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TESTIMONY OF KATE PEW WOLTERS before the U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 10:00 a.m. Introduction. Good morning. I am Kate Pew Wolters, vice chairperson of the National Council on Disability (NCD). With me today is NCD executive director Ethel D. Briggs. We are here to present our budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001. Before I begin, I want to congratulate the chairman (Mr. Porter) on his/your upcoming retirement and thank him/you for his/your support over the years. We have enjoyed working with him/you and his/your staff. First, I will present you with an overview of NCD and its work, particularly our work during the last few years. Then, I will present our proposed budget for FY 2001 with an explanation of this proposal. Finally, I will make a few closing remarks and then welcome any questions you might have. If this is acceptable to the Committee members, I will proceed. NCD Overview. NCD is an independent federal agency making recommendations to the President and Congress on disability policy that affects 54 million people with disabilities regardless of age, disability type, perceived employment potential, economic need, specific functional ability, status as a veteran, or other individual circumstance. NCD is comprised of 15 members appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Our members span from the East coast to the West coast. We come from all walks of life. We come from rural and urban areas. We are culturally diverse. We represent all disabilities. We draw upon all that is America. NCD is truly dedicated to the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Established in 1978 within the Department of Education, NCD was designated as an independent agency in 1984, so that it would be in a unique position to offer objective and independent expert advice to Congress and the Administration. Our authorizing legislation, the Rehabilitation Act, provides a very broad mandate, covering all aspects of disability policy. When NCD brought together a diverse group of disability community leaders from around the country in 1996, a consensus emerged that our public policies and programs needed to undergo a paradigm shift that truly mirrored the values of ADA. NCD captured the consensus recommendations of the participants in a report entitled Achieving Independence. NCD's annual report, National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, addresses NCD's progress and the progress made in federal policy for people with disabilities and makes recommendations on how public policy might better meet the needs of the disability community. As the only agency in the Federal Government addressing the issues of all people with disabilities, regardless of type or severity, NCD will be aggressive and resolute until the day arrives when people with disabilities in every corner of the land no longer are distinguished by a disability label, but are known as students, workers, parents, neighbors, and friends. While many government agencies deal with issues and programs affecting people with disabilities, NCD is the only federal agency charged with addressing, analyzing, and making recommendations on issues of public policy that affect people with disabilities regardless of age, disability type, perceived employment potential, economic need, specific functional ability, status as a veteran, or other individual circumstance. NCD recognizes its unique opportunity to facilitate independent living, community integration, and employment opportunities for people with disabilities by ensuring an informed and coordinated approach to addressing the concerns of people with disabilities and eliminating barriers to their active participation in community and family life. In its efforts to provide leadership in the development and evaluation of disability policy, NCD conducts a variety of activities. In addition, NCD meets quarterly in Washington and occasionally at other sites around the country to deliberate on these and other disability-related issues. Major Accomplishments During FY 1999 and To Date. NCD, with its mandate to advise the President and Congress on disability policy, is in a key position to articulate recommendations to help formulate a strong, cohesive, national disability policy. In a manner of speaking, NCD continues to serve as an incubator for a variety of emerging issues and recommendations in the disability community. As a result of recommendations in NCD's 1996 report, Achieving Independence, NCD is currently coordinating a multi-year study on the implementation and enforcement of several civil rights laws for people with disabilities including ADA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Air Carrier Access Act, and the Fair Housing Act. On March 18, 1999, NCD released a groundbreaking report documenting ineffective enforcement of the Air Carrier Access Act since the law's passage in 1986. NCD's report, Enforcing the Civil Rights of Air Travelers with Disabilities, contains recommendations on how to improve enforcement, including changes to the law and improvements for the Department of Transportation (DOT). This was the first in NCD's "Unequal Protection Under Law" series of independent analyses of federal civil rights enforcement for Americans with disabilities. The negative experiences of disabled travelers go beyond the typical hassles all air travelers encounter. When you are dropped or mishandled by poorly