[Nfbmo] Fw: [Missouri-l] A suggested plan of action.

Sun Mar 25 12:51:05 UTC 2012

From: Denny Huff 
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2012 6:54 AM
To: ew at moblind.org 
Cc: A private list for MCB board members. ; Missouri-L 
Subject: [Missouri-l] A suggested plan of action.

OK everybody, here is an outline of the plan we have come up with.  I hope that many of you are already doing some of these, but hopefully we can organize and really make an impact on the legislators in Missouri over the next few weeks.

First of all let me emphasize that although we initially thought we had tremendous support from the senate on this, it seems as though the climate is turning and we don’t have the support we thought we had.  This just happened in the past 24 hours.  As to why it happened, we don’t know.  It just makes our job that much more difficult.  It’s like pushing a boulder uphill and we need as many people as possible putting their shoulder to that boulder.

Next I am going to give you the names, email addresses and phone numbers of the senate appropriation committee.  These are the people we need to hit first.  Their phone needs to be ringing at 9:00 on Tuesday morning with opposition to house bill 2011.

      Senator
     Email
     Phone

      Kurt Schaefer, District 19
     Kurt.Schaefer at senate.mo.gov
     751-3931

      Dan Brown, District 16
     Dan.Brown at senate.mo.gov
     751-5713

      Will Kraus, District 9
     Will.Kraus at senate.mo.gov
     751-1464

      Jim Lembke, District 1
     JLembke at senate.mo.gov
     751-2315

      David Pearce, District 31
     David.Pearce at senate.mo.gov
     751-2272

      Ron Richard, District 32
     ronald.richard at senate.mo.gov
     751-2173

      Rob Schaaf, District 34
     rob.schaaf at senate.mo.gov
     751-2183

      S. Kiki Curls, District 9
     shalonn.curls at senate.mo.gov
     751-3158

      Timothy P. Green, District 13
     timothy_green at senate.mo.gov
     751-2420

Next I will give you the name of the senate appropriations committee chair.  Even if he isn’t in your district he needs to hear from us loud and clearly.

Kirk Schaefer

201 W Capitol Ave., Rm. 420

Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

(573) 751-3931

FAX: (573) 751-4320

Kurt.Schaefer at senate.mo.gov 

I want to also give you the name of the senate president pro tem.  Robert Mayor has previously stated that he would never support passage of this bill.  That was even referred to in a letter to one of our members from another senator on this matter.  He needs to be called and encouraged to continue to support the blind and not turn against us.

Senator Robert Mayor

201 W Capitol Ave., Rm. 326

Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

(573) 751-3859

FAX: (573) 526-1384

Rob.Mayer at senate.mo.gov

Next, through the efforts of several leaders of the blind community a list of arguments has been put together to refer to when talking to our senators.  This information needs to be spread far and wide but mainly to the legislators.

Concerns Regarding Points Made During House Debate

Argument: If the program didn't exist today, who in this chamber would rise to create it?

Response: The issue is not what we would create today but what has existed for nearly 50 years. Blind Missourians who qualify for the blind pension have weighed their options for medical care and have chosen the ones that have made the most economic sense. Many have incomes that are low enough to exclude them from purchasing insurance on the regular market, and still others have been on this medical care long enough that they have pre-existing conditions which will keep them from getting affordable rates if they can find insurance at all. The argument that, under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies will have to accept all applicants, regardless their pre-existing conditions, makes no difference today. The relevant portion of the law does not take effect until 2014, and there is no certainty at this point it will be found constitutional or that the congress will not nullify it.

Argument: Since the blind pension is conditioned on assets rather than income, Stevie Wonder could receive benefits if he lived in this state. 

Response: Given that only ones home and personal jewelry are excluded from asset calculation, this argument is foolish on its face. Just one of Stevie Wonder's limousines is likely to disqualify him from the pension, as would other houses, high-tech recording equipment, and all of the possessions that one who has sold the number of records he has will likely have accumulated.

