More on Autistic Pols

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."  Previous posts have discussed autistic officeholders and political candidates in New York, Georgia, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Earlier posts discussed  Jessica Benham's election to the Pennsylvania House.

Eric Garcia at Spectrum:

Jessica Benham was born a few months after the passage of both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. It’s something that Benham, who is autistic, highlighted when I spoke to her on 5 November, two days after she won a seat in Pennsylvania’s state legislature, representing the Pittsburgh area. Those laws paved the way for her and other autistic politicians taking office.

In addition to Benham, two other state legislators — Democrat Yuh-Line Niou of New York and Republican Briscoe Cain of Texas — have said they are autistic, but Cain didn’t reveal his diagnosis until after he was elected. He did so in a speech on the Texas House floor last year, when he proposed a resolution to make April Autism Awareness Month. Niou first spoke about her autism in an interview with a website run by college students when she ran in 2016, and elaborated on it after she was elected.

By contrast, Benham, a Democrat, was openly autistic when she announced her run for office last year, and she made it a central part of her persona as a candidate.

Autistic Candidates and Office Holders

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."  Previous posts have discussed autistic officeholders and political candidates in New York, Georgia, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Yesterday's post discussed  Jessica Benham's election to the Pennsylvania House.

Nico Lang at them:

But on a positive note, Benham wasn’t the only neurodiverse person to win their state legislative race on Tuesday. Yuh-Line Niou, who is also autistic, won reelection to the New York State Assembly. There have only been three autistic lawmakers to ever serve in a state’s legislature in the United States, a tally which also includes Texas House Representative Briscoe Cain.

In Louisiana, Rob Anderson finished third in his race for Congress. 

In Upstate New York, Dylan Dailor lost his June primary.

Autistic Candidate Wins in Pennsylvania

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."  Previous posts have discussed autistic officeholders and political candidates in New York, Georgia, Texas, and Washington State

Ivan Pereira at ABC:

As an openly bisexual, autistic woman, Jessica Benham, of Pittsburgh, told ABC News she decided to run for a state legislature seat when she realized her communities have not been well represented in government.

Benham, 29, who co-founded and ran a grassroots advocacy group The Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy, said other autistic and LGTBQ Pennsylvanians share her sentiment.


"I was hearing from my community that they wanted to someone who was like them to be represented," she said. "Their voice was long unheard."

Benham will fill that void in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives next year. The Democrat won the race for District 36 -- which includes parts of Pittsburg -- with 62.5% of the vote on Election Day, according to election results.

...

"There is a stereotype that public office is only for people with neurotypical social skills, people who are extroverted," Sam Crane, the legal director for the nonprofit Autistic Self Advocacy Network, told ABC News. "Ms. Benham's success might help others realize that's not typically the case."
...

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network has a program for college and graduate students called the autism campus inclusion project, which trains autistic members on public policy and connects them with elected officials and policymakers. Benham is an alumnus of the program, according to Crane.

"One of the things that we tell our participants in ACI, our leadership training, is if you're not at the table, you're on the menu. We want to make sure that autistic advocates are involved in all of the policy discussions," Crane said.

Crane said she there have been other autistic members who have been elected to office at local levels including, Yuh-Line Niou, who serves in New York State Assembly.

President-Elect Biden and the Disability Community

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in campaigns.

Philip Pauli at RespectAbility:

Since winning the Democratic nomination, the Biden campaign has made disability issues and connecting to voters with disabilities a top priority. In May, the campaign released a comprehensive plan about how a Biden presidency would “enforce civil rights,” ensure “affordable health care,” expand “competitive, integrated employment,” “strengthen economic security,” improve “educational programs,” and address “affordable housing, transportation, and assistive technologies” needs in the community as well as advancing “global disability rights.”