trained staff who treat you like an inconvenient piece of luggage, when you can't get critical information because it is not provided in an accessible format, you are left with the feeling that you don't count, that your dignity as a human being has been violated. Unfortunately, NCD found that although things have improved since ACAA was passed in 1986, people with disabilities continue to encounter frequent, significant violations of their civil rights. When they complain, they encounter an enforcement effort that is both inconsistent and limited in scope. The NCD report addresses these issues. Much to their credit, DOT and Secretary Rodney E. Slater not only embraced the NCD report, but worked with NCD in its preparation. In addition, Secretary Slater moved quickly to implement several recommendations before the report was even released. For example, DOT issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on February 17 entitled "Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel; Compensation for Damage to Wheelchairs and Other Assistive Devices." DOT is now proposing to amend its rules implementing the Air Carrier Access Act to lift an existing cap on the amount of compensation airlines would have to pay to passengers for loss or damage to wheelchair and other assistive devices. The proposal is intended to provide additional relief to passengers whose expensive assistive devices are destroyed or seriously damaged in the course of airline travel. Also in response to a recommendation in NCD's 1999 report Enforcing the Civil Rights of Air Travelers with Disabilities to provide better information to air travelers with disabilities to assist them in making their air travel decisions, DOT is now publishing a tabulation of the disability-related complaints received by DOT against individual airlines. Now, I would like to take a moment to elaborate on NCD's outreach to people with disabilities from diverse cultures an area we are most proud of. Previous NCD initiatives demonstrated that key information related to the rights and services available to people with disabilities is not reaching a large segment of the population, especially minorities with disabilities and people with disabilities living in rural communities. As a result, NCD conducted a minority and rural residents outreach roundtable in Atlanta, Georgia. More than 100 participants discussed these critical issues and the roles each could play in providing outreach to these groups. In a continuing effort to develop traditional and nontraditional outreach strategies that can be used by federal agencies to reach these vulnerable populations, NCD conducted a public hearing on meeting the unique needs of children and youth with disabilities from minority and rural communities in January 1998 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Information from these two meetings and an additional public hearing that was held in San Francisco, assisted NCD in its policy development in this critical area. As a result, NCD published its 1999 report Lift Every Voice: Modernizing Disability Policies and Programs to Serve a Diverse Nation. The executive summary of this report was released at the White House Forum on Disability and Cultural Diversity that also celebrated the ninth anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The forum, convened by the White House and NCD with support from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, focused on how to improve outcomes in education, employment, and civil rights enforcement for people with disabilities from diverse cultural backgrounds. I am delighted to tell you that in May, NCD will conduct Think Tank 2000: Coalitions for Advancing the Civil and Human Rights of People with Disabilities from Diverse Cultures. Invited leaders from diverse cultures include people representing grassroots national disability rights and traditional civil and human rights groups, as well as the chairs for Congressional Hispanic, Native American, Black, and Asian and Pacific American Caucuses. The purpose of Think Tank 2000 is to highlight common causes and identify key strategies for eliminating barriers to civil and human rights for people with disabilities from diverse ethnic, racial, and cultural groups in America. An action plan from Think Tank 2000 will then be presented to the President and the 106th Congress. You'll hear more about the Think Tank 2000 at next year's appropriations hearing. NCD literally receives thousands of telephone calls, e-mail messages, and letters from concerned individuals and organizations about disability issues. With the continued refinement of its award-winning Web page (www.ncd.gov) that receives more than 600,000 hits per year, and e-mail capabilities, NCD's outreach to its consumers continued to grow in record numbers. NCD continued to disseminate important disability-related information through its monthly publication NCD Bulletin, special mailings, published articles, special reports, annual reports, brochures, position papers, other disability organizations, the Internet, and ongoing interaction with the news media. I would like to digress for a moment and say a few words about NCD's Web site, which is receiving record numbers of hits, and the Government Printing Office (GPO), who hosts the NCD's site. GPO's Web team is doing an outstanding job in providing technical assistance and support to NCD. We are very demanding and they are very knowledgeable and very patient. GPO has helped NCD develop a