DREDF eNews Volume 2, No. 2 February 10, 2009 In This Issue: The Stimulus Bills & Disability Rights TAKE ACTION! Dear Friends, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 offers an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen civil rights for people with disabilities. This week the Senate passed the stimulus bill and now differences between the House and Senate versions will be reconciled in conference. This is our chance to tell Congress to heighten attention to disability rights. The Stimulus Bill Offers Opportunities for Real ADA Implementation in Healthcare Facilities and Services, and to Spur Health Research and Professional Training Let Congress know that: -- The stimulus package must include a requirement that recipients of funds implement all civil rights laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) -- Increases of as much as $87 billion for Medicaid should trigger assurances that states, health plan organizations and medical facilities and services must comply with architectural and programmatic access requirements of the ADA including methods to enhance oversight, accountability and reporting -- Increases of about $1.1 billion for research by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) should trigger the full inclusion of the research needs of people with disabilities including health disparities research -- Increases of about $1.5 billion for Community Health Clinics (CHCs) to increase health care for uninsured Americans should trigger a requirement that new examination equipment be accessible, materials be available in accessible formats and that health information technology be accessible -- Increases of $600 million for reimbursement of the cost of medical school by service through the National Health Services Corps should include recognition that people with disabilities are among the underserved communities and populations that experience shortages of trained primary healthcare providers Read DREDF's letter to the Senate on the stimulus bill at http://www.dredf.org/dredf_highlights/DREDF_Economic_Recovery_Bill_Senate_letter.pdf Take action now. Urge Congress to ensure that the stimulus bill calls for heightened attention to disability rights. There are links to a list of your Members of Congress below. Resources The Senate Bill http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.00001: The House Bill http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:2:./temp/~c111PjzNvv:: Disability Community Calls for Action: CCD http://www.dredf.org/dredf_highlights/CCDEconomicRecovrey122308-1.pdf AAPD http://www.jfactivist.org/ Your Members of Congress: Senators http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm Representatives http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml Donate http://www.dredf.org/donate.shtml Combined Federal Campaign #11944 Contact Us mailto:info@dredf.org http://www.dredf.org 2212 Sixth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 510-644-2555 DREDF is grateful to the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefits Program for a grant to support this newsletter. Copyright 2009