For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 1, 2001
Remarks by the President in Announcement of New Freedom Initiative
The East Room
Read the New Freedom Initiative:
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1:10 P.M. EST
THE
PRESIDENT: Steven, you were brilliant in your introduction.
Little did we know -- we kind of thought we'd be sitting here during
the California race, didn't we? But here we are, and thank
you so much for being here.
I'm so
honored that you all are here. I appreciate the folks who
served on my coalition for people with disabilities. There's
one hero here that I got to know during the campaign -- his name is Jim
Mullen. Jim is from Chicago. He's a police
officer, wounded in the course of duty, who is a courageous, fine
American. And, Jim, thank you so very much for coming
today. (Applause.)
I'm glad
the First Lady is here. It's an unusual job where all you've
got to do is walk down from your living room and come to work.
(Laughter.) I'm really proud of Laura.
It's good
to see members of the Congress who are here. Thank you all
for coming as well. I'm especially pleased that people from
all around the country have taken time to help kick off this important
initiative.
One of the
things I enjoy most about my new job is the walk I get to take every
single morning, up the colonnade from the residence to the Oval
Office. I say "up," because the path rises just
slightly. It's been that way since they took out the steps,
so that Franklin Roosevelt could make it to his place of work.
This house
is among the first places in America to accommodate people with
disabilities. And we have come a long way since the days
when only a President could hope for that consideration. We
are more mindful now of the hardships that come with disability, more
generous in responding to the needs of our citizens, more grateful for
the contributions you make to our society.
Old
misconceptions about physical and mental disability are being
discredited. Old barriers are falling away. Our
task is now clear: We must speed up the day when the last
barrier has been removed to full and independent lives for every
American with or without disability. (Applause.)
I am proud
that the last great reform in this cause, the Americans With Disability
Act, bears the signature of my dad. (Applause.) I see many
in this audience who helped him get this important legislation through
Congress, and I want to thank you for coming. Because of
that law, millions of Americans can now compete for jobs once denied
them; enter buildings once closed to them; travel on buses and trains
once unequipped for them.
For those
who have hearing or visual impairments, for those who use walkers and
wheelchairs or have mental retardation and mental illnesses, your own
country now seems a more welcoming place as a result of that
law. Eleven years after the ADA, we are a better country for
it.
But there
is more to do, and today I propose we move forward. This morning I
sent to Congress a set of proposals called the New Freedom
Initiative. It is an important step in ensuring that all
Americans with disabilities, whether young or old, can participate more
fully in the life of their communities and of our country.
Wherever a
door is closed to anyone because of a disability, we must work to open
it. Wherever any job or home, or means of transportation is
unfairly denied because of a disability, we must work to change it.
Wherever any barrier stands between you and the full rights and dignity
of citizenship, we must work to remove it, in the name of simple
decency and simple justice.
Often, as
you know, such barriers are unintentional. One is the high
cost of assistive technologies. For many people with
disabilities, new technologies are helping to defeat dependence and
frustration and isolation: Text telephones for those with
hearing impairments. Computer monitors for those with visual
impairments. Infrared pointers for people who cannot use
their hands, allowing them to operate computers by pointing at
functions on the monitor or the keyboard. Lighter
wheelchairs. Lighter artificial limbs.
These
modern wonders make the world more accessible; yet, they are often
inaccessible to people who need, but cannot afford
them. These technologies were once beyond the dreams of
Americans with disabilities. Today, they're only beyond their means;
and we can help.
In our New
Freedom Initiative, we're asking Congress to significantly increase
federal funding for low-interest loans so that more Americans with
disabilities can purchase assistive technology. And to
ensure that even better technologies are available in the future, we're
asking Congress to increase federal investment in assistive technology
research and development.
My
administration will also work with businesses to bring more assisting
technologies to the marketplace. Once available, these
technologies will allow Americans with disabilities to use more of
their own gifts, make more of their own choices and lead lives of
greater independence.
Many
Americans with disabilities work, or would like to have more freedom to
do so. And you know that the greatest challenges are often
not in the job itself, but in the distance between your job and your
home. For some people with disabilities, this challenge
means no job at all; no opportunity to work and to contribute and to
use their talents.
This is
changing as more Americans work at home. Yet here, too, the
cost of computers and telecommuting are sometimes beyond the means of
those with disabilities. And we can help. In our
New Freedom Initiative, we are asking Congress to create a fund to help
people with disabilities to buy the equipment they need to
telecommute. We will provide tax incentives to encourage
employers to provide such equipment. And we will protect
home offices from needless OSHA regulations.
Some 40
million Americans today work out of their homes. For most,
it is a convenience. For workers with disabilities, it is a
revolution. And we want as many Americans as possible to
share in this revolution of independence. (Applause.)
Our plans
also include transportation solutions and we want as many Americans as
possible to share in this revolution of
independence. (Applause.) Our plans also include
transportation solutions for people with
disabilities. Specifically, we're asking Congress to fund
pilot programs for innovative transportation plans that serve people
with disabilities. And we'll provide federal matching grants
to community groups to provide alternative methods of transportation.
There are
several additional proposals in this package, but let me just mention
one more. We will provide additional funding each year to
help churches, synagogues, mosques and other civic groups become more
fully accessible to all Americans. (Applause.) In
many houses of worship and civic centers, Intentions are good, but
resources are scarce. We can help make these community
places open to all.
I've often
talked about the goal of a welcoming society, a nation where no one is
dismissed or forgotten. Our progress toward that goal is
really the great American story. It is a story of inclusion
and protection extending across our history to more and more
Americans.
And that
story's not over. There is still work to do. We
must all do our duty and play our part. And I hope today we
have made a good beginning. (Applause.)
END 1:20
P.M. EST
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