[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18649]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING DR. SUSAN M. DANIELS

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to a much respected 
and beloved leader in America's disability community, the late Dr. 
Susan Daniels.
  Dr. Daniels acquired her disability at a very young age. Though she 
spent much of her early years in rehabilitation institutes and 
hospitals, her parents advocated for her full inclusion in school and 
in the life of her local community. As a consequence, Susan attended 
regular elementary and secondary schools. She went on to graduate summa 
cum laude from Marquette University, and to earn her master's degree at 
Mississippi State University and her Ph.D. from the University of North 
Carolina. And I would note that she achieved these things before the 
days of accessible campuses.
  While still in her twenties, Dr. Daniels served as chair of the 
Department of Rehabilitation Counseling at Louisiana State University 
Medical Center. There, she developed an innovative program to train 
individuals to work directly in community-based settings with people 
with developmental disabilities. This program became a core element in 
Louisiana's efforts to deinstitutionalize people with disabilities.
  Throughout her adult life, Dr. Daniels was a passionate advocate for 
people with disabilities. She served as Associate Commissioner of the 
Rehabilitation Services Administration in the U.S. Department of 
Education, and as Associate Commissioner of the Administration on 
Developmental Disabilities, ADD, in the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services. While at ADD, she developed the Home of Your Own 
Program to assist people with developmental disabilities in their quest 
to become homeowners in their communities. It is one of Dr. Daniels' 
living legacies that this Home of Your Own Program is now operating in 
27 States.
  Perhaps Dr. Daniels' greatest accomplishment was her leadership in 
passing the Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act of 1999. 
Appointed by President Clinton to serve as Deputy Commissioner for 
Disability and Income Security Programs at the Social Security 
Administration, she worked tirelessly to lay the groundwork for this 
legislation. The Ticket to Work Act created employment incentives and 
healthcare provisions for workers with disabilities, and removed many 
of the systemic barriers that often required citizens with disabilities 
to make a stark choice between working or retaining their health 
coverage. Two of the most important provisions of this legislation are 
the authorization for a State Medicaid buy-in program to allow 
individuals to maintain health coverage after returning to work, and a 
continuation of Medicare coverage for individuals who are working.
  Dr. Daniels was also very active in the fight for disability rights 
internationally. She addressed many conferences and research forums in 
Africa, Europe, and Asia. And she advised governments on the best ways 
to set up social insurance programs for individuals with disabilities. 
She served as president of the U.S. International Council on 
Rehabilitation, and was Rehabilitation International's deputy vice 
president. In 1998, she played a lead role in convening the 
International Women with Disabilities Leadership Forum.
  Dr. Daniels was the recipient of many awards for her work, including 
the prestigious Henry B. Betts Award, which honors individuals who have 
made transformative differences in the lives of people with 
disabilities.
  Dr. Daniels played leadership roles in a wide range of national and 
international organizations, but she also worked for change at the 
individual level, mentoring and sponsoring countless young men and 
women with disabilities both in the U.S. and abroad.
  Susan's husband, John Watson, and many other family members, friends, 
and colleagues will gather for a memorial service in her honor at the 
National Press Club here in Washington on December 4. I will be with 
them in spirit as they celebrate a determined advocate and a truly 
bright light, a woman who was and is an inspiration to people with 
disabilities around the world.

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