To follow through on this outreach effort, the campaign hired Molly Doris-Pierce, a young woman with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), as their National Disability Engagement Director. Since coming onboard, the Biden campaign in June, Ms. Doris-Pierce hosted monthly roundtables on disability issues, including on housing, employment and academic accommodations. Further, in August, speakers with disabilities appeared throughout the virtual programming schedule of the Democratic National Convention.

The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities

The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. In his speech on Saturday, President-Elect Biden emphasized the importance of the disability community and highlighted his commitment to making our country a better place for all, including those with disabilities. We look forward to working with his administration to ensure the rights of all peoples with disabilities are protected and strengthened.

“This election—this year—has been unlike one that we’ve ever seen before,” said Donna Meltzer, CEO of the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities. “But throughout it all, I was encouraged by all the voters and voters with disabilities that were focused on making sure their voice was heard at the ballot box. We are eager to work with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to help protect the ADA, the ACA and expand health care. We are thrilled to have a partner in the White House that understands that every person in this country should be treated with dignity and respect.”

Robyn Powell at Rewire:

For four years, marginalized communities, including people with disabilities, have experienced incessant attacks on our rights by Trump and the broader GOP. From repeated attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to the withdrawal of important special education protections to policies targeting immigrants with disabilities, Trump’s presidency has threatened nearly every facet of the lives of people with disabilities. The recent confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett was yet another assault on disability rights. Moreover, Congress—particularly the Republican members—made several attempts to weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by undermining the law’s enforcement provisions.

With Biden and Harris heading to the White House, people with disabilities are hopeful that we will have an administration committed to advancing rather than attacking our rights. Biden has previously pledged to make disability rights “central to my administration’s agenda,” saying “your voices must be heard, and not just heard, but listened to, because this is about an issue that matters to every American, equality and dignity.” Recognizing us during his victory speech was an essential first step.

...

Disability rights have traditionally been considered a bipartisan issue. In fact, the ADA was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush with support from both Democratic and Republican senators. However, things have changed dramatically since Trump took office.

President-Elect Biden

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in campaigns.

Ja’han Jones at HuffPost:

On Saturday night and through Sunday morning, President-elect Joe Biden was praised by members and advocates of the disabled community who celebrated the reference to “disability” in his victory speech.

“We must make the promise of the country real for everybody — no matter their race, their ethnicity, their faith, their identity or their disability,” the president-elect said Saturday night in Wilmington, Delaware.

To some, Biden’s reference marked a stark contrast to President Donald Trump, a vocal opponent of health science whose list of ableist behaviors includes mocking a disabled reporter in 2016 and instituting policies that made it difficult for disabled immigrants to receive vital health benefits.

On social media, disabled activists and allies to the movement instantly took note of Biden’s call for them to be afforded equal opportunity, and many used the hashtag #CripTheVote in reference to the years-long campaign to realize the disabled community as a critical voting bloc.

Biden was not the first, however.

 

Was curious if other presidents had mentioned disability in victory speeches and Obama said in 2008 "It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled."

— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) November 9, 2020

Disabilities in the 2020 Election

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in campaigns.

 Angela F. Williams at The Hill:

Almost 160 million Americans voted this year, the highest voter turnout rate since 1900. If anything, this election has shown us Americans can be mobilized to vote based on issues that matter to them. By that measure, it’s time to recognize the political clout of Americans with disabilities, whose projected voter turnout rate of 91 percent far surpassed that of the general populace at about 65 percent.

This research comes from“The State of Voters with Disabilities,” a survey Easterseals conducted with Pathfinder Opinion Research between Oct. 20-25 using a nationally representative sample of adults with disabilities. It found 89 percent of people with disabilities were registered to vote; 47 percent (or 15.9 million) had already voted; 49 percent (or 16.5 million) planned to “definitely” vote (44 percent) or “probably” vote (5 percent).

...

The top issues driving voters with disabilities to the polls were health care and COVID-19. Overwhelmingly, they were not satisfied with their elected officials’ performance; two-thirds gave them a negative performance rating when it comes to addressing the disability community’s most pressing issues.

