[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5993-H5996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE THREAT COMING OUT OF WASHINGTON TO WORK CENTERS OR COMMUNITY 
                        REHABILITATION PROGRAMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Grothman) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the current threat 
coming out of Washington to work centers or community rehabilitation 
programs.
  So people understand, these are what used to be referred to as 
sheltered workshops.
  People born with disabilities that cause people to have different 
abilities than most of the rest of us have, frequently now they work in 
work centers, frequently packaging or other

[[Page H5994]]

light manufacturing sort of jobs. They sometimes make minimum wage, 
they sometimes make less than minimum wage.
  If you have not toured one of these facilities, you have really 
missed out on one of the joys of life.
  Here we find people working hard, earning their own paycheck, proud 
to go to work each day with friends and a social network, sometimes 
working in the same place for 20 or 25 years, who feel very good about 
themselves, and, quite frankly, should make the rest of us ashamed if 
we are ever unhappy in our own life, seeing people so happy with the 
jobs they have.
  However, friends of people with different abilities, be they family 
members, be they guardians, be they just next-door neighbors, have to 
wake up, because there are small, powerful forces who want to shut down 
these work centers.
  Why do they want to do so and how are they going to do it?
  They are going to do it two ways. Tomorrow, or soon, in this place, 
we are going to take up what will be publicly discussed as the increase 
the minimum wage bill.
  However, the increase the minimum wage bill is going to do something 
more than just that. It is going to get rid of 14(c) waivers for 
minimum wage, which allows people to work for less than minimum wage.
  This is not an oversight. We tried, in something called the Rules 
Committee, to amend the minimum wage bill.
  There are people out there who feel it is below people's dignity to 
ever work for less than minimum wage.
  People familiar with the sheltered workshops and the abilities of the 
people there know that already there are people who are not going to be 
able to find employment at $7.50 an hour. There is no way these folks 
are going to find employment, or many of these folks are going to find 
employment, at $15 an hour.
  What is going to happen when you lose the ability to grant waivers 
and have somebody make $3 or $4 or $5 an hour? What happens when that 
disappears?
  People are no longer going to be able to work in the community, they 
are no longer going to be able to work at the community rehabilitation 
centers.
  These folks are going to wind up sitting at home. They might wind up 
in day services, but in day services, you don't get the pride of going 
to work. You aren't going to work every day like your parents did or 
like your siblings do or like your friends do. You will no longer have 
the social network that comes with every job, in which you will be able 
to have the same friends, which are so vital, because family members, 
parents eventually pass away. It is so important to have this other 
social network.
  It is so important to have the self-satisfaction that comes with 
getting your own paycheck, the self-satisfaction that comes with buying 
your own clothes, maybe buying gifts for relatives, that people are 
going to lose if there are no jobs at all.
  The people who don't like community work centers are also on the 
attack in the Department of Education. And there, they want to remove 
the ability for folks in this situation to have competitive integrated 
employment. They feel we are isolating people in these facilities.
  First of all, I implore all of my colleagues and anybody who cares 
about people born with different abilities, to tour facilities like 
this. Folks in these facilities are not segregated away in some dark 
corner.
  Like I said, if you meet them, they are so happy and proud to show 
visitors the work they are doing. They are more happy than even the 
average citizen in our society to get their own paycheck and deposit it 
in a bank and know that they are buying their own clothes or buying 
things for other people.
  Everybody should see what we have an opportunity to lose and 
everybody should ponder what will happen when these facilities are 
gone, because we are in a situation in which employers are not going to 
be able to afford to spend $15 an hour for a lot of these folks, just 
as right now employers are not able to spend $7.50 for these folks.
  What they will also find is many folks like working in the work 
centers and prefer working in the work centers to other places in 
society.
  Just as people with different abilities perhaps prefer participating 
in Special Olympics or prefer going to special church services with 
people in similar situations, folks like this frequently prefer working 
with their friends in the sheltered workshop. They feel very good about 
the situation.
  When these radicals succeed in closing the local work center, it is 
very difficult for folks like this. Even if you were able to find 
another job in the community with a work coach, you are no longer 
working with your friends, you no longer have the continuity of perhaps 
working with the same people, both in management and on the floor, for 
20 or 25 years.
  If you get a job at a fast food restaurant, even if you are able to 
work a few hours a week there, there is much more turnover. And 
frequently people do not like the stress that comes with not working 
with other people in their own situation.
  It is time for the parents, the employees, just friends of people 
with disabilities to stand up and tell Congress, ``Do not be swayed by 
a loud minority.''
  It bothers me when bossy people in Washington think they know what is 
best for people around the country. It bothers me when they feel that 
way about anybody, but it especially bothers me when they feel that way 
about the most vulnerable members of society, because I am convinced 
there is a loud majority of people, both the people with disabilities 
and relatives of people with disabilities, who just think that the work 
centers are going to be there forever.
  The time has come to fight for the work centers, because there is a 
radical group who philosophically, apparently, thinks that when the 
minimum wage is $15 an hour, that jobs are going to spring up for these 
folks, and that they can shut down the work centers, and that employers 
are going to say, Sure. We can afford--whatever that is--$600 a week to 
have someone like this work for us.
  Guess what? You are going to find almost no jobs. You may find a few 
employers, kind of as a charity type of thing, will take people in for 
3 or 4 hours a week, but that is not like having a job for 30 or 40 
hours a week like everybody else in society has.
  These folks do not want to feel different. They do not want to be 
different than everybody else. They want to be like their siblings and 
their friends and their parents and go to work 30 or 35 hours in a 
week.
  Just like the rest of us, they like to socialize and have friends who 
have worked in the same offices or the same factories for years.
  They do not want to be working 2 or 3 hours a week or not at all. 
They do not want to be in a situation in which they are stuck with a 
job coach.
  Now, I happened to bring along some testimonials that have floated 
onto my desk as examples, from either people who work in the work 
centers or parents of people who work in the work centers, and this is 
typical of what you will find, whether you talk to the parents or the 
employees.
  Here is a story, Yael Kerzan's story. And I will just read bits of 
them.
  ``Yael does not feel segregated at Northwoods''--which is the local 
community rehabilitation work center--``because it is a community to 
her. She values socializing with her longtime friends. The work she 
does at her CRP helps her be more productive and appropriate'' at a job 
outside of the work center. ``In addition, Yael's CRP provides a place 
for her to work when she is not at her'' independent job.
  ``She does not want to stay home, watch TV and do nothing. If she was 
not working, she would be miserable. In fact, Yael happily gets up 
every morning at 4:30a so she has plenty of time to be ready by 6:50a 
for her ride to work.''
  Which, by the way, is typical. I think folks like this have much more 
pride with their job than a lot of people who at least appear to be 
born with more.
  ``Yael wants to work and feel valued. She takes great pride in 
earning her paychecks and contributing to the household expenses. Yael 
does not care if she earns minimum wage or not. She feels she is 
compensated fairly by the special wage she is paid. She understands 
that she does not work as fast as'' some other folks, ``and therefore 
is paid according to her productivity.

