[rehab] Fw: [fcb-l] FW: [rehab-issues] FW: IMPORTANT READ - FW: NRA'SWASHINGTON WIRE: ALERT -- ALERT -- CALL TO ACTION -- RSACOMMISSIONER'S POSITION IN JEOPARDY
RJ Sandefur
joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com
Thu May 12 20:54:41 UTC 2011
Thought I'd send this out. RJ
----- Original Message -----
From: Edwards, Paul
To: 'fcb-l at acb.org' ; Barbara Moyer at home ; Barbara Moyer at work ; Claire Critzer ; Colleen Fix Huff ; David New ; Edwards, Paul ; Gabriel Lopez ; Hughes, Victoria ; Izquierdo,Jose ; James Kracht ; Janet Acheson ; Jeff Zavac ; Jesus Garcia at home ; Jim Kracht at work ; John YOunt ; Jose Izquierdo at home ; Laurel Lyew Sang ; Marilyn Millsap ; Marshall Oletzky ; Mikey Wiseman ; Milica Trpevska ; OttoZamora ; Pat Kracht ; Paul Edwards at home ; Rachel Hamilton ; Ramon de Leon ; Sally Benjamin ; Talibah Adisa ; Victor Brown ; Virginia Jacko
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 3:26 PM
Subject: [fcb-l] FW: [rehab-issues] FW: IMPORTANT READ - FW: NRA'SWASHINGTON WIRE: ALERT -- ALERT -- CALL TO ACTION -- RSACOMMISSIONER'S POSITION IN JEOPARDY
From: rehab-issues-bounces at acb.org [mailto:rehab-issues-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of Doug Powell
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 1:55 PM
To: 'leadership'; rehab-issues at acb.org; odcbvi at yahoogroups.com; nova-acb at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [rehab-issues] FW: IMPORTANT READ - FW: NRA'S WASHINGTON WIRE: ALERT -- ALERT -- CALL TO ACTION -- RSA COMMISSIONER'S POSITION IN JEOPARDY
Importance: High
We may not always agree with Lynae, but I think we can all agree that the position should be fully empowered for when Mitch gets appointed...
Doug Powell
703-573-5107 h
571-438-7750 c
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From: Marlene Malloy [mailto:marlene at mrccouncil.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 1:38 PM
To: ncsrc at mrccouncil.org
Subject: IMPORTANT READ - FW: NRA'S WASHINGTON WIRE: ALERT -- ALERT -- CALL TO ACTION -- RSA COMMISSIONER'S POSITION IN JEOPARDY
Importance: High
Please scroll down.
Marlene S. Malloy
Chair
National Coalition of State Rehabilitation Councils
CO/MI Rehabilitation Council
3490 Belle Chase Way, Suite 110
Lansing, MI 48911
517/887.9370, extension 1
517/887.9369 - Fax
877/335.9370 - Toll Free
marlene at mrccouncil.org
www.ncsrc.net
Confidentiality Notice - This message, including any attachments, is intended solely for the use of the named recipient(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, or distribution of this communication is expressly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and destroy any and all copies of the original message. The Michigan Rehabilitation Council accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this e-mail. Thank you.
From: Sandra Mulliner [mailto:sandra at nationalrehab.org]
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 9:38 AM
To: Ms. Marlene S. Malloy
Subject: NRA'S WASHINGTON WIRE: ALERT -- ALERT -- CALL TO ACTION -- RSA COMMISSIONER'S POSITION IN JEOPARDY
To: All Members of the National Rehabilitation Association
From: Patricia Leahy , Director of Government Affairs
Re: Some in Congress Trying to Downgrade the Commissioner of RSA
Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2011
For those who read on the run, take a minute, please, to read this important Alert.
There is a bill presently pending in the Senate Rules Committee, S. 679, the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011, that would, if enacted, REMOVE confirmation by the full U.S. Senate of the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) in the U.S. Department of Education.
The purpose of the bill is to reduce the number of Presidential appointees who require Senate confirmation. While the National Rehabilitation Association appreciates the amount of time, talent and paperwork that is involved with a Senate confirmation, we also believe that the Commissioner of RSA is important to all Americans with disabilities and should remain a Presidential appointee, WITH FULL U.S. SENATE CONFIRMATION.
Why is this so important? Because removing the Senate confirmation opens the door to the Commissioner of RSA being downgraded from a Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation to a Director appointed by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. This may not happen immediately, but as many of you know, once you open the door to downgrading, it is very difficult or almost impossible to close it. And, yes, under this bill the Commissioner remains a Presidential Appointment, but would not enjoy full U.S. Senate confirmation which, I assure you, is an incremental downgrading of the position.
And, as you are aware, the National Rehabilitation Association has had an Issues Statement on retaining the Commissioner of RSA as a Presidential Appointee, with full Senate confirmation, for years.
As many of you know, some of the most powerful positions in the Nation's Capital are individuals who are appointed by the President with full U.S. Senate confirmation. The Commissioner of RSA and, more importantly, those whom the Commissioner serves, along with the State VR agencies/partners, are adult Americans with some of the most significant disabilities who wish to have the three Cs of life: A college education; a career; and community living.
There is no other office in the U.S. Department of Education that focuses on securing quality employment in competitive, integrated settings for adult Americans with disabilities than the Rehabilitation Services Administration.
The National Rehabilitation Association believes that any downgrading of the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration would devalue not only adult Americans with disabilities, especially those Americans with significant disabilities, but also the State/Federal Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Program.