...

Their second most pressing issue was strengthening constitutional protections against discrimination on the basis of disability. This broad-based concern touches on employment issues, which range from the historically higher unemployment rates to lower pay; disruptions to life-sustaining transportation services; accessibility to physical and virtual environments; and more.

Defending a Vote Against Insurance Coverage

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in campaigns.

In Virginia, Republican Nick Freitas is running against incumbent US House Democrat Abigail Spanberger

Freitas has tried to defend his vote against insurance coverage for ABA:  From the VA Democratic Party:

With just four days until Election Day, Delegate Nick Freitas is still failing to explain away his extreme votes against the families of Virginia children with autism – falsely claiming that children with autism were already covered by insurance companies before the General Assembly took bipartisan, nearly unanimous action in 2019 to cover Virginians with autism of all ages.

In 2019, Delegate Freitas cast the LONE vote against requiring insurance plans to extend coverage for autism to people of all ages, rather than cutting off coverage on a child’s 11th birthday.

Earlier this week on Richmond’s Morning News with John Reid, Delegate Freitas again tried to defend his controversial stance against requiring insurance companies to cover Virginians with autism. In his comments, he also lied about whether children with autism previously had insurance coverage:

“This bill comes up, and it’s essentially an unfunded mandate. It’s just the government saying that um, you know, ’cause kids with autism, they already have coverage. There was [sic] some additional things that they wanted to do, but they didn’t, they didn’t assign any funding to it,” said Freitas. “And every time they do this, and they do this with a number of issues, and I’ve always voted against it no matter what they were doing.”

That’s not how Autism Speaks viewed the legislation after it passed. In a March 2019 press release they wrote, “This year, the state legislature has passed legislation to completely eliminate the age cap on Virginia’s insurance mandate…The new law will provide coverage for medically necessary care for individuals with autism of all ages under state-regulated, large group plans starting in January 2020.”

To make things worse, earlier this year Freitas doubled down on his stance against the families of children with autism by casting the single vote against requiring insurers to provide coverage for autism treatment and diagnosis.

“Nick Freitas might think he was taking a principled conservative stand when he voted against these bills, but what he really did was vote to deny children with autism the health coverage they need. That’s indefensible, and it’s why every Republican and Democrat in the General Assembly voted to protect Virginians with autism, except for him,” said DPVA Communications Director Grant Fox. “When the Virginia autism community and autism advocacy organizations worked together to build wide support for this critical legislation, Freitas stood alone in voting against them, and he stands alone today as he attempts to portray the autism community as misled and uninformed.”

Presidential Candidates and Disabilities

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in campaign politics.   In the 2016 campaign, a number of posts discussed Trump's bad record on disability issues more generally.   As his actions as president indicate, he has little use for Americans with disabilities.

Ellie Rushing at The Philadelphia Inquirer:

President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law in 1990. But in recent years, Democrats have spoken to the needs of the disability community the most, voters and advocates said, especially when it comes to health care.

Almost every 2020 Democratic presidential candidate released a policy proposal supporting people with disabilities, something that would have been unheard of even four years ago, Beratan said.

“We have seen disabled people just assert themselves across the country to say, ‘It’s time you took us seriously,’” said Beratan, who is neurodivergent.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign has a proposed plan for expanding disability rights. The Team Biden Disability coalition, which has a Pennsylvania chapter, hosts weekly phone banks and has also done roundtable events focused on topics like chronic illness, health equity, and gun violence.

President Donald Trump’s campaign hasn’t released a plan for addressing disability inequality. Trump’s campaign didn’t respond to a candidate questionnaire by the American Association of People with Disabilities, while Biden’s provided a 32-page response.

Autism in a Virginia Congressional Race

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in campaigns.