[[Page H5995]]

  ``Yael would rather be paid the special wage than participate in day 
services'', which amounts to babysitting, whatever else they call it.
  Next, another woman from Wisconsin.
  I want to voice my opinion of passing the bill affecting 14(c).
  ``I do not want to see sheltered workshops close. Workshops are a 
meaningful way of life for many people born with disabilities.
  ``I am not against rehabilitation for individuals that rehabilitation 
may work for. But believe me, not all individuals born with 
disabilities are able to work outside of sheltered employment.

  ``My sister is one. She has been through DVR, has been employed 
several times, at several different jobs, only to fail. All was well 
when the job coach was present; not so when they weren't.
  ``She was abused emotionally and physically by employers. She got the 
jobs no one else wanted or would do. I could go on and on.''
  This woman, again, says her sister would be incredibly damaged if 
they got rid of the local sheltered workshop.
  Another person, talking about his daughter. ``Save for 200 sight-
words, she remains illiterate, unable to read or write at a level 
commensurate with the rest of the adult world, unable to discern 
character differences in others (which has led to others taking unfair 
advantage of her time and again), unable to grasp complex subject 
matter or multipart instruction, unable to understand numbers, let 
alone grasp the concept of arithmetic,'' it makes it very difficult for 
her to do normal independent employment.
  ``Thankfully, the only positive light in her'' life ``has been the 
Black Hills Works here in Rapid City, South Dakota . . .'', here again, 
a community support provider.
  Another example of a person with different abilities, whose joy in 
life comes from working at the work center. And we have people who want 
to shut down these work centers because they feel the people are 
segregated there.