useful site for people with disabilities and those interested in our issues. We are delighted to be partners with GPO and we will continue to work with GPO to make the NCD Web site a model for other federal agencies. If you haven't looked at our Web page lately, please do. The URL is www.ncd.gov. Now, to get back on track. Current Activities for FY 2000. NCD's proposed priorities for FY 2000 include the implementation of a policy fellowship program for new and emerging leaders with disabilities; completion of a study of federal policies affecting access to technology for people with disabilities; and completion of the first phase of the Disability Civil Rights Monitoring Project, which looks at the implementation and enforcement of disability civil rights laws. NCD will continue its studies that monitor the implementation and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act Amendments and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. NCD will conduct briefings in the ten federal regions to gather input on the national enforcement agenda developed from the Disability Civil Rights Monitoring Project reports. NCD will seek to address the unique issues facing youth, minority, and rural residents with disabilities within these priorities. To that end, NCD now serves as a member of the interagency working group on the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. NCD will continue to work as a part of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities (the creation of which occurred as a result of an NCD recommendation in Achieving Independence). On January 20, NCD released its report From Privileges to Rights: People with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves, at the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems' Winter Conference 2000 in Orlando, Florida. NCD board member Rae Unzicker presented the report on behalf of NCD. The report is based on NCD's 1998 hearing in Albany, New York, where NCD heard testimony from mental health professionals, lawyers, advocates, and relatives of people with psychiatric disabilities, and from people with psychiatric disabilities themselves. They described in graphic detail how people with psychiatric disabilities have been beaten, shocked, isolated, incarcerated, raped, deprived of food and bathroom privileges, and physically and psychologically abused in institutions and in their communities. This testimony resulted in a number of recommendations for change in the way people with psychiatric disabilities are treated. The most important is the elimination of coercion. From Privileges to Rights calls on the President and Congress to address the many problems faced by people with psychiatric disabilities and ensure that these people are fully and substantively involved in the making of policy changes that will enable them to claim their full citizenship rights. With regard to the Disability Civil Rights Monitoring Project, parents, students, and disability advocates braved a blizzard to participate in NCD's January 25 news conference highlighting the release of its report Back to School on Civil Rights. The report confirms what parents and children with disabilities have repeatedly told NCD: that noncompliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has persisted in some states over many years, placing enormous burdens on children and families. NCD also found that too many parents of children with disabilities continue to spend endless resources to overcome obstacles to their child's basic right to an appropriate education, often at the expense of their personal lives, their careers, and their families' financial security. Back to School on Civil Rights is the second in NCD's "Unequal Protection Under Law" series of independent analyses of federal civil rights enforcement for Americans with disabilities. During this fiscal year, the United States will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the passage of ADA and the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These milestones present an opportunity to retool and reinvigorate federal enforcement of disability civil rights laws so that more Americans with disabilities and their families can enjoy equal access to the American dream. Too many children and adults with disabilities and their families are unaware of their rights under federal law to be free from discrimination and are unable to enforce that right. The Disability Civil Rights Monitoring Project will continue to assess federal civil rights enforcement in the past and evaluate how these important laws can be translated into real equality of opportunity for all Americans. In addition, NCD also produces its reports in alternative formats, such as braille, large print, and diskette. We are now working in a collaborative effort with the American Printing House (APH) for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky, to produce high quality documents that are accessible to everyone. APH does an outstanding job for NCD. Planned Activities and Budget Request for FY 2001. NCD is requesting $2,615,000, which is an increase of $215,000 above that appropriated for FY 2000. These additional funds will primarily be used to cover operational costs, such as cost of living and rent adjustments, three FTEs, and funds for research and contractual. In FY 2001, NCD will build upon FY 2000 activities. NCD proposed activities for FY 2001 include the continuation of the second phase of the Disability Civil Rights Monitoring Project, which