever before. Consider 
     first what government is doing.


                          the government story

       The story of what the Federal Government, hand in hand with 
     State governments, is doing to help meet the needs of the 
     handicapped is not one that draws the biggest and boldest 
     headlines. Broadly, the story is a ``good'' one, consisting 
     of achievements in financial assistance, rehabilitation, 
     research, education, and training of the handicapped--a 
     massive effort to help many disabled Americans live as 
     normal, as full and rich lives as possible.
       It is, in part, the story of a man who, at age 21, became a 
     paraplegic after sustaining

[[Page S5002]]

     injuries to his spinal cord and head in an accident while on 
     the job.
       In 1968, he joined over 2,300,000 other disabled men and 
     women who have been restored to more productive, useful lives 
     since the State-Federal vocational rehabilitation program 
     began 48 years ago.
       In 1964, the young man--a high school dropout with a wife 
     and child--was referred to his State's division of vocational 
     rehabilitation where a thorough program of total 
     rehabilitation began. In addition, he was enrolled in a 
     training school and was graduated as a fully licensed 
     insurance agent.
       Today--4 years later--he has his own successful insurance 
     business. He and his wife have built a new home and adopted a 
     baby.
       It is a measure of America's concern for its handicapped 
     citizens that even 50 years ago, this story could not have 
     been told.
       It takes place now because the Congress and the Federal 
     Government initiated and guided a vital, vigorous program of 
     vocational rehabilitation.
       Mr. President, vocational rehabilitation is one of many 
     ways of the Federal Government works to aid the handicapped. 
     But none of the Federal programs necessarily reaches or helps 
     every handicapped person.
       Nevertheless, the role of the Government has been basically 
     successful in terms of numbers assisted, basic research 
     performed, and the movement of increasingly large numbers of 
     persons into more productive, satisfying channels. It 
     demonstrates what Congress and Federal and State governments 
     are doing to help America's handicapped better participate 
     and achieve.
       Mr. President, at this point, I ask unanimous consent to 
     have printed in the Record, at the close of my remarks, a 
     brief summary of Federal programs for the handicapped.
       The PRESIDENT OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
       (See exhibit 1.)


                           the private sector

       Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, it is in the American tradition 
     and spirit that parallel to Government effort there has 
     developed the vital and growing effort for the handicapped by 
     individuals, business and industry, churches and private, 
     voluntary organizations. It is a herculean task to properly 
     assess the many, far-reaching effects of the private sector--
     in health care, education, employment; in research, 
     rehabilitation, by fundraising drives and through 
     professional organizations and groups for the handicapped 
     themselves. But it is here in the private sector--with its 
     emphasis on the creativity, concern, and energies of our 
     people--that America has become the envy of the world. Our 
     private economy and the resources of our people have combined 
     to improve the quality of life in America in ways and for 
     persons the Government could not begin to match or reach.
       For the handicapped, their achievements have been no less. 
     I shall not today, detail or single out the achievements of 
     the voluntary groups and private enterprise involved in 
     aiding the handicapped. But let the record show that without 
     the sincerity, scope, and success of their efforts--in public 
     information, employment and training, in upgrading health 
     care and education personnel and facilities, in fundraising 
     and in supporting research to conquer or at least minimize 
     the effects of handicapping conditions--the prospects for the 
     handicapped individuals would not be as hopeful as they are 
     today.


                       where do we go from here?

