<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><br><br>Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> "Danielsen, Chris via NFBNet-Members-List" <<a href="mailto:nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org">nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org</a>><br><b>Date:</b> September 12, 2017 at 2:10:03 PM CDT<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org">nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org</a><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[Nfbnet-members-list] Let’s unlock the untapped potential among millions of disabled people</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> "Danielsen, Chris" <<a href="mailto:CDanielsen@nfb.org">CDanielsen@nfb.org</a>><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div>
<br>
Let's unlock the untapped potential among millions of disabled
people<br><br>
By Representative Gregg Harper<br><br>
The Hill – September 11, 2017<br><br>
It seems that the more time passes, the faster time flies. It feels like
just yesterday that my wife, Sidney, and I were bringing home our
daughter, Maggie, from the hospital, and then a few years later, our son,
Livingston.<br><br>
Through our time as parents, Sidney and I have made it a priority to
teach our children the value of hard work, and we feel strongly that time
spent on hard work should be valued and appreciated. It has been our
privilege to watch Livingston, now 28, learn that appreciation for hard
work and persevere despite being diagnosed with an intellectual
disability known as Fragile X Syndrome. <br><br>
Through his hard work, Livingston became one of the first graduates of
Mississippi State University’s Access Program for students with
intellectual disabilities, and now is a dedicated part-time employee at
Primo’s Café near our home in Mississippi. Livingston is loved at work
for his positive attitude and appreciated for his commitment and
enthusiasm.<br><br>
There are many Americans across the country who are dedicated
contributors to the workforce despite having a disabilities.
Unfortunately, under current law, these hard-working men and women can be
paid less than the lowest legal wage because of their disabilities. This
policy is based on a Depression-era mentality embodying low expectations
for people with disabilities; however, I know from personal experience
that if given the chance to contribute, many Americans with disabilities
want to and will help to provide for themselves.<br><br>
That is why I am proud to have introduced the Transitioning to Integrated
and Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act earlier this year. This bill would
eliminate an antiquated provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act that
allows the Department of Labor to issue special certificates to employers
so they can pay subminimum wages to workers with disabilities. When this
program was created in 1938, it was an exercise in charity. Today it is
paternalistic and costly while failing in its goal of improving economic
freedom and employment for Americans with disabilities.<br><br>
The TIME Act will responsibly phase out and repeal Section 14(c) of the
Fair Labor Standards Act without raising the minimum wage. The original
intent of this provision was to incentivize businesses to hire veterans
with disabilities after World War I, but it has failed to achieve this
outcome. Rather than increasing the number of workers with disabilities
in integrated, community-based jobs at competitive wages, the exemption
has stimulated an explosion of nonprofit entities that receive government
money, preferential government contracts and even charitable
contributions. While they may have good intentions, in reality their
business models hold Americans with disabilities back.<br><br>
Nonprofit entities with special wage certificates usually isolate people
with disabilities in what are known as “sheltered workshops,†where
they are hidden from the rest of society and usually perform menial jobs
that are not available in the competitive economy. Proponents of the
sheltered workshop model often argue that these programs offer workers
with disabilities the opportunity to learn valuable skills and move on to
more competitive and better-paying work. However, research reveals that
95 percent of all workers who start out in sheltered workshops never
leave. Additionally, people with disabilities still experience extremely
low levels of employment and excessive dependency on government
assistance, meaning the program is failing in its purported
goals.<br><br>
Research shows that the sheltered workshop model costs more, despite
paying disabled workers less than the minimum wage, but produces less
than investments in customized or supported employment in integrated
settings. Worse, people with disabilities have to break bad habits they
learned in sheltered workshops. This means subminimum wage employment is
more than just a step in the wrong direction — it’s two steps back for
people with disabilities. It’s time to abandon this broken
system.<br><br>
As a committed conservative, I believe firmly in the rule of law and in
the notion that we are all equal in the eyes of the law. Section 14(c)
enshrines the idea that those with disabilities are unequal under the law
and dooms them to a fate of menial and unfulfilling work for the rest of
their lives. The current policy also guarantees that Americans with
disabilities will remain dependent on government assistance from programs
such as Supplemental Security Income and the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program. These programs are designed to provide for those in
extreme poverty; work is supposed to relieve such poverty. Furthermore,
taxpayers also have to pay the costs incurred by the Department of Labor
to make sure that subminimum-wage employers are complying with the
complex rules that govern the special certificate program.<br><br>
It has been my pleasure to represent the people of the 3rd District of
Mississippi since 2009 and to advance conservative policies and values
while doing so. There is no more conservative value than to insist that
all people have the opportunity to work hard, compete and succeed in the
marketplace on the same terms as everyone else. The TIME Act would not
only achieve this objective; it would unlock currently untapped human
potential among the millions of disabled people who want to work and
compete for good jobs, reduce their reliance on government assistance,
and shrink the size of the federal government.<br><br>
This issue goes to the heart of what it means to pursue personal and
economic freedom and to achieve the American dream. Section 14(c) stands
in the way of allowing many, just like Livingston, to do that and
therefore should be responsibly phased out by passing the TIME Act. With
a national employment rate of just 35.2 percent for the disabled, it’s
clear that the current model is broken. Our disabled Americans should
have the opportunity to earn the same wages as their colleagues. Now is
the time to act.<br><br>
Harper represents Mississippi’s 3rd District.<br><br>
<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/350125-lets-unlock-the-untapped-potential-among-millions-of-disabled">
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/350125-lets-unlock-the-untapped-potential-among-millions-of-disabled</a>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
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