includes continued work from studies on the Fair Housing Act and the Rehabilitation Act that began in FY 2000; an assessment of the process for addressing civil rights compliance of various agencies at the regional and state levels; and a review of the implementation of the United Nations Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities within the U.S. federal agencies dealing with international disability issues. NCD's FY 2001 initiatives capitalize upon NCD's ability to play a unique and valuable role in the federal policy process. With this requested increase, NCD will continue to strengthen the linkage between the Administration, Congress, and the growing but often overlooked constituency of people with disabilities. In FY 2001, NCD is proposing to undertake major and important initiatives designed to markedly improve disability policy in this country. NCD has historically operated in a cost-effective manner, with a small core staff to identify issues and coordinate research projects. Much of our actual policy research is privatized through external contracts. NCD then considers the findings of this research and develops recommendations to the President and Congress based on this independent research. During FY 2001, NCD will continue its interagency policy liaison activities with the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other governmental entities. We will also continue to increase our outreach to people with disabilities and their families, national organizations concerned with disability policy as well as the private sector. In this way, we will be able to ensure that the policy guidance we provide to the President and Congress is truly representative of the needs and aspirations of people with disabilities. Conclusion. In conclusion, we are very excited about our planned activities for FY 2001 and we are requesting a total of $2,615,000. As an independent federal agency representing the concerns, needs, and interests of our constituents and yours currently 54 million Americans with disabilities and their families we will continue to provide the President and Congress with timely information and advice on the most important issues facing all Americans with disabilities. As the data from Census 2000 becomes available, we can expect the number of people with disabilities to grow. In any event, NCD will be ready to provide assistance to you and most importantly to people with disabilities. I hope you will contact NCD at any time if you need information regarding issues affecting people with disabilities. Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to present testimony on our FY 2001 Budget Request. APPENDIX A BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON WITNESSES Kate Pew Wolters, Vice Chairperson Kate P. Wolters of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is NCD's first vice chairperson. She was appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be a member of NCD on May 12, 1994. She currently serves as the chairperson of the board of trustees of the Steelcase Foundation. Ms. Wolters served as the executive director of the Steelcase Foundation from 1986 until 1996, at which time she was appointed chair. She received her bachelor's degree from Aquinas College and a master of social work degree from Michigan State University. She currently serves on the boards of the Council of Michigan Foundations, Aquinas College, Founders Trust Personal Bank, the Grand Rapids Art Museum Foundation, and the Disability Funders Network, and on the Michigan State University School of Social Sciences board of visitors. Ms. Wolters serves on the board of the Mary and Robert Pew Education Fund, and as chair of the Kate and Richard Wolters Foundation. Ethel D. Briggs Ethel D. Briggs is the NCD executive director. Since joining the NCD staff, she has also served as acting executive director, deputy director, and director of adult services. She is a former chief of the Office of Staff Development and Training for the Washington, D.C., Rehabilitation Services Administration. She has worked as a rehabilitation counselor supervisor, vocational rehabilitation counselor, and part-time instructor at George Washington University. Ms. Briggs, a long-time advocate for people with disabilities, graduated from North Carolina Central University and holds a master's degree in counseling from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was recognized by Dollar & Sense Magazine as one of the "Top 100 African-American Business and Professional Women of 1989." Ms. Briggs also was recognized by Outstanding Women in America in 1976 and by Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities in 1971. APPENDIX B Back to School on Civil Rights (2000) From Privileges to Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves (2000) Lift Every Voice: Modernizing Disability Policies and Programs to Serve a Diverse Nation (1999) Implementation of the National Voter Registration Act by State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies (1999) Lift Every Voice: Modernizing Disability Policies and Programs to Serve a Diverse Nation Executive Summary (1999) Enforcing the Civil Rights of Air Travelers with Disabilities: Recommendations for the Department of Transportation and Congress (1999) National Disability Policy: A Progress Report (1999) Grassroots Experiences with Government Programs and Disability Policy: Proceedings from a Public Hearing in New Orleans, Louisiana (1998) Reorienting Disability