                              {time}  2115

  And we have people who want to shut down the work centers because 
they feel, for some bizarre reason, that there is no dignity in working 
for less than $7.50 an hour, or soon to say there is no dignity in 
working for less than $15 an hour.
  I realize this isn't primarily what the minimum wage bill is about. 
But, again, I will emphasize, it is not accidental that they are 
getting rid of the right to work for less than minimum wage. These 
people know exactly what they are doing.
  There were opportunities to amend this bill in committee and 
opportunities to amend this bill in the Rules Committee, and we will 
not have a chance to make exceptions for these people with different 
abilities on the floor. There are radicals who believe it should be 
against the law for them to work for less than $15 an hour, which 
means, as a practical matter, it will be against the law for them to 
work.
  And what it will do is it means they will have to go back either to 
sitting at home watching TV or going to work centers, which is, like I 
said, tantamount to babysitting. Maybe nice babysitting. But they will 
know very well they are no longer working like normal productive 
people. They will know very well that now they are just being taken 
care of and babysat.
  These adult people should have the right to work. It is not up to 
these people in Congress, or people in the Department of Education, or 
the Department of Labor to tell them it is against the law to work for 
$5 an hour, particularly given their situation.
  Another testimonial:
  ``My husband and I are parents of identical twin sons, 35 years of 
age, who have autism, schizophrenia, seizure disorder, and they 
stutter.
  ``They have received services from Black Hills Works, a community 
support provider, in Rapid City, South Dakota, since the end of the 
fiscal year when they reached their 21st birthday.
  ``Because of this sheltered work environment, they were able to learn 
basic job skills, which have now enabled them to obtain employment in 
the competitive work realm.
  ``Because of their autism and mental health issues, it takes a long 
time and a lot of patience to develop routines that help them adjust to 
the rigors of a workplace . . . ''
  They were only able to do this because of the 14(c) waivers, which 
allow them to work for less than minimum wage.
  ``My son Jonathan is a delightful, nonverbal, autistic 20-year-old 
man. Powerfully built, he has a supercharged energy and a deep well of 
affection for loved ones and his iTunes library.
  ``But Jonny is also profoundly intellectually impaired. Accomplishing 
even simple tasks requires vigorous prompting and continuous oversight, 
and chances are that along the way he might bite, stand on, or even 
throw his chair. As muscular and lovable though he may be, his chances 
of landing a competitive job are exactly zero.''
  But I am sure Jonathan, right now, is proud of the job he has. I am 
sure, like all the people I see when I tour my workshops, they are so 
proud to show me what they have accomplished, they are so proud to talk 
about their paycheck, and they are so proud to talk about the new 
Packers jersey they bought or whatever. You are taking that right away 
from people by having people in Washington, who think they know better, 
say: No, Jonathan, just go out in the community. Find your $15-an-hour 
job.
  Guess what? Jonathan ain't going to find a $15-an-hour job, and 
Jonathan is going to lose the joy he has and the satisfaction he has in 
the job he currently has.

       I am Leslie and I am disabled. Eventually I will be able to 
     go in the community and make minimum wage, maybe, although 
     some people may not be able to work out in the community.
       I think it would be sad if they do not have the option to 
     make less than minimum wage. These folks look out for each 
     other.
       I started my first support employment program in 1985 and 
     strongly believe in the right to access employment and to 
     receive necessary accommodations.

  The use of 14(c) is a necessity. Many people with significant 
disabilities cannot successfully perform a job to industry standards. 
14(c) opens the door to those who fit in this picture. It allows the 
person to actually set his or her own standard and to increase pay as 
their performance improves. We need a full range of services and to 
recognize the reality of challenges many people have and then to 
support their strengths through 14(c) and other accommodations.
  I will also point out that people who are asked to work in the 
community may be able to work in the community but don't like it 
because of the stress it puts on them to do a job that is very 
difficult for them to do. A lot of times what happens is some of these 
folks find a job for maybe 4 or 5 hours a week in the community and 30 
hours a week in the work center. Frequently, they prefer their job in 
the work center because it is at a pace which they are more comfortable 
handling. And they are working with people who are the same people they 
have worked with over a period of years.
  Another testimonial:

       I like working here and I make less than minimum wage. 
     People should have the option to work at a company that pays 
     less than minimum wage or work in the community and make 
     minimum wage. I don't want to work in the community. I like 
     coming here and making friends also with my coworkers and 
     making money.

  What these people are doing is they are taking away the freedom from 
people. I think it is so arrogant for people who purport to be looking 
out for the disabled people in our society to say, I am taking away an 
option from you because I know best. Again and again you meet people 
who are very happy in the work centers and it is horrible to take away 
that option.

       I had a job about 10 years ago, but I got very sick and I 
     lost it. I am here making boxes and palletizing and going 
     to class and stuff. I like to come to work and continue 
     making money every day.
       I know I don't make minimum wage. It is okay I don't make 
     minimum wage. I am not as fast as I used to be. I like my 
     friends. I love my job. I don't like to stay at home. It is 
     boring.

  I hope we don't take away this guy's option.