Republican Nick Freitas is running against incumbent House Democrat Abigail Spanberger

 

From Blue Virginia:

House Majority PAC released a new ad in Virginia’s 7th District connecting the dots between Nick Freitas’ pattern of taking thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from special interests, then voting for their benefit–even if it meant being the lone vote against expanding insurance for kids with autism. Twice. Fretias also stood with the special interests against a bill requiring background checks for daycare workers, showing even the safety of Virginia’s kids is up for sale.

“Expanding insurance for kids with autism and making sure our children are safe at daycare centers are really not controversial ideas, but Nick Freitas found reasons to vote against both of them,” said Abby Curran Horrell, executive director of House Majority PAC. “After taking thousands of dollars from special interests, Nick Freitas voted against bipartisan bills more than a hundred times, showing he’s not interested in protecting even the most vulnerable children if it comes at the expense of his special interest donors.”

The ad is available here and the script is below. The ad will run in Richmond and is supported by a budget of $360,000. House Majority PAC will also be running the ad, “Just One,” in the Washington, DC market with a budget of $840,000.

“Pattern”

TV :30

It’s a troubling pattern.

Nick Freitas took thousands from corporate special interests … and voted with them. Against bipartisan bills … a hundred times.

Nick Freitas was the only legislator — in either party — to vote ‘no’ on health insurance coverage for children with autism. Twice.

He even voted ‘no’ on background checks for daycare employees.

Nick Freitas. A pattern of defending special interests … to the extreme.

House Majority PAC is responsible for the content of this advertising.

Autistic Candidate in Louisiana

In The Politics of Autism, I write:  "Support from the general public will be an important political asset for autistic people. Another will be their sheer numbers, since a larger population of identified autistic adults will mean more autistic voters and activists."  Previous posts have discussed autistic officeholders and political candidates in New York, Georgia, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Washington State

Leslie A. Zukor at The Mighty:

Joshua Collins wanted to be the first openly autistic U.S. Congressperson in American history. While his campaign fell flat, another autistic candidate is still in the running. Louisiana Democrat Rob Anderson, who is on the autism spectrum, is a self-described progressive Southern Democrat campaigning to unseat two-term incumbent Republican U.S. Congressman Clay Higgins in Louisiana’s third district.

Encompassing the Bayou State’s southwest and south-central regions, the third district has been in Republican control since 2011. The current race, however, has been described as one of two statewide Congressional competitions that are “expected to be competitive” for Democrats in the fall. According to Mark Ballard, capitol bureau editor at The Advocate, Anderson is running a “surprisingly strong challenge” in a four-way battle for the seat in the state’s November primary. If no candidate achieves a plurality, the top two vote-getters regardless of party will compete in a runoff election to determine the district’s next legislator.

Democratic Platform on Disabilities

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns.

From the 2020 Democratic Platform:

One in four American adults live with a disability. Democrats believe people with disabilities deserve to lead full, happy, and healthy lives. Democrats will fully enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, and the Help America Vote Act, among other bedrock statutes protecting the rights of people with disabilities. We will oppose any efforts to weaken enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We will ensure non-discrimination in access to health care, building on the protections for people with disabilities enshrined in the Affordable Care Act. We will ensure every federal agency aggressively enforces the integration mandate affirmed in the Olmstead decision, and repair the damage done by the Trump Administration.
We will rigorously enforce non-discrimination protections for people with disabilities in health care, employment, education, and housing, and ensure equal access to the ballot box.

Democrats are committed to supporting the millions of Americans on the autism spectrum and their families. We will expand early childhood screening, particularly in underserved communities, and promote equitable treatment of students on the autism spectrum in schools and educational settings, in keeping with our commitment to providing equal educational opportunities for students with disabilities. By eliminating state waiting lists for home and community-based care, ending the institutional bias in Medicaid, and expanding support for informal caregivers, Democrats will enable more individuals with autism to receive the support they need in their homes and communities.

