[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E213-E214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL DISABILITY DAY RECOGNITION

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM PRICE

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 2006

  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, recently we recognized National 
Disability Day. I'd like to share with my colleagues the many barriers 
to employment that people with disabilities face, such as 
transportation, environment, and stereotyping, though 11 years have 
passed since the landmark passage of the Americans with Disabilities 
Act.
  People with disabilities continue to battle a 50 percent nationwide 
unemployment rate, and for those with severe disabilities, the rate is 
a shocking 70 percent. The key to changing this statistic is to focus 
on the ability of an individual, rather than the disability.
  Hiring a deserving, qualified individual with a disability is not a 
charity. It's a smart economic decision. When a person with a 
disability is employed, they are transformed from a welfare recipient 
to a tax payer, and that positive economic benefit ripples out to all 
tax-paying citizens.
  The Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program in particular has been a 
critical force in assisting people with disabilities and creating self-
sufficient, independent productive members of society. The JWOD Program 
uses the purchasing power of the Federal Government to buy products and 
services from community-based nonprofit agencies dedicated to training 
and employing individuals with disabilities. The people employed on 
JWOD contracts acquire valuable job skills and training, receive good 
wages and benefits, and gain greater independence.
  The program serves 40,000 people with disabilities nationwide. Last 
year it generated approximately $280 million in wages earned and nearly 
$1.5 billion in products sold. In Georgia alone, approximately 1,000 
people with disabilities earned nearly $3 million in wages last year as 
a result of JWOD.
  This is a program that truly makes a difference in the nation and in 
Georgia. I'm

[[Page E214]]

proud to recognize its impact on National Disability Day.

                          ____________________