       I work in the community at Publix, but I don't get very 
     many hours.
       14(c) helps me supplement my hours so I have something to 
     do when I am not at the grocery store and can still make some 
     money.
       If the workshop went away, I would have to find someplace 
     else. I like coming here and it gives me something to do and 
     helps my friend.


[[Page H5996]]


  Here, I am going to make a point. A lot of these folks do find 
something in the community for 4 or 5 hours a week. Now, I am going to 
let people wonder when somebody works only 4 or 5 hours a week, 
particularly in this employment, why that is. Some of these lack-of-
common-sense advocates feel that if somebody is able to find a job for 
4 hours a week at the local grocery store, they should be able to find 
a job for 36 hours a week at the local grocery store.
  I will tell you, if you talk to the owners of these places, which are 
very nice people, frequently they are giving out jobs kind of as a 
community service, which is why these folks are only working 4 to 6 
hours a week at one of these places. They are not going to be able to 
get jobs for 35 or 36 hours a week.
  And when the sheltered workshop closes, it is not going to be 
replaced with a job in the community. It is going to be hour after hour 
sitting at home watching TV, or it is going to be at day services, 
which amounts to babysitting.
  They are going to lose the satisfaction and pride that comes with 
work, and they are going to lose the independence of getting their own 
paycheck and not being as dependent on government support.

       I like getting a paycheck. I used to have a job in the 
     community, but I fell and couldn't keep up. I love working in 
     the workshop until I can get another job in the community. If 
     there was no workshop, I would just color all day. I like 
     having work to do.

  Bingo. And there are people who would be happy to just have day 
services and have somebody color all day and not have the satisfaction 
of having a job.

       I am a person with a disability who knows that not everyone 
     can work in a job in the community. It takes hard work in 
     being able to follow directions. Sometimes bosses are hard on 
     you and want you to do more than you can. It is not easy to 
     have a job and follow all the rules. I have friends who got 
     fired or quit because it is hard.
       Why can't people with disabilities have choices?

  Some people might say they want to work, but when they do leave a 
sheltered workshop, they come back because it is hard out there in the 
work world. Maybe there are some agencies holding people back who 
really can work, bagging groceries or doing janitorial work. But there 
are very good agencies out there who are giving people with significant 
disabilities an opportunity to earn money because they can't work in 
the community. Please, please, please consider people with IDD and low 
IQ and not make this work go away.

       I have many regular jobs, but I like my program because it 
     is not as stressful and more understanding. Staff are easy to 
     talk to and you don't have to worry if the place will be 
     staffed. Someone is there.
       Regular jobs are a lot harder. Applications are online, and 
     that is not easy. Some people are not understanding in a 
     competitive job. Communication is hard. They don't understand 
     disabilities.
       I don't get minimum wage, but it is not worth it. The more 
     work I do, my pay goes up. I am not forced to do anything I 
     can't do. Breaks and hours are better than at another job. I 
     feel like I work more on a team than I ever have. Other jobs 
     don't give you enough time. I think my program is cool and 
     gets people ready for regular jobs, if they want to.
       Don't take away 14(c). It would hurt me. I get to be with 
     my friends and make money, too.

  Again, this person is pointing out that frequently people in these 
work centers are working with people with similar abilities, they enjoy 
being with people with similar abilities, and it is more stressful not 
being with people with these abilities. So even if other jobs are 
available, you are sometimes hurting these people, and you should not 
be telling them what they should be doing.

       I work at a 14(c) program. Programs like mine perform a 
     valuable service by offering much-needed alternatives to 
     workplace environments that people with intellectual 
     disabilities may not be totally comfortable with. The staff 
     are much more tolerant and understanding of the difficulties 
     that people with disabilities have versus staff at a CI 
     environment.
       Ever since I was a little kid, people such as teachers and 
     relatives have all tried to push me to be as normal as 
     possible, but with programs like this I can be myself.

  I guess I will wrap it up. There are other testimonials that I can 
read. I will wrap it up by saying that the silent majority has to speak 
up.
  And I would strongly encourage my colleagues to tour the local work 
centers. It will make them feel better to see how these people are 
working. It will make them feel better to see the pride that these 
folks take in a job.
  If they talk to them, they will tell them how much they enjoy working 
in the work center. And then they can ask themselves, if this minimum 
wage bill passes as is, if the new rules that are proposed in the 
Department of Education go forward, they will ask themselves, What will 
become of these folks?
  They should feel very guilty when they charge ahead, not paying 
attention to what the most vulnerable members of society will have 
happen to them, because people in this institution, or bureaucrats a 
few buildings away, have decided that they know best what is for people 
other than themselves and have decided against all common sense that 
everybody in our society is capable of making $15 an hour.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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