Democrats will phase out the subminimum wage, expand competitive, integrated employment opportunities, and protect and strengthen economic security for people with disabilities. We will take a holistic approach to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs that are essential for millions of Americans with disabilities by increasing SSI benefits, eliminating waiting periods for SSDI, and eliminating the “benefit cliff” for SSDI benefits. We will increase federal funding to expand accessible transportation and accessible, integrated, and affordable housing. We will protect people with disabilities in emergencies and meet the needs of travelers with disabilities. We will ensure new technologies benefit, and are affordable and accessible for, people with disabilities. We will expand access to tax-advantaged ABLE savings accounts, which provide people with disabilities a way to pay for disability-related expenses like housing, education, and transportation. And Democrats will improve access to home- and community-based care for people with disabilities and older Americans, including by enforcing the Medicaid Home and Community-Based Settings Rule, ending the institutional bias within Medicaid, and expanding the home care workforce to end state waiting lists for long-term services and supports.

Election Politics, Social Media, and #CripTheVote

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns.

Juliet Isselbacher at STAT:

“To watch the shift from us having to beg candidates — like literally beg candidates — to include the word ‘disability’ as they rattled off diversity categories to [them] coming to us to say, ‘I want to engage with your folks’ … [this] was such a powerful shift,” said Rebecca Cokley, founder and director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress, a progressive policy think tank.
...
A 2017 bill poised to slash Medicaid coverage — which was introduced by GOP lawmakers and which Trump supported — became a flashpoint for many in the community. Advocates came out in force to protest the proposal on Capitol Hill, and dozens even staged a “die-in” at the door of Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mconnell’s office. In widely publicized photos, security forcibly arrested many of these protesters, dragging some from their wheelchairs.

“I think the increased media attention on those protests definitely shaped how the emerging field of candidates … treated the disability community,” Cokley said. “We saw a shift in the power dynamic. It went from candidates treating disabled people like a photo op — almost like a puppy — to actively treating us as engaged voters and stakeholders.”

Cokley said that social media also “blew open the doors” for community activism and coordination. In particular, the nonpartisan #CripTheVote hashtag has given people with disabilities, who account for 20% of the U.S. population, a way to unite and amplify the power of their voting bloc. Disability advocate Tiara Mercius described #CripTheVote — launched by disability activists Alice Wong, Gregg Beratan, and Andrew Pulrang in 2016 — as a “virtual coffee shop” for people with disabilities to discuss what they want out of elected officials.

Cokley said that nearly all the candidates with whom she consulted told her they had staff assigned to monitor the hashtag #CripTheVote. Taking advantage of this attention from campaigns — as well as their wide reach on Twitter — the movement’s co-founders put out an open invitation for presidential candidates or President Trump to join them in a live Twitter chat. Warren and Buttigeg both took them up on the offer.

Kamala Harris on Disabilities

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns.

Biden has chosen Kamala Harris as his running mate.  During her own campaign, she released a position paper on disabilities.

Kamala Harris, Medium, August 29, 2019:

Recommitting to building inclusive economic opportunity in America

According to CDC data, about a quarter of people in the United States have a disability. Kamala believes in an America that is fully accessible and inclusive for everyone and her administration will fight to make this a reality across all parts of our society. As president, Kamala will have diverse leaders with disabilities developing all the policies her administration champions, including priorities that will lift up people with disabilities.

To do this we must expand economic opportunity and security for people with disabilities. In 2018, the unemployment rate for workers with disabilities was more than twice that for workers without disabilities. Only 32 percent of people with disabilities who are working-age are employed. On the other hand, 73 percent of people without disabilities in the same age group are employed. Just as we fight to finally eliminate practices that lead to people with disabilities being paid subminimum wages, we also have to speak the truth about how we need to eliminate barriers that make it harder for people with disabilities to fully participate in our workforce.

Under Kamala’s leadership, in partnership with the disability community, we can build an America that lives up to the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Our country is stronger when everyone is valued, everyone has dignity, and everyone can be part of the competitive labor force.

