|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| PRESIDENT CLINTON UNVEILS THE COMPLETION |
| OF THE FDR MEMORIAL AND HONORS FDR?S LEGACY |
| January 10, 2001 |
| |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Today, at the celebration of the completion of the Franklin Delano
Roosevelt Memorial, the President will take new actions to continue FDR?s
legacy of empowering all Americans, and to reaffirm the Clinton-Gore
Administration?s commitment to the goals of equal opportunity, full
participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for all
Americans, including people with disabilities. The President will announce
guidance by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help
individuals with disabilities move from institutions to home- and
community-based settings. He also will highlight a report by the
President?s Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities that
documents the Administration?s accomplishments and includes the Task
Force?s recommendations for further steps in promoting the employment of
Americans with disabilities. President Clinton will launch the new
President?s Disability Employment Board charged with promoting
public-private partnerships to increase the economic opportunities of
people with disabilities. Finally, he will announce a rule that the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) plans to finalize,
extending earned-income disregards as an employment incentive for
individuals with disabilities to a broader range of housing assistance
programs.
Unveiling the Completion of the FDR Memorial. Today, the President will
dedicate the completed FDR Memorial, including an additional outdoor room
at the main entrance depicting FDR in the small wheelchair he invented.
Announced by Vice President Gore on July 2, 1998, this outdoor sculpture
will complete the Memorial to honor the 32nd President of the United
States. The Clinton-Gore Administration also helped secure $3 million last
year to fund the Memorial completion, whose design shows how FDR became one
of our greatest presidents while living with a disability, and left a
lasting legacy of empowerment for all Americans.
Promoting Home- and Community-based Care for People with Disabilities.
Today, HHS will release guidance for all 50 states to explain new
regulations that invest $1 billion over 10 years to enable states to extend
Medicaid coverage to more people with disabilities who need services and
supports to live in the community. The guidance also includes information
on how states can apply for: $50 million in systems change grants to help
states improve the health and long-term care systems that make it possible
for people with disabilities to live in their communities, and $20 million
in grant funds from HHS, in coordination with HUD, to assist individuals
transitioning from institutional to community-based care settings and to
improve consumer-directed personal assistance services as part of Access
Housing 2000. HCFA also is releasing guidance regarding the design and
operation of home- and community-based services waivers.
Reporting Progress and Next Steps in Promoting Employment of Adults with
Disabilities. As directed by the President in Executive Order 13078, the
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities is
releasing its third annual report today, documenting the Administration?s
activities in promoting employment of Americans with disabilities over the
past year and offering recommendations for the future. The report commends
the Clinton-Gore Administration for acting on last year?s recommendations
and includes a dedication to the President, Vice-President, and Members of
the Cabinet on the Task Force for their leadership and commitment over the
years to improving the lives of millions of individuals with disabilities.
Fostering Public-Private Partnerships to Improve Economic Opportunities for
Americans with Disabilities. The President will fulfill one of the
recommendations included in last year?s report by signing an Executive
Order to create the President?s Disability Employment Partnership Board.
This new Board, whose membership will include representatives from across
the private sector, will give advice and help facilitate public-private
partnerships aimed at increasing employment and other economic
opportunities for individuals with disabilities. This Board will serve
within the new Office of Disability Employment Policy, which the President
proposed in his FY2001 budget and is funded in the final FY2001
Consolidated Omnibus Appropriations bill.
Expanding Employment Incentives for People with Disabilities to a Broader
Range of Housing Assistance Programs. Today the President also will
announce that HUD will be publishing a final rule to expand incentives for
employment for people with disabilities, the rule will extend earned income
disregards, currently applicable only to public housing, to tenant-based
Section 8 housing vouchers, the HOME program, the Housing for Opportunities
for People with AIDS program, and the Supportive Housing for the Homeless
program. The rule, announced as a proposal by the Vice President in
commemorating the 10th anniversary of the ADA, also clarifies that
deductions for disability-related expenses, such as medical or attendant
care expenses, are applicable to the entire range of HUD housing programs.
Improving Disability Benefit Claims Processing. As the Clinton-Gore
Administration takes steps to promote employment access for people with
disabilities, President Clinton also will be announcing improvements to the
administration of programs for those who cannot work. The Social Security
Administration is preparing to publish a proposed rule that would improve
the consistency, accuracy, and efficiency of the process for determining
whether a claimant is disabled for Disability Insurance, Supplemental
Security Income, Medicare and Medicaid. These proposed changes, which come
after years of exploration, have been in place in 10 States on a test basis
for the past year with positive results. The changes would streamline
claims processing, eliminate bureaucratic hurdles for claimants who wish to
appeal, and improve communication between claimants and disability
adjudicators.
# # #
President and First Lady | Vice President and Mrs. Gore
Record of Progress | The Briefing Room
Gateway to Government | Contacting the White House | White House for Kids
White House History | White House Tours | Help
Privacy Statement