       Mr. President, as new public and private programs are 
     developed, as old ones are strengthened and some, perhaps 
     eliminated, as we in Congress allocate comparatively limited 
     funds to help the handicapped, the responsibilities and 
     opportunities loom large before us.
       We must insure our efforts and money are not misplaced or 
     misdirected--that they do not just promise, but really do the 
     job.
       Are we all doing our best to see that all the knowledge, 
     information, money, and other help is consolidated and 
     available to the handicapped person in the form he can use 
     and at the time and place he most needs it?
       Is there sufficient coordination and planning between and 
     among the private groups and the Government agencies to avoid 
     multiplicity and duplication so that we best serve America's 
     handicapped?
       Are we sometimes engaged in a numbers race--attending to 
     cases that respond more quickly in order to show results to 
     donors, members, and taxpayers, thus sacrificing some 
     attention which should be focused on the really tough 
     problems?
       Many handicapped persons of our Nation are no longer 
     helpless or hopeless because of private and public efforts 
     which have helped them to better help and be themselves.
       But the fact remains that some of our Nation's handicapped 
     and their families are attacking the very programs and 
     projects created to help them.
       Some are disillusioned and disaffected by the programs.
       Too often, the information, the services, the human help 
     and encouragement are not reaching the person for whom they 
     were intended and at the time and place he needs them.
       Some sincerely believe there may be better ways we can 
     demonstrate our concern and thereby better achieve for the 
     person with handicaps the independence, security, and dignity 
     to which he is entitled.
       I am reminded of a statement given recently by the 1968 
     president of the National Rehabilitation Association: ``It is 
     the person, not the program that is of overwhelming 
     importance. It is not the disability that claims our 
     attention, it is the person with handicaps. It is not the 
     maintenance of prestige of a particular profession that 
     matters. It is the contribution of the profession to solving 
     the complex problems of the individual who has handicaps.''
       When more of this emphasis on the individual better 
     influence the agencies and professions dealing with the 
     handicapped, I believe we can begin to open new, more 
     meaningful vistas for more persons with handicaps.
       We have been involved in efforts which have been creditable 
     to date. Of this, there is no doubt.
       But are we doing our best?
       A highly respected official of the U.S. Department of 
     Health, Education, and Welfare summed up the problem this 
     way: ``I do not feel we are spending our dollars--public or 
     voluntarily--as effectively as we could. We need to take a 
     whole new look at what is going on, where the service is 
     given. We need to try to design new methods and clearer 
     purposes for our efforts. We need to relate our efforts more 
     closely to the needs of a community, to the needs of its 
     individuals. And we need to try to measure, as concretely and 
     specifically as possible what is actually achieved by our 
     expenditures.''
       Our handicapped citizens are one of our Nation's greatest 
     unmet responsibilities and untapped resources. We must do 
     better.


                        presidential task force

       With this in mind, I suggest the creation of a Presidential 
     task force or commission to review what the public and 
     private sectors are doing and to recommend how we can do 
     better.
       Composed of representatives of the public and private 
     sectors, this task force or commission could provide an 
     overview of how to provide the handicapped more help and 
     hope.
       Such a task force or commission could provide valuable 
     assistance to Congress and the administration as we develop 
     programs and allocate comparatively limited funds for the 
     handicapped.
       It could also help private organizations and voluntary 
     groups conduct their efforts more efficiently and 
     effectively.
       The goal of a task force or commission, to achieve maximum 
     independence, security, and dignity for the individual with 
     handicaps, should encompass the total needs of the 
     handicapped, not just employment or education or any other.
       Rather the task force or commission should concern itself 
     with the whole broad spectrum of needs and services, because 
     as I have pointed out the problems of the handicapped do not 
     begin and end with the handicap itself.
       Although there are hundreds of areas a task force or 
     commission could review, I am hopeful, if created, it would 
     include the following subjects:
       First. Expansion of employment, transportation, and 
     recreation opportunities for the handicapped.
       Second. A directory or central clearinghouse to help inform 
     the handicapped person and his family of available public and 
     private assistance.
       There are many helpful handbooks and information sources 
     available. But most are not comprehensive and are more 
     accessible to professionals in the field than to the 
     handicapped who really need the guidance and information.
       Third. Removal of architectural barriers.
       Many persons cannot secure employment or fill their leisure 
     hours because their disabilities bar use of the facilities. 
     It is just as easy to build and equip buildings so that the 
     handicapped and unhandicapped can use them. The Federal 
     Government is doing this now for federally financed 
     structures.
       Fourth. More development of health care on a regional or 
     community basis.
       This is a tough, but priority matter and one which cannot 
     be accomplished quickly or inexpensively. But we must begin 
     to move toward more adequate health care facilities and 
     personnel which serve each person at the time and place he 
     needs them.
       Fifth. Better serving the special educational needs of the 
     handicapped.
       Both the person and the Nation suffer when any educatable 
     child--handicapped or unhandicapped--does not receive an 
     education.
       Sixth. Income tax deductions and/or other financial 
     assistance to extend relief to more handicapped persons and 
     their families.
       Seventh. More attention on the family of the handicapped 
     person.
       These are the people who often need a degree of 
     encouragement, counseling, and ``rehabilitation'' themselves. 
     Are there services we should provide to family members whose 
     own lives and resources are deeply affected by the presence 
     of a handicapped person?
       Eighth. Increased dialog and coordination between private 
     and voluntary groups and Government agencies to avoid 
     multiplicity and duplication.
       What is at stake is not the agency, group, or program. What 
     is at stake is the future of the handicapped person with his 
     own abilities and potentialities.