WHAT SHE’LL DO:

She’ll fight to create inclusive emp loyment opportunities that pay people with disabilities their full value.

She’ll pass the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act, which will establish a grant program for states to help redesign business models and strategies to increase employment of people with disabilities in competitive integrated employment.

People with disabilities are both more likely to work in low wage fields as well as be paid less than the minimum wage. That’s why she’ll pass the Raise the Wage Act, which will not only raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour but will also phase out the “subminimum” wage.

She’ll remove barriers that make it harder for people with disabilities to take advantage of job opportunities.

Kamala will make changes to the vocational rehabilitation system at the Department of Education, which gives grants to states to help people with disabilities prepare for, secure, and retain employment. Kamala will make sure that the grant program covers a wider range of services and supports for a greater number of people to help more people with disabilities get the workplace accommodations, adaptive technology and devices, and other things that can be barriers to finding and maintaining a job.

And she’ll fight to increase funding for the program so that it can serve everyone who would benefit from assistance under it.

She’ll expand accessible, affordable transportation and housing options, which are key supports for anyone participating in the workforce.

Federal civil rights laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act already require that our transportation systems and housing projects be fully accessible. However, these accommodations still have accessibility issues because efforts to make the projects fully accessible are frequently not done at the front-end of the project.

For example, more than a quarter of rail stations across the country are not fully accessible to people with disabilities. The same is true of 12% of the U.S. rail fleet.

Kamala will address this by taking executive action to direct the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to require that funding recipients submit plans detailing how their projects will be fully accessible prior to receiving funding.

She’ll fight to pass the IDEA Full Funding Act to make sure that students with disabilities are learning in classrooms that have funding to ensure they can get the education they deserve, which is key to ensuring long-term economic opportunity.
And she’ll direct her education secretary to increase enforcement of civil rights laws designed to protect that right to an education.

And she’ll work to increase resources to better prepare teachers to meet the needs of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms and expand access to post-secondary education for people with disabilities.

She’ll fight to finally ratify U.S. participation in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to affirm American leadership in fighting for the civil rights of people with disabilities around the world.

She’ll fight to pass the Working Families Tax Credit to allow people without dependent children to take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit. And she’ll make the Child Tax Credit fully refundable which would be particularly beneficial to families who have children with disabilities.

Because quality, affordable health care is core to economic security, she’ll fight to pass her Medicare for All plan which addresses the significant barriers to quality health care that children and adults with disabilities face.

Kamala’s plan fully covers comprehensive long-term services and supports, as well as assistive technologies and Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) services that are critical to children with disabilities. It also ensures that those long-term services and supports are consumer-directed and are provided in home- and community-based settings.

And it ensures that when families move, or people with disabilities change jobs, their coverage moves with them so that they have uninterrupted access to the care and services they need.

She’ll ensure that people with disabilities impacted by disasters have the services and other civil rights protections they are entitled to under the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, so they can return home, to work and school at the same time as the rest of the disaster impacted community.

And, she’ll make sure the federal government leads by example.

Kamala will recommit us to the goal President Obama established in 2010 to make the federal government a model inclusive employer and strongly enforce Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. She will direct agencies to create updated plans for how to make the recruitment, hiring, and retention of people with disabilities a priority in her administration. And she’ll make sure this diverse leadership is represented in senior positions and that there are opportunities for promotion.

Kamala will also take executive action to ensure that the technology the federal government buys, develops, or uses is fully accessible, as is currently required by federal law. This will include requiring each agency to implement a plan to ensure that any new technology developed or acquired is fully accessible before it is deployed, as well as doing an analysis of existing technology that is not compliant and develop a timeline for updating it.

And Kamala will create new senior-level positions in the White House to make sure that the priorities for people with disabilities are incorporated across all of her policymaking, particularly on the Domestic Policy Council and the economic work of her administration.

