    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [May 23, 1996]
    [Pages 801-804]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the President's Committee on Employment of People With
    Disabilities Conference
    May 23, 1996

        Thank you very much, Tony, for your remarks, your support, your
    friendship, and your leadership of the Committee. I want to say hello to
    the others who are there, to John Sweeney and to Al Checchi. I want to
    say a special word of thanks to my good friend Justin Dart, who I know
    had to leave but who has been a real champion for Americans with
    disabilities, indeed, for the rights and interests of all Americans. I
    want to say a special word of greeting to the cochairs of the Committee,
    the vice chairs: Norm Miller, I. King Jordan, Karen Meyer, Neil
    Jacobson, Dr. Sylvia Walker, and Ron Drach.
        Thank you, all of you who are there for your very warm welcome. I'm
    sorry I couldn't join you in person today, I have to be in Milwaukee
    with the German Chancellor. But I didn't want to miss this opportunity
    to talk with you about what we must do together to ensure the full

    [[Page 802]]

    participation of the 49 million Americans with disabilities in the
    vibrant life and economy of our great country.
        Three and a half years ago, when I took the oath of office, I had a
    very clear vision of what I hoped our country could be like as we move
    into the 21st century. I wanted us to be a country that offers great
    opportunities for all who are willing to work for them. I wanted us to
    remain the world's strongest force for peace and freedom. And I wanted
    us to rebuild our sense of unity and community around the shared ethic
    of responsibility and a respect for diversity.
        Together we've made great progress toward achieving those goals. Our
    economic strategy to reduce the deficit, expand trade, and invest in our
    people is paying off. The deficit is now less than half of what it was 4
    years ago. We have 8\1/2\ million more jobs, the lowest combined rates
    of inflation, mortgage rates, and employment in 27 years. Homeownership
    is at a 15-year high, and we have all-time highs in exports and new
    business formations for each of the last 3 years.
        We've also worked hard to increase educational opportunities for all
    Americans, from more positions for children in Head Start to more
    affordable college loans to the national service program. We've done our
    part to fight to lower the crime rate by passing a crime bill, which is
    putting 100,000 police officers on the street, banning assault weapons,
    and passing the Brady bill, which has kept 60,000 people with criminal
    records or other disturbing histories from getting handguns. And we have
    maintained our commitment to a clean, safe environment for all
    Americans.
        Compared to 4 years ago, the world is also a safer and more peaceful
    place. The nuclear threat is diminished. No weapons are pointed at the
    people of the United States. Peace and freedom are taking hold from
    Haiti to South Africa, to Northern Ireland, to Bosnia, to the Middle
    East. We have moved a long way in 3\1/2\ years.
        But today I want to talk to you about our country's future,
    especially in terms of that first objective, expanding opportunities for
    every American who is willing to take responsibility for making the most
    of his or her God-given abilities. The theme of your conference is
    investing in abilities. That's been something we've tried very hard to
    do and something I intend to keep on doing.
        In 1992 I issued a challenge to our Nation. I said we must not rest
    until America has a national disability policy based on three simple
    creeds: inclusion, not exclusion; independence, not dependence; and
    empowerment, not paternalism. I remain committed to that vision, and I
    want to thank all of you for working so hard with us to make it a
    reality. More than ever before in our history, America's greatness in
    the next century will depend upon the ability of all our citizens to
    make the most of their own lives. Americans with disabilities are an
    enormous, largely untapped reservoir of that potential.
        Employment is the key to economic security for Americans, including
    people with disabilities. Even though we have created 8\1/2\ million new
    jobs, it remains a tragedy today that two-thirds of the people with
    disabilities are unemployed. And it's up to all of us, employers, labor,
    people with disabilities, and government, to work together to change
    this picture.
        In the past 4 years, we have made progress. We're fighting to make
    sure that people with disabilities have health care and the living wages
    they need to live independently. Our strong commitment to the Americans
    With Disabilities Act has opened up town halls, schools, transportation
    systems, workplaces, grocery stores, restaurants, and movie theaters to
    millions of people with disabilities. Our 1997 budget calls for an
    increase in funding for ADA enforcement at the Department of Justice.
        The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act is preparing
    students with disabilities to get their share of the high-wage jobs that
    are opening up in this new economy. I know how much the IDEA means to
    millions of students with disabilities and to their parents. I strongly
    support it.
        High school graduates with disabilities who went to school under
    IDEA have an employment rate twice that of the overall population of
    individuals with disabilities. We're building on this achievement by
    supporting efforts like your high school high-tech program that is
    guiding promising students to college and careers in science and
    technology. We're making sure people with disabilities are included in
    our school-to-work efforts.
        No one, no one, should have to go through what Judy Heumann went
    through to get an education in our country. She's been a pioneer in the
    struggle for the rights of people with