Argument: Many people who receive the medical care that goes along with blind pension are employed and have no real need for it.

Response: More than 70% of the blind population is unemployed. A goodly number of those who are employed work in sheltered workshops which qualify for certificates that will allow them to pay their blind employees less than the federal minimum wage. Recipients of blind pension who are gainfully employed and have medical insurance as a result of their work would only use the benefit after their primary and secondary insurance has paid. Before making a drastic change to this program based on the supposition that there is a number of undeserving people, who are recipients, compile the data and understand the effect this change will have on living breathing people. Don't let the data come from what we come to see in emergency rooms and nursing homes as blind people fall through the safety net.

Argument: Blind people get more than others who are disabled.

Response: The word disability is a term that hints at some kind of physical or mental problem, but is so generic that, in terms of devising concrete programs, it is quite ineffective. Think how diverse the needs of people who are classified as disabled are. A young woman is considered disabled if she is severely profoundly retarded and requires the most basic care--feeding, diapering, and 24 hour supervision. The construction worker who hurts his back is disabled if he can no longer work in his profession, but he will still be able to drive, read, make out his checks, and go to the grocery store independently. Certainly it is clear that people who are blind fall somewhere between these extremes. To suggest that the blind person needs as much assistance from the state as one of her severely profoundly retarded citizens is as absurd as to suggest that the person with a back injury requires the same kind of assistance as the blind.

We are in the process of putting together a petition to reach to all Missourians.  As soon as we have the petition ready we will send you the address and hopefully you will distribute it to all of your family friends and encourage them to sign it and send it on to their contacts.

On April 4th there will be a Disability Days Rally at the capital in Jefferson City.  I encourage as many of you as possible to attend this  and join other disability groups to let our unified voice be heard.  We need to show the legislators that we are all in this together and no one disability group stands alone.

Legislators - Take Note - We Vote!

·        Disability rights are civil rights.  These are rights that affect us all; any of us may need these rights one day.

·        The disability community makes up approximately 20% of the U.S. population.

·        The disability population in Missouri is nearly 1 million people1. We also have friends and families that vote with disability rights in mind.

·        Persons with disabilities are active voters and pay attention to how their legislators act on disability issues.  We vote!

Take Note!

We Want Legislators to...

·       support budget items that help us live in our communities -  like money in HB2010 for the Developmental Disabilities Wait List (a.k.a. “utilization increase”)!

·       support access to Medicaid for the blind!

·       move the state from institutionalizing us to making sure we can all live real lives in the community, not nursing homes or habilitation centers!

·       support policy that results in people with disabilities getting real jobs for real wages!

·       support policies that result in more inclusive schools and transition programs that result in people getting real lives after high school!

·       protect all students from bullying!

We want legislators to share these priorities!  

Go online to:

www.mo.gov/disability/gcd/     Learn more about the Governor’s Council on Disability

www.at.mo.gov/listserv.html  To get updates through MO Disability Legislative Listserv

www.MOSILC.org                  Find your Center for Independent Living

www.PeopleFirst.org                Find your local People First Chapter

www.arcofmissouri.org             Missouri Can’t Wait! Let’s end the waiting list

www.mpcdd.org                  Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council

www.tinyurl.com/7c5f2zn   Community Action Network Legislative Updates                    

1U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Data & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010 Disability and Health Data System (DHDS)

_____________________________________________________________________________

Denny Huff- President

Missouri Council of the Blind

P: (636) 262-1383

TF: (888) 362-1383

F: (314) 558-0298

Phone Cast: (816) 298-8969

DHuff at MoBlind.Org

www.moblind.org

The purpose of Missouri Council of the Blind shall be to promote the general well-being of our members and legally blind people in Missouri, and to support

or participate in other programs promoting the best interests of legally blind people everywhere.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE JOURNEY

Your host: Denny Huff

Listen live,

SUNDAY MORNINGS AT 8:00 AM CST

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