• Disability
• Kamala Harris
• Disability Community

Biden on Caregiving and HCBS

The Politics of Autism includes an extensive discussion of insurance and  Medicaid services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) are particularly important.

From Joe Biden's policy statement on caregiving:

Biden will allocate $450 billion to give more people the choice to receive care at home or in supportive community situations, or to have that choice for their loved ones. He will help states offer cost-effective options for affordable primary and preventive care, and affordable support services like help with meals, transportation, home safety, and quality day programs for older Americans. This commitment will reduce health expenditures, help more Americans avoid unnecessary and expensive hospitalizations, and result in an expansion of the caregiving and community health workforce by roughly 1.5 million jobs. Specifically, Biden will: 

• Eliminate the current waitlist for home and community services under Medicaid. Approximately 800,000 people are on the waitlist for home and community care under Medicaid. It can take as many as five years for these individuals to get the services they badly need. Biden will increase Medicaid funding to states, the District of Columbia, and outlying territories to pay for the full cost of ensuring these 800,000 individuals and families receive long-term services and supports in the most appropriate setting, with the support of qualified care providers. Following the elimination of the current waiting list, states will be given a choice to convert their current home and community based care services waivers into a new state plan option with an enhanced federal match. This will enable states to make home and community-based services more available to people in need. 
• Establish a long-term services and supports innovation fund to help expand home and community-based alternatives to institutional care. Biden believes we must move aggressively to eliminate the institutional bias that pervades our public programs. A Biden Administration will dedicate substantial resources to this fund to help states and locally based entities test innovative models that expand home- and community-based alternatives to institutional care. These could include approaches that provide care while allowing individuals to retain independence, such as day programs and respite services that enable unpaid caregivers to work, alternative home and community models that coordinate or directly provide care, and Medicaid buy-in models. For example, the CAPABLE (Community Aging in Place-Advancing Better Living for Elders) Program provides home repairs and modifications to help create safer, more functional home environments for older adults. An initial trial in Baltimore found about $3,000 in program costs yielded more than $20,000 in savings. The pilot is now being tested in 27 cities in 16 states. Successful, cost-effective approaches to long-term care will be scaled up nationally. This fund will be administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which was established by the Affordable Care Act to support innovations that improve health care while constraining costs

Biden and Education for People with Disabilities

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns.

At EdSource, Carolyn Jones writes about Joe Biden's support for full funding of the Americans with Disabilities Education Act:

“It’s hugely significant,” said Carolynne Bottum, a lecturer at the UC Davis School of Education and a former director of the Special Education Local Area Plan for Yolo County. “This wouldn’t just benefit students with disabilities, it would benefit all children.”

... In 2018-19, federal funding only covered 8.4% of special education costs in California, leaving the state and local districts to cover the rest. That’s left many districts in a bind, as special education costs rise — due to an increase in students with autism and severe disabilities — and revenues fall due to declining enrollment.

About 800,000 students in California were enrolled in special education in 2018-19, a number that’s been increasing even as the state’s overall enrollment has held steady. The increase is due partly to the rise in diagnoses of autism, which affected 1 in 50 students in 2017-18 but only 1 in 600 in 1997-98, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Students with autism often need speech and behavioral therapy and one-on-one aides in the classroom, making them especially expensive to educate. Other high costs for districts include private school placement for students with unique needs, and litigation, as parents file complaints to improve services for their children, Bottum said.

Biden’s proposal is part of a broad platform addressing the rights of people with disabilities. In addition to funding special education, Biden is calling for other benefits for students with disabilities, including:

• A tripling of Title I school funding for low-income students, as proposed in his education platform.
• Special education teacher recruitment and training.
• Expanded programs for young children with disabilities, which experts say can greatly improve outcomes for disabled students over the long term.
• Discipline reform, including a ban on seclusion and more restrictions on the use of restraint.
• Anti-bullying measures.
• Job training.
• Funding for colleges to accommodate students with disabilities.