Activist explains how Obama stimulus package helps people with disabilities

An article by Mike Ervin in The Progressive. Ervin is a Chicago-based writer and a disability-rights activist with ADAPT (www.adapt.org). He can be reached at pmproj@progressive.org.

For the first time in many years, the White House is taking the side of people with disabilities.

In his economic stimulus package that became law, President Obama included several provisions that will have a positive effect for this community.

The first is a one-time additional payment of $250 to people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other selected Social Security benefits. Many SSI recipients live on less than $10,000 a year, and so this additional income will make a significant difference.

Second, the stimulus package also allocates $500 million to help the Social Security Administration reduce the processing time for claims and appeals decisions. During the Bush years, the number of people awaiting final determination on their Social Security disability claims more than doubled to 755,000. Many were waiting two years or more for determination, without income. Obama’s allocation should help end this disgrace.

Third, state governments will also receive an $87 million increase in the federal government’s share of Medicaid spending. At least 22 states and the District of Columbia are cutting or proposing cuts to medical, rehabilitative, home care or other essential services for low-income people who are elderly or have disabilities, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. An infusion of new Medicaid funds should help states preserve these programs and the jobs they generate.

More creatively, Obama provided $140 million to support centers for independent living. These nonresidential centers are run by people with disabilities and are focal points for services and advocacy. There are hundreds of these centers throughout the United States, providing thousands of good jobs for people with disabilities and others in their communities.

The stimulus package will also invest in the future by providing $540 million for vocational rehabilitation programs, which assist people with disabilities in obtaining higher education and jobs.

And finally, Obama has set aside more than $11 billion for states to meet their obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mandates a free and appropriate public education for all children with disabilities.

Republicans have criticized Obama for including such items in the stimulus package. But he has a much more comprehensive concept of economic stimulus than the Bush administration.

And that is good news for people with disabilities.