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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211
A task force that includes several cabinet officers today
advised President Bill Clinton to make the federal workplace a model employer
for adults with disabilities and asked him to encourage legislation which would
help adults with disabilities get work in the private sector.
In its first report, the Presidential Task Force on the
Employment of Adults with Disabilities asked the President to:
- increase the number of adults with disabilities working for the
federal government, including in student employment and in the higher grade
levels;
- increase employment options for persons with psychiatric
disabilities;
- support legislation which allows adults with disabilities to retain
Medicare coverage when they return to work and allows states to continue
Medicaid coverage;
- work with congress to pass a Patients' Bill of Rights;
- support legislation to give tax credits to employers for
work-related expenses such as attendants or special technology;
- encourage the development of technology which enables adults with
disabilities to work, and
- provide information to help adults with disabilities start their own
businesses.
"I applaud the Task Force for its powerful recommendations
to provide critically needed employment opportunities for people with
disabilities," Vice President Gore said. "When we find new ways to ensure that
people with disabilities are able to keep and obtain a job doesn't just benefit
them -- it enriches our whole society."
Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman, who chairs the task
force, presented the report to Gore during a meeting today. The Vice President
applauded the task force's recommendations. Several executive directives were
signed by the President ordering federal agencies to take actions to improve
employment of those with disabilities.
"The unemployment rate for persons with disabilities is a
staggering 70 percent," Herman said. "We must bring them into the country's
economic prosperity. The key obstacle is lack of access to health care, so that
must be our first priority."
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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