                               conclusion

       This, then, Mr. President, is the sum and substance of my 
     first speech in the Senate.
       I know of no more important subject matter, not solely 
     because of my personal interest, but because in our great 
     country some 42 million Americans suffer from a physical,

[[Page S5003]]

     mental, or emotional handicap. Progress has been and will 
     continue to be made by Federal and State governments, by 
     private agencies, and individual Americans; but nonetheless 
     there is still much to be done, if the handicapped American: 
     young, old, black, white, rich, or poor is to share in the 
     joys experienced by others. The task ahead is monumental, but 
     I am confident that there are forces in America ready and 
     willing to meet the challenge--including, of course, many of 
     my distinguished colleagues who by their acts and deeds have 
     demonstrated their great interest.

  Mrs. DOLE. I urge my colleagues to read it, because it is as 
compelling today at it was 34 years ago. It offers a comprehensive 
analysis of the challenges facing those with disabilities, and the 
steps needed to fulfill their dreams of full participation in society. 
Thanks to the leadership and perseverance of Bob Dole--and thanks to 
the work of others like Senator Domenici, Senator Harkin and Senator 
Kennedy--the dreams of millions of disabled Americans have become 
reality.
  Indeed, over the course of the past three decades, Bob Dole's 
fingerprints can be found all over every piece of legislation that 
increased opportunities for the disabled, including, of course, the 
landmark Americans with Disabilities Act.
  Bob has described July 26, 1990--the day President Bush signed the 
ADA into law--as one of the most rewarding days of his life. He once 
said, ``I suppose there were some that day, who saw only a White House 
lawn covered with wheelchairs and guide dogs. But that just goes to 
show who in our society is truly limited. My own perspective was very 
different. As I looked around, I saw Americans with amazing gifts, who 
could finally contribute to a nation much in need of their skills and 
insights.''
  Bob's concern for individuals with disabilities was not limited to 
those within America's borders. His leadership prodded the State 
Department to include the status of people with disabilities in its 
annual report on human rights.
  And since leaving the Senate, he has continued his advocacy on behalf 
of disabled Americans. Bob strongly supported the Ticket to Work and 
Work Incentives Act of 1999, which expanded health coverage for persons 
with disabilities and created a new employment program through the 
Social Security Administration.
  And I can attest to the fact that Bob's devoted leadership to 
assisting disabled Americans in his public life is matched by 
leadership in his private life.
  In 1983, Bob attended a meeting of the Kansas Bankers Association in 
Dodge City. Waiting for him outside the room where two severely 
disabled young people with their parents. The young man was named Tim, 
and he was in a special wheelchair, unable to move anything except his 
eyes. The young woman, Carla, was only slightly more mobile. Both 
wanted to talk to Bob about gaining greater access to a more physically 
independent lifestyle.
  Bob stopped to talk and to listen, and as his nervous aides looked at 
their watches and suggested he was running behind schedule, he stayed 
and talked and listened some more.
  On his way back to Washington, Bob kept thinking about Tim and Carla. 
And when he arrived at our apartment he immediately told me how moved 
he was by the meeting. ``I've been meaning for years to start a 
foundation for the disabled,'' he said, ``and I haven't done it. This 
is the time''
  In the years that followed, the Dole Foundation would raise over $7 
million to address issues like job training and placement for disabled 
workers. One of the foundation's grants helped New York City's National 
Theater Workshop for the handicapped teach its members advanced 
communication skills. In Kentucky, a grant paved the way for a fast-
food restaurant that employs the mentally retarded. Disabled students 
in Seattle were taught campground management skills, thanks to another 
Dole Foundation grant. A grant to Goodwill Industries of East Central 
North Carolina assisted the setting up of a Bank for people with 
disabilities--and in Raleigh, NC. A grant to Partnerships in Assisted 
Technology provided Internet training and support for people with 
disabilities.
  The focus of that foundation is now being carried on at the Robert J. 
Dole Human Development Center at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. 