Research (1998) Access to Multimedia Technology by People with Sensory Disabilities (1998) National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, July 26, 1996 October 31, 1997 (1997) Removing Barriers to Work: Action Proposals for the 105th Congress and Beyond (1997) Equality of Opportunity: The Making of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1997) Impact of the Welfare Reform Legislation on Legal Immigrants with Disabilities (1997) Assisted Suicide: A Disability Perspective (1997) Achieving Independence: The Challenge for the 21st Century (1996) Foreign Policy and Disability (1996) Access to the Information Superhighway and Emerging Information Technologies by People with Disabilities (1996) Guidance from the Graphical User Interface (GUI) Experience: What GUI Teaches About Technology Access (1996) Improving the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Making Schools Work for All of America's Children Supplement (1996) Cognitive Impairments and the Application of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1996) Disability Perspectives and Recommendations on Proposals to Reform the Medicaid and Medicare Programs (1995) Voices of Freedom: America Speaks Out on the ADA (1995) Improving the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Making Schools Work for All of America's Children (1995) The Americans with Disabilities Act: Ensuring Equal Access to the American Dream (1995) Inclusionary Education for Students with Disabilities: Keeping the Promise (1994) Making Health Care Reform Work for Americans with Disabilities: Summary Information on Five "Town Meetings" on Health Care Reform (1994) Furthering the Goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act Through Disability Policy Research in the 1990s: Summary of Proceedings (1993) ADA Watch Year One: A Report to the President and the Congress on Progress in Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (1993) Meeting the Unique Needs of Minorities with Disabilities (1993) Serving the Nation's Students with Disabilities: Progress and Prospects (1993) Sharing the Risk and Ensuring Independence: A Disability Perspective on Access to Health Insurance and Health-Related Services (1993) Study on the Financing of Assistive Technology Devices and Services for Individuals with Disabilities (1993) Wilderness Accessibility for People with Disabilities: A Report to the President and the Congress of the United States on Section 507(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1992) The Impact of Exemplary Technology-Support Programs on Students with Disabilities (1991) The Education of Students with Disabilities: Where Do We Stand? (1989) On the Threshold of Independence (1988) Toward Independence: An Assessment of Federal Laws and Programs Affecting Persons with Disabilities With Legislative Recommendations (1986) In addition, the NCD publishes annual reports, positions papers, and a monthly newsletter, NCD Bulletin. All publications are free of charge, available in accessible formats, and on the Internet (http://www.ncd.gov). APPENDIX C MISSION OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY Overview and Purpose NCD is an independent federal agency led by 15 members appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The overall purpose of NCD is to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability; and to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society. Specific Duties The current statutory mandate of NCD includes the following:
International In 1995, NCD was designated by the Department of State to be the official contact point with the U.S. government for disability issues. Specifically, NCD interacts with the special rapporteur of United Nations Commission for Social Development on disability matters. Consumers Served and Current Activities While many government agencies deal with issues and programs affecting people with disabilities, NCD is the only federal agency charged with addressing, analyzing, and making recommendations on issues of public policy that affect people with disabilities regardless of age, disability type, perceived employment potential, economic need, specific functional ability, status as a veteran, or other individual circumstance. NCD recognizes its unique opportunity to facilitate independent living, community integration, and employment opportunities for people with disabilities by ensuring an informed and coordinated approach to addressing the concerns of persons with disabilities and eliminating barriers to their active participation in community and family life. NCD plays a major role in developing disability policy in America. In fact, it was NCD that originally proposed what eventually became ADA. NCD's present list of key issues includes improving personal assistance services, promoting health care reform, including students with disabilities in high-quality programs in typical neighborhood schools, promoting equal employment and community housing opportunities, monitoring the implementation of ADA, improving assistive technology, and ensuring that persons with disabilities who are members of minority groups fully participate in society. Statutory History NCD was initially established in 1978 as an advisory board within the Department of Education (Public Law 95-602). The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1984 (Public Law 98-221) transformed NCD into an independent agency. HOME | FAQs | NEWSROOM | SITE MAP | FEDERAL AGENCIES | RESOURCES |