The Commissioner of RSA, most often an individual with a significant disability, administers in conjunction with the State VR Agencies, one of the most important and success job training and placement programs in our great country -- the programs under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which has enjoyed bipartisan support for decades.
The State/Federal/Public/Private VR program has an impressive return on investment. And, if you have attended NRA's Government Affairs Summit, you know we, and in particular, Kathy West-Evans, Founder and Director of the National Employment Team (NET), have shared this information with you over the years. We again ask that you reach out to your RESPECTIVE Members of Congress to advise them that the VR Program:
-- In 2010, assisted 171,962 VR consumers entering employment in the competitive labor
market and became wage earners;
-- In many cases, these same adult Americans with disabilities left government-supported
programs to become tax-paying citizens and contribute to America 's economic recovery;
-- Together, these Americans earned about $3 billion in wages in their first year of work and
paid close to $1 billion in federal, state and local taxes;
-- They will pay back the cost of their VR services in two to four years;
-- A portion of VR consumers are Social Security beneficiaries with significant disabilities.
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), VR's assistance to these SSA
recipients will result in a projected lifetime SSA recoupment rate of $7.00 to every $1.00
reimbursement to VR.
-- These former SSA beneficiaries will generate $828 million in savings to the Social
Security Trust Fund and the Federal Treasury.
In the interest of your having important information to share with your Members of Congress when contacting them about this very important issue, the National Rehabilitation Association suggests the following talking points, which include re-introducing your Members not only to importance of the Commissioner of RSA, who administers the VR program, but the impressive return-on-investment that the VR program has enjoyed for decades, which is referenced immediately above this paragraph.
-- When contacting your respective Senators, identify yourself as a constituent and please take
the opportunity to thank the Senators for their support over the years of the programs
administered under the Rehabilitation Act, which the RSA Commissioner administers. If
your respective Senators have done something in your State that has helped your State,
please take this opportunity to thank them and do stay in touch with the Senator or his
office staff;
-- When contacting your Senators, please advise them that you appreciate the time, talent and
paperwork that is involved with Senate-confirmed appointees, but that you and many others
believe that retaining the Commissioner of RSA as a Presidential appointee, with the advice
and consent of the Senate, is very important to all adult Americans with disabilities,
including those with significant disabilities;
-- The Commissioner of RSA is presently a Presidential appointment confirmed by the full U.S. Senate. Any downgrading of the Commissioner of RSA devalues not only this important office and position, but American adults with disabilities who want a career and want to become taxpaying citizens of our great country.
-- There is no other office in the U.S. Department of Education that focuses on quality employment of eligible adult Americans with disabilities, and this includes the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), which focuses on children and students with disabilities
-- Thousands of students and young adults with disabilities transitioning from school to post-secondary education or work, depend on the expertise of the Commissioner of RSA and the staff, many of whom, themselves, are Americans with significant disabilities, who fully appreciate that you must invest not only in our children's education, but in securing careers and community living, as well. No other office in the U.S. Department of Education has the experience or focus that the Office of the Commissioner of RSA has in this important regard.
-- Individuals with disabilities, including adult Americans with disabilities, have fought
for decades for the right to be respected and represented. The Office of the Commissioner
of RSA respects and represents many adult Americans with disabilities, including those with
the most significant disabilities, gain, retain or re-gain quality employment.
-- Please don't turn back the clock now, preserve the full status of the Commissioner of the
Rehabilitation Services Administration which so many Americans with disabilities have
fought for so long and so hard to ensure is and remains a Presidentially-appointed, full
U.S. Senate-confirmed, individual.
We respectfully request that all Members of the National Rehabilitation Association contact their RESPECTIVE Members of Congress with regard to this downgrading of the Commissioner of RSA. As you are fully aware, when calling, faxing or e-mailing your respective representatives (do NOT send letters through the mail), please always be respectful, but resolute, that any downgrading of the Office of the Commissioner of RSA will have the unintended consequence of hurting Americans with disabilities who want to work and contribute to the economic recovery of our great country.
The Members of the Senate Rules Committee are as follows:
DEMOCRATS REPUBLICANS
Senator Charles Schumer, (NY), Chairman Senator Lamar Alexander (TN)
Senator Danie Inouye ( Hawaii ) Senator Mitch McConnell (Ky)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA.) Senator Thad Cochran (MS)
Senator Richard Durbin (IL) Senator Saxby Chambliss (GA)
Senator Patty Murray (WA) Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX)
Senator Mark Pryor (AR) Senator Pat Roberts (KS)
Senator Tom Udall (NM) Senator Richard Shelby ( AL )
Senator Mark Warner (VA) Senator Roy Blunt (MO)
Senator Patrick Leahy (VT)
Please contact YOUR RESPECTIVE Senator because, as we all know, "ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL."
Please contact your respective Senators NOW because time is of the essence. We believe this legislation could move very quickly, so please take action now.
Once again, please remember always to be respectful in your request to have the Commissioner of RSA continue to enjoy not only Presidentially-appointed status, but also to remain a Senate-confirmed appointee.
You and your Senators can and, hopefully will, make a difference in retaining the respect and representation that all adult Americans with disabilities have earned and deserve with having the Commissioner of RSA a Presidentially-appointed individual with full U.S. Senate confirmation.
You can make a difference: Please contact your Senators now.
If you have questions, need additional information, or if you would like to share your experience following your contact with your Senators, please contact me directly at: patricia at nationalrehab.org;
Thank you.
Patricia Leahy
Director of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy
National Rehabilitation Association
patricia at nationalrehab.org
www.nationalrehab.org
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