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    disabilities. She developed polio when she was 18 months old, and she
    was denied the right to attend public school until the fourth grade. She
    had to sue to get a teaching job that was denied her because she uses a
    wheelchair. And during the seventies, she participated in a sit-in that
    resulted in the creation of the Individuals With Disabilities Education
    Act. As my Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
    Services at the Department of Education, she now runs IDEA. That is a
    remarkable story, and we need more of them.
        But you and I know the ADA and the IDEA alone will not achieve our
    vision of inclusion, independence, and empowerment for people with
    disabilities. That's why I fought so hard for measures like the Family
    and Medical Leave Act. And today I'm announcing that as a result of your
    work, Federal agencies are now developing a better system for tracking
    the unemployment rate of people with disabilities.
        This new system will strengthen our ability to include people with
    disabilities in all our employment policies and programs. In addition,
    I've asked the Secretary of Commerce to work with your Committee and
    relevant Federal agencies to recommend to me ways that we can ensure
    that people with disabilities are included in all our efforts to assist
    entrepreneurs and small businesses. So we are making progress.
        But let me say, there is more to do. First, we must preserve the
    guarantee of Medicaid coverage for people with disabilities. For three
    decades, Americans have stood on common ground about the need for
    guaranteed Medicaid coverage for older Americans, pregnant women, low
    income children, and people with disabilities. But last year Congress
    sent me legislation to repeal that guarantee, legislation that would
    have taken away health care coverage from millions of Americans who need
    it most. I vetoed that legislation, and if they send it to me again and
    they want to repeal the guarantee again, I will veto it again.
        Let me be clear. We can balance this budget without repealing
    guaranteed Medicaid coverage for the 6 million Americans with
    disabilities who depend upon it, including one million children.
    Medicaid is a family issue, as people with disabilities know, making it
    possible for more people to get care at home and their communities.
    Without the guarantee, a middle class family with a child with a severe
    disability could be forced into poverty to pay for the child's medical
    care. Parents could be forced to give up jobs to stay home to care for a
    child. Children and adults who live independently today might be forced
    into institutions. I will not let that happen.
        The second thing we have to do is to strengthen the health security
    of people with disabilities and, indeed, for all Americans, with the
    passage of the Kassebaum-Kennedy health insurance reform bill. This
    legislation would not allow insurance companies to deny coverage for
    anybody with a preexisting condition and will allow people to keep their
    health insurance if they change jobs or if someone in the family gets
    sick. So I urge Congress to stop stalling and pass the bill now, as an
    important step forward.
        Finally, let me say I've called on Congress to increase the minimum
    wage, which will benefit millions of Americans with disabilities who
    face extra costs for accessible housing and personal assistance. We need
    that.
        All of you know that America is in the best position to be a winner
    in the global economy of the 21st century because of the depths of our
    values, the strength of our diversity, the power of our economy. But we
    don't have a person to waste. We have to continue to expand opportunity,
    demand responsibility from all of our citizens. And that does mean
    inclusion, not exclusion.
        Again, let me thank you, all of you, for everything you've done and
    for everything you will do. Thank you for the progress we've made and
    the progress we still will make.
        Just last week I had a very moving visit with Christopher Reeve in
    the Oval Office, and I mentioned to Christopher that in 1933, the Oval
    Office was the first Government office designed specifically to be
    accessible to accommodate President Roosevelt. He said to me that it was
    too bad that at the time he had to hide his disability.
        I hope with Christopher Reeve that as the Roosevelt memorial becomes
    a reality, with your efforts to remove the stigma of disability, they'll
    find a way to make sure that the American people know that this great,
    great President was great with his disability.
        Thank you all, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke by satellite at 9:35 a.m. from Milwaukee, WI,
    to the conference meeting in Detroit, MI. In his remarks, he re-

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    ferred to Tony Coehlo, chairman, Justin Dart, former Chair, President's
    Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities; John Sweeney,
    president, AFL-CIO, and Al Checchi, cochairman, Northwest Airlines; and
    actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed in an equestrian accident.