NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, Feb. 2, 2001

In a ceremony held in the East Room of the White House, Bush made his announcement seated behind a 37.5-inch podium constructed to accommodate wheelchairs. He was flanked by his wife, Laura, and Jim Mullen, a Chicago police officer wounded in the line of duty who is now a quadriplegic.

Also attending were Sens. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, and many other disability advocates.

"We are more mindful now of the hardships that come with disability, more generous in responding to the needs of our citizens, more grateful for the contributions you make to our society," Bush said, announcing that he sent legislation called the New Freedom Initiative to Capitol Hill.

Similar to the faith-based initiatives Bush highlighted this week, the New Freedom plan came with virtually no discussion of how much it would cost taxpayers. But federal statistics indicate that in 1998, Bush's proposal would increase federal funding for the research and development of assistive technology. The initiative would provide low-interest loans to pay for items such as computers that would make it possible for people with disabilities to engage in activities such as working from home.

"One of the things I enjoy most about my new job is the walk I get to take every single morning up the colonnade from the residence to the Oval Office. I say that because the path rises just slightly; it's been that way since they took out the steps so that Franklin Roosevelt could make it to his place of work. This House is among the first places in America to accommodate people with disabilities," Bush said.

Bush committed to signing two executive orders, one reinforcing a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision that would bring disabled people out of institutions and into community settings, and a second that would create a National Commission on Mental Health to study the nation's beleaguered mental health system.

"I guess I am cautiously optimistic," said Chris Koyanagi, policy director at Bazelon Center for Mental Health. "A great deal will depend on who is on the commission and if they take into account what we've already learned."

The initiative also increases funding for special education and establishes a Reading First program to teach every child how to read by the third grade. For adults it would expand opportunities for telecommuting so people with mobility impairments could work from home. It would give companies a tax credit for donating computer and Internet access for home use to their disabled employees. And it also prohibits the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration from regulating home office standards.

The president's plan also supports improved access to voting polls and provides matching grants from organizations exempt from complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

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