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John Kerry is Wrong for Americans with Disabilities

JOHN KERRY'S RECORD

Have you noticed that John Kerry has made many promises to people with disabilities that sound awfully familiar? It is likely because they are promises that are already being carried out by the Bush Administration.

John Kerry’s priorities on disability issues mirror almost exactly the priorities of President Bush.

So what is the difference between John Kerry and President Bush? The difference is, John Kerry will say anything to get elected.

The Olmstead Decision:
John Kerry’s proposals include implementing the Olmstead Supreme Court decision, but President Bush already issued an executive order in June 2001 committing the federal government to swift implementation of the Olmstead decision.

Money Follows the Individual Act:
Kerry's platform also includes his support for the Money Follows the Individual Act, a commitment already made by President Bush to re-balance states' long-term care systems so that there are more cost-effective choices between institutional and community options.

John Kerry continues to make empty promises. John Kerry has said he would “strengthen” the Medicaid system, yet he fails to show up to vote on it.

Kerry’s vote, in fact, could have made a difference in the creation of a Medicaid program for the disabled.

According to the Boston Herald, “U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry could have altered the outcome of two Senate votes last year, but he missed the roll calls because he was away from Washington, DC, campaigning for president. The two missed votes – on privatization of federal government jobs and the creation of a Medicaid program for people with disabilities – undermine the Kerry campaign’s claim … that the senator has missed no roll call votes in which his vote would have altered the outcome.” (Jonathan Wells, “Missed Votes Sway Outcome,” Boston Herald, 3/2/04)

When it was time to support Americans with disabilities in the Senate, John Kerry was nowhere to be found. Kerry missed a vote on a motion to table the amendment to establish a demonstration project under the Medicaid program to encourage the provision of community-based services to individuals with disabilities, and the amendment was ultimately defeated by just two votes. (S. 1, CQ Vote #247: Motion Agreed To 50-48: R 48-3; D 2-44; I 0-1, 6/26/03, Kerry Did Not Vote)

John Kerry claims that he has led the fight for people with disabilities, yet his senate record shows that he has not been able to lead very many accomplishments for disabilities in his twenty-year Senate history.

When John Kerry was asked by a questionnaire given by the American Association of People with Disabilities to name his top three legislative accomplishments, John Kerry comes up with a rather unimpressive response. He names the ADA - which is as much the accomplishment of 62 other Senators that co-sponsored that bill - and two other bills that died in the Senate:

  • "Top Legislative Accomplishment" #1: John Kerry touts his co-sponsorship of the ADA as his top achievement on the subject of disabilities. However, 63 other Senators also co-sponsored the ADA, and 76 Senators voted in favor of the law. While John Kerry has every reason to be proud of his support of the ADA, we must not allow ourselves be misled into thinking John Kerry exhibited exceptional leadership on an issue that had 63 other “leaders”. In fact, John Kerry’s name does not appear anywhere on the section devoted to the ADA on Senator Harkin’s website, nor do we see him singled out for praise in any public statements by ADA advocates or leaders. The truth is that John Kerry has not exhibited visible leadership or extraordinary interest on the subject of ADA until he decided to run for President. (See our ADA page to learn more)
  • "Top Legislative Accomplishment" #2: The second “top legislative accomplishment” claimed by John Kerry is the sponsorship of The Technology to Educate Children with Handicaps (TECH) Act, a bill that subsequently died in the Senate. John Kerry claims that the “goals” of that legislative proposal were later incorporated into the Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988, which did become law. However, we find John Kerry's claiming this bill as one of his “top legislative accomplishment” a dubious one, since this bill was sponsored by another Democratic Senator, Senator Harkin, co-sponsored by a bi-partisan group of 17 Senators, and signed into law by President Reagan, a Republican.
  • "Top Legislative Accomplishment" #3: The third “top legislative accomplishment” claimed by John Kerry is the most debatable. He cites his third accomplishment as his “original sponsorship” of a bill named the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA), which requires parity for annual and lifetime dollar limit coverage for mental health treatment. John Kerry uses the phrase “original” because when the MHPA came up for a vote, it did so first in the House, not the Senate. Furthermore, it had no co-sponsors, which did not matter because 95 Senators voted to pass that bill. The MHPA was supported by nearly everyone in the Senate, except for two Senators that voted against it, one Democrat and one Republican. Interestingly enough, this “top legislative accomplishment” does not even appear in the paltry list of his legislative accomplishments on disabilities on John Kerry’s campaign website.

In a statement released recently by the National Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans for Kerry-Edwards Steering Committee, it is claimed “John Kerry has a proven record of providing opportunities to Americans with disabilities. His senate record on the Americans with Disabilities Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, MiCASSA, the Telecommunications Act, and on accessible transportation and voting demonstrate that he understands the issues of the disability community.”

