NCD Bulletin
A Monthly Publication of the National Council on Disability (NCD)

Marca Bristo, Chairperson
August 1999

The Bulletin, which is free of charge, and at NCD’s award-winning Web site (http://www.ncd.gov), brings you the latest issues and news affecting people with disabilities. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the NCD listserv, send a blank e-mail to add-bulletin@list.ncd.gov or remove-bulletin@list.ncd.gov. No need to write anything in the subject line or body. Please send your editorial comments to Bulletin editor Mark S. Quigley (mquigley@ncd.gov).

Civil Rights Update

Responding 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, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is now publishing a tabulation of the disability-related complaints received by DOT against individual airlines. This information can be found in the Air Travel Consumer Report at DOT's Web site (http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/index1.htm). Consumers with disabilities may file complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, 400 7th Street SW, Room 4107, Washington, DC 20590; by e-mail at airconsumer@ost.dot.gov; or by voice mail at 202-366-2220.

On August 31, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Thomas Bradley v. Arkansas Department of Education that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act as they relate to state and local governments are unconstitutional. The Court made reference to its finding that IDEA's provisions abrogating a state's Eleventh Amendment immunity were an invalid exercise of Congress's power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court also opined that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is an invalid exercise of Congress's Section 5 power and is not a valid exercise of Congress's spending power. Previously, on July 23, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in C. B. Alsbrook v. City of Maumelle, Arkansas that Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as it relates to state and local governments is unconstitutional for reasons similar to those cited in Bradley. With other Circuit Courts ruling that Title II of ADA is constitutional, the stage is set for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on this critical issue. These opinions can be found on the Internet (http://www.ls.wustl.edu/8th.cir/opinions.html). The 8th Circuit includes Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Work Incentives Improvement Act Update

Since passing in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 99-0, the Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 appears to be stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee. There are currently 231 House cosponsors. The bill in its current form would, among other things, allow states to opt to permit people with disabilities to return to work without losing their Medicare or Medicaid health insurance benefits. It is supported by President Clinton, the National Council on Independent Living, and many other national and community-based organizations. The House returns from its summer recess on September 7.

New Government Web Sites

On August 2, surgeon general David Satcher, MD, announced that the Office of Women's Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has opened its new resource center for women with disabilities as part of its expanding National Women's Health Information Center. The center will offer summaries about critical health issues for a variety of disabilities, including physical, neurological, hearing, speech, and visual impairment. The Web site (http://www.4woman.gov) will also provide information on mental, learning, and developmental disabilities. There is also a toll-free information number (1-800-994-9662 or 1-800-220-5446 TTY).

Kenneth S. Apfel, commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), and Susan Daniels, deputy commissioner for Disability Income and Security Programs, announced the establishment of the Office of Employment Support Programs (OESP), which will improve SSA's service to people with disabilities who want to work. Current information about various employment support issues can be found at SSA's Web page (http://www.ssa.gov/work) or by writing to OESP at SSA, Office of Employment Support Programs, 107 Altmeyer Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235.

International Update

The Inter-American Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination for Reasons of Disability was adopted by a number of member states at the first plenary session of the Twenty-Ninth Regular Session of the Organization of American States in Guatemala on June 7, 1999. This convention, which seeks to set enforceable and achievable standards for the equitable treatment of persons with disabilities throughout the hemisphere, has not yet been adopted by the United States. Copies of the convention may be found on the Internet (http://www.oas.org/assembly/eng/apr1608.htm).

This summer, NCD's International Committee chairperson, Yerker Andersson, PhD, received the 1999 Preminger Award for international leadership from the People to People Committee on Disability, which was founded in 1956 by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The award is named in honor of Madeline Preminger, who was the divorced wife of film giant Otto Preminger and former nurse to Dr. Albert Schweitzer. Mrs. Preminger endowed People to People with this bronze medal to annually honor an international volunteer who works for the equal rights of persons with disabilities. Previous recipients have included Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and Mrs. Estelle Kissinger.