[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[January 13, 1999]
[Pages 36-38]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Announcing an Initiative To Improve Economic Opportunities for 
Americans With Disabilities
January 13, 1999

    Wow! Wasn't she great? Let's give her 
another hand. She was great. [Applause] Thank you.
    On behalf of all of us in our administration, many of whom are here, 
I want to thank all the advocates for persons with disabilities in our 
audience. I thank especially Tony Coelho, Becky 
Ogle, Paul Marchand, 
my great friend Justin Dart, Paul 
Miller, and others. I want to thank all 
the people in the administration, those in the Cabinet who are here with 
me and the agency heads and the others in the White House who have done 
so much to help to sensitize me and the Vice President and others to the 
challenges and our obligations.
    I say a special word of thanks to Tom Harkin, 
who has personally taught me a lot about the issues we discuss today, to 
Senator Ted Kennedy, and to Senator 
Jeffords. I knew if I listened long 
enough, that Republican rhetoric would finally sound good around one 
issue. [Laughter] And you did it today, and I thank you. You were just 
great. It was great.
    I'd also like to thank two great friends of this cause who are in 
the audience, Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island, 
Congressman Ben Cardin from Maryland. We 
thank them for being here.
    You know, a lot of things have already been said, and I would like 
to say something not in my notes. I hope nobody will take this the wrong 
way, because everybody knows what a great enthusiast I am of athletics. 
Most of the cameras at this hour are somewhere else, and I want to say, 
on behalf of my wife from Chicago and myself, that we wish Michael 
Jordan well. We admire him. We like him very 
much, and we thank him for years of thrilling exploits. In my life, I 
don't know that I ever saw another athlete with such a remarkable set of 
qualities of mind, body, and spirit, not only somebody who had a body 
that would do things no one else's would do but who always expected to 
do whatever it was he tried to do. And I 
think it's appropriate that the sports fans around America take a day or 
two to ooh and aah and hold their breath again and be glad again.
    But the courage of Karen Moore, and all the 
people like her, is greater still, by far.
    I remember once, many years ago, after I lost an election and became 
the youngest former Governor in American history--[laughter]--with

[[Page 37]]

very dim future prospects, a wise old country lawyer wrote me a letter. 
And he said, ``Bill, you know, it takes a little bit of strength to 
sustain a terrible setback, but the real courage in life is living 
through the grind of day-to-day existence with dignity and nobility and 
charity.'' How much more true is that for people with disabilities, for 
whom daily existence can be a greater grind, for whom charity is harder 
to muster of the spirit, because so many of the rest of us have been so 
blindly insensitive to things which would enable all of us to get 
through that daily life better.
    A lot of good things have happened since the seventies--Senator 
Kennedy talked about it--since these gentlemen and others passed the 
Americans with Disabilities Act. We did have a great renewal of the IDEA 
a year or so ago. But 75 percent of Americans with disabilities are 
still unemployed. You just heard why. Millions are forced to make the 
impossible choice between going to work and keeping their health 
insurance. Millions more lack the tools and services that could make the 
difference between dependence and independence.
    We all know working is a fundamental part of what we say is the 
American dream. Maya Angelou once said that work is ``something made 
greater by ourselves, and in turn, that makes us greater.'' You heard 
Karen; you heard what she said: ``I'm working; how I love being at work. 
Oh, by the way, my family life is better, and I don't get sick as 
much.'' That is not an accident. Every single one of us, we want to be 
fully engaged in life. And we ought to have the chance to do so.
    I like what Senator Jeffords said about how the Congressional Budget 
Office might or might not estimate this initiative, and I had that 
argument before and lost it, so I'm not going to get into that. But let 
me ask you this: When we've got the largest surplus in our history, the 
longest peacetime expansion in our history, perhaps the strongest 
economy we've ever had, if we cannot address this issue now, then when 
will we ever address it? Now is the time.
    So, here is what we propose to do. First, you've already heard about 
the landmark legislation by Senators Jeffords, Kennedy, Roth, and 
Moynihan to assist millions of Americans with disabilities who want to 
work. Today I am pleased to announce that the balanced budget I will 
present to Congress fully funds this vitally important initiative. 
Americans should never have to choose between the dignity of work and 
the health care they need. With this legislation, they'll have a ticket 
to work, not an impossible choice.
    I will also continue to work with Congress to pass legislation I 
know is very important to the disability community, a strong enforceable 
Patients' Bill of Rights and to strengthen Social Security for the 21st 
century, not just for retirees but also for people with disabilities. 
And we ought to do it this year, with no excuses.
    Second, we must make it easier for people with disabilities to get 
to work. As anyone with a disability can tell you, it takes more than a 
job to enter the work force. Often, it takes accessible transportation, 
specialized technology, or personal assistance. And the cost can be 
prohibitively high. Today I am pleased to announce a new $1,000 tax 
credit so hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities will be 
helped to meet these critically important expenses.
    Finally, we have to give people with disabilities the tools they 
need to succeed; we all need that. I hope all of you had a chance to 
experience and see the amazing displays out there in the Grand Foyer, 
from a portable computer kiosk that helps people with disabilities vote 
or find a job, to the latest voice recognition software that lets you 
use a computer without touching a keyboard, to a new generation of 
mobile telephones that connect directly to hearing aids, to a device to 
immediately translate music into braille. This kind of ``assistive 
technology,'' as it is called, will empower people as never before. 
Today I am pleased to announce that my budget will double our investment 
in this sort of technology, to make it more available to people with 
disabilities. We also will help States to expand low-income loan 
programs to help more people afford these promising products. The 
Federal Government will become a model user of assistive technology. We 
will increase our commitment to research and development to continue our 
progress.
    Increased access to health care, more assistance at home and in the 
workplace, remarkable new technologies made more available--this is how 
we can make sure that all Americans can take their rightful place in our 
21st century workplaces.
    Last summer the Vice President 
announced our plan to build at the FDR Memorial a new statue of 
President Roosevelt in the wheelchair from which he led our Nation, the 
wheelchair

[[Page 38]]

he then felt compelled to hide because of the negative attitudes of his 
time. Well, we've come a long way since those days. And even though we 
in public life get to make the speeches, I think it's clear to all of us 
that you deserve the credit--all of the work you have done.
    People with disabilities are increasingly a powerful presence in 
America, from our schools to our businesses to the halls of government--
but maybe equally important, increasingly a welcome, comfortable, normal 
presence. President Roosevelt said, ``No country, no matter how rich, 
can afford to waste its human resources.'' This is really all about 
living up to that objective.
    Thank you, Karen. Thank you, ladies and 
gentlemen. Let's go out and pass this legislation. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 12:58 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to polio survivor and transit system 
dispatcher Karen Moore, who introduced the President: Tony Coelho, 
Chairman, President's Committee on Employment of People with 
Disabilities; Rebecca Ogle, Executive Director, National Task Force on 
Employment of Adults With Disabilities; Justin Dart, Jr., chairman and 
founder, Justice For All; Paul Marchand, chairman, Consortium for 
Citizens With Disabilities; Paul Steven Miller, Commissioner, Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission; five-time National Basketball 
Association MVP Michael Jordan, who announced his retirement; and poet 
Maya Angelou. The President also referred to the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997, Public Law 105-17.