And the Dole Center for Disabilities and the Law at Washburn University 
in Topeka, KS, is leading the way in the study and analysis of the 
legal rights of individuals with disabilities.
  I want to take a moment to give special recognition to two groups in 
North Carolina who deserve accolades for working every day to help 
those facing special challenges.
  The North Carolina Office on Disability and Health has the noble goal 
of increasing awareness and understanding of the health related needs 
of individuals with disabilities. And the North Carolina Governor's 
Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities is a group that lives 
its motto: ``Every person is entitled to equal protection under the 
law.'' Both are changing lives in North Carolina, and I look forward to 
working with these agencies on issues that impact North Carolians with 
disabilities.
  Bob Dole is a man of great modesty, and he is only learning of this 
speech as I speak. Bob doesn't talk about the number of young people 
who write to him for inspiration, telling him he is their hero. He 
always writes back or calls with words of encouragement, and often a 
pen-pal relationship develops.
  One of Bob's former staffers, the very talented Kerry Tymchuk, now 
with Senator Gordon Smith, has shared with me the story of Whitney 
Duggan. Whitney, a young girl from Oregon, was confined to a wheelchair 
due to injuries sustained in a horse riding accident. She wrote to Bob 
to express her thanks for his work on behalf of persons with 
disabilities and to encourage him in his 1996 campaign for the 
presidency. Bob responded, and he and Whitney were soon trading letters 
back and forth. Whitney and her mother eventually made their first 
visit to Washington, where Bob arranged tours of all the landmarks and 
lunch in the Capitol. Whitney became one of Bob's most loyal campaign 
volunteers, and sent words of encouragement to him when they were 
needed most.
  Two days after the presidential election in November of 1996, Bob 
said to Kerry Tymchuk, ``I bet Whitney is feeling pretty low. Let's 
give her a call.'' And Bob called her up to make sure she wasn't taking 
the loss too hard. Here was a man who just 48 hours earlier had lost a 
Presidential election. And rather than thinking of himself, he was 
thinking about a young disabled girl in Medford, OR. That is Bob Dole.
  I know my colleagues will agree with Bob in his belief that, despite 
all that has been accomplished, there is still much to be done. While 
we have eliminated many of the barriers the eye can see, there are 
still those we can't see and that no law can remove--barriers created 
by attitudes and misperceptions. Too often we overlook the talents of 
people with disabilities, whether they are physical or developmental.
  The remarkable Helen Keller once said, ``One must not consent to 
creep when one feels an impulse to soar.'' To make further progress, we 
must insist that ignorance not be tolerated, and we must work to ensure 
that all Americans have a chance to soar as far, and fly as high, as 
their skills and talents will take them.
  This mission is made all the more important by the ongoing courage 
and sacrifice of the men and women who wear the uniform of our country. 
As I traveled last week with President Bush to Camp Lejeune, in North 
Carolina, I was reminded of a time when Bob and I were dating, and he 
was visiting with my parents in Salisbury. Bob appeared one morning in 
the kitchen as Mother was preparing breakfast, with a towel draped over 
his right shoulder. ``Mrs. Hanford,'' he told my mother, ``I think you 
ought to see my problem.''
  ``That's not a problem, Bob,'' she told him. ``That's a badge of 
honor.''
  As courageous American soldiers return home, some will be doing so 
with their own ``badge of honor.'' It is our duty to ensure that those 
who return with a disability have every opportunity to live a full and 
productive life.
  It is very fitting that the state motto of Kansas is ``Ad astra per 
aspera''--To the stars through difficulties. Quite simply, I can think 
of no American who has done more in his life and career than Bob Dole 
to ensure that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to 
reach their full potential.

[[Page S5004]]

  In doing so, he has earned more than just the pride and admiration of 
a loving wife. He has earned the respect of a grateful nation and the 
enduring thanks of millions of individuals he will never meet, but 
whose lives are better and richer and more productive because of him.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DeWINE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Dole). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________