Well, we’ve seen his “top three legislative accomplishments”, so lets take a closer look at the other legislative accomplishments for which John Kerry claims credit on his website:

  • A handicapped parking bill. (99th Congress S. 1936) Sponsored by John Kerry, with 6 co-sponsors. Died in Committee.
  • Another handicapped parking bill. (100th Congress, S. 550) Sponsored by John Kerry, with 9 co-sponsors. Died in committee.
  • A handicapped parking amendment to a National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Authorization bill (100th Congress, S. Amdt 170). Sponsored by John Kerry with 3 co-sponsors. The amendment passed, but shortly afterward the amended bill died in committee.
  • A Parkinson’s disease bill (100th Congress, S. 2094). Sponsored by a REPUBLICAN senator, Thad Cochran (R- Mississippi), co-sponsored by 6 Senators including Kerry. Died in committee.
  • A Social Security bill to loosen eligibility standards to permit Supplemental Security Income benefits for parents of disabled children that were disqualified due to their high income (101st Congress, S. 1070). Sponsored by John Kerry, with no co-sponsors. Died in committee.
  • A transportation accessibility bill. (102nd Congress, S. 1224). Sponsored by John Kerry, with no co-sponsors. Died in committee.
  • A community-based attendant services and support bill (MiCASSA). (108th Congress, S. 971). This bill was originally written in the House by Newt Gingrich, a REPUBLICAN congressman from Georgia (http://www.adapt.org/casa/intro.htm). This current version is sponsored by Senator Harkin (D-IA), with a bi-partisan group of 18 co-sponsors including Kerry. Still in committee.
  • A Voting Accessibility bill for the elderly and handicapped. (106th Congress, S. 511). Sponsored by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) a REPUBLICAN, with a bi-partisan group of 5 senators, including John Kerry. Died in committee.

One may be tempted to think that these bills all failed because of Republican opposition, but one would be wrong; Many of these bills were proposed when the Democrats held the Majority in Congress.

All of these bills were touted as John Kerry’s “Record on Disabilities”. If this was the best they could find, it is easy to see why his paltry record pales in comparison to President Bush’s bold accomplishments for Americans with disabilities.

This mirrors John Kerry’s overall record in the Senate: John Kerry wrote only five bills that passed the Senate, and unsurprisingly, none of the five bills had anything to do with disabilities.

Unfortunately, the only impressive thing about John Kerry's record on disability issues is the fact that he does not even have one.

KERRY ON EDUCATION

John Kerry’s record on Education is equally “thin”, as the CQ Weekly described it:

Kerry Breaks His Promise to Students: Kerry promises $4,000 but detailed documentation on his website reveal it is only $2,400.

  • $4,000: “He will provide a credit for each and every year of college on the first $4,000 paid in tuition – the typical tuition and fees at a public college or university." (Source: "Making College Affordable for All Americans," John Kerry for President website, accessed 6/14/2004; Also found here: http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/economy/middle_class.html)
  • $2,500: “He will provide a credit for each and every year of college on the first $4,000 paid in tuition – the typical tuition for public colleges. The credit will provide 100% of the first $1,000 and 50% on the rest." (Source: "Restoring Jobs and Rebuilding Our Economy," John Kerry for President website, accessed 6/14/2004; Also here: http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0319c.html)
  • $2,400: “John Kerry will make college affordable again by offering a new College Opportunity Tax Credit—a tax credit worth 60% of $4,000 for each of four years of college." (Source: "Families Continue to Struggle in Bush Economy," John Kerry for President website, accessed 6/14/2004; also here: http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0618a.html)

Kerry Voted Six Times Against Expanded Education Savings Accounts, Which Would Have Provided $4 Billion In Tax Savings For Parents To Use Towards Their Child’s College Tuition.

According To CQ Weekly, Kerry Has A “Thin Record” On Education. “[O]n education and health care, two of the most important domestic battlegrounds between Democrats and Republicans, Kerry has a thin record.” (David Nather, “Kerry’s Complex Record And His Pursuit Of The Presidency,” CQ Weekly, 4/24/03)

Kerry’s Record Of Education Reform Has Been Described As "A Desert Of Ambiguity."
"Kerry’s career [is] a landscape in which oases of courageous antiwar activism and environmental protectionism are surrounded by a desert of ambiguity on issues such as affirmative action, education reform, and the death penalty." (Jon Keller, "Northern Exposure," Boston Magazine, 2/03)

Since 1985, Kerry Has Been Lead Sponsor On 10 Education Bills During His 19 Years In Senate, Just 3 Percent Of All Legislation Sponsored By Kerry.

Click here to read more.

Kerry’s Plan for Americans for Disabilities: More Committees, and More of the Same

John Kerry was asked to name his three top priorities to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities if he were to become President. He said: “I will offer Americans with disabilities freedom, independence, and choices. I will appoint a national bipartisan Community First Commission made up of distinguished Americans, including people with disabilities who will identify short and long term policy reforms that could and should be pursued…”

John Kerry went on to detail various measures he’d take such as cracking down on employment discrimination, insisting on the enforcement of the ADA with the U.S. Department of Justice and at the EEOC, and promotion of “creative solutions to address transportation, technology, and housing needs” for those with disabilities.

This is all admirable of course. The problem? This is already being done. Its called the New Freedom Initiative, which was established by President Bush. The New Freedom Initiative is an ambitious and comprehensive program that involves a long list of federal agencies working together to accomplish the exact same things John Kerry mentions in his answer.

What John Kerry is proposing is to create a new “committee” that will “include” some people with disabilities to solve the very problems the New Freedom Initiative is actively addressing.

In short, John Kerry’s plan is to create a new bureaucracy of “advisors”, not all of whom would be disabled, simply to accomplish more of the same.

We here at Deaf Republicans feel that President Bush’s plan has worked, and will continue to achieve much success in the next four years. Compared to John Kerry’s minimal record of success on disability issues, we feel the wiser choice is vote for the candidate with a proven record on disabilities: President George W. Bush.