[Nfbf-l] The Presidents Disability Budget Fact Sheet

[Joanne]

Such a waste of money.  There's enough money going out to prepare a disabled 
person for an earned income.  Any disabled person who wants an education for 
living independently can do so if they want without more money going into 
preparation.
Add up the money designated and think.  What do they need more money for?  Is 
that really going to get us jobs?  Or do they think we are professional 
students, just staying in school, for the sake of doing something.
What we really need is some private disabled person, not a government agency, 
to create an employment agency who deals with nothing but finding jobs for 
disabled people.
We need dignity by being independent and not relying on someone else to help us 
live.
I am sorry.  But I feel that money should be going for something more valuable 
than added another person to counsel or money for another piece of equipment to 
be learned. or even another dollar to come through the mail.   This is just a 
cop out.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <REPCODDS at aol.com>
To: <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>; <nfbf-leaders at yahoogroups.com>; 
<blindvet-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 9:15 AM
Subject: [Nfbf-l] The Presidents Disability Budget Fact Sheet



THE FEDERAL BUDGET
FISCAL YEAR 2012
Winning  the Future for People with Disabilities
Having  emerged from the worst recession in generations, the President has
put forward a  plan to rebuild our economy and win the future by
out-innovating, out-educating,  and out-building our global competitors and 
creating
the jobs and industries of  tomorrow. But we cannot rebuild our economy and
win the future if we pass on a  mountain of debt to our children and
grandchildren. We must restore fiscal  responsibility, and reform our government 
to
make it more effective, efficient,  and open to the American people. The
President’s 2012 Budget is a responsible  approach that puts the nation on a
path to live within our means so we can  invest in our future – by cutting
wasteful spending and making tough choices on  some things we cannot afford,
while keeping the investments we need to grow the  economy and create jobs. It
targets scarce federal resources to the areas  critical to winning the
future: education, innovation, clean energy, and  infrastructure. And it 
proposes
to reform how Washington does business, putting more federal  funding up
for competition, cutting waste, and reorganizing government so that  it better
serves the American people.
To  win the future for people with disabilities, the Budget will:
Increase  Funding for the Education of Children with Disabilities. The
Budget provides a $200 million increase for the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) State Grants to provide a high quality education and
help  offset State and local education costs for children with disabilities.
The  Budget also provides a $50 million (11 percent) increase for the IDEA
Infants  and Families Program to provide the youngest children a good start.
In addition,  a new $30 million joint pilot, Promoting Readiness of Minors in
SSI (PROMISE),  will develop and evaluate innovative approaches to
improving outcomes of  children receiving Supplemental Security Income and their
families.
Encourage  Workforce Innovation. The  Budget provides almost $380 million
to the Departments of Education and Labor,  for a Workforce Innovation Fund
to support reforms of the workforce system,  including projects that improve
education and employment outcomes for  individuals with disabilities. The
Vocational Rehabilitation program will  contribute $30 million, and use its
expertise to help ensure that the Fund  invests in innovative programs and
evidence-based practices to provide  high-quality employment services to
individuals with disabilities, including  those with significant disabilities.
Support  Workers with Disabilities. The  Budget provides $24 million to the
Department of Labor for the Disability  Employment Initiative, which awards
grants to build the capacity of One-Stop  Career Centers to serve
individuals with disabilities. The Budget also proposes  a new Disability 
Insurance
Work Incentives Simplification Pilot to make the  Social Security work rules
more straightforward and allow beneficiaries more  flexibility to try to
work without fear of losing their benefits.
Reduce  Social Security Claims Backlog. Disability  programs are at the
forefront of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s)  operations. The
Budget funds SSA to lower the initial claims backlog to 650,000  by processing
over three million claims. By hearing approximately 822,500 cases  in 2012,
the wait time for a decision will fall below a year for the first time  in a
decade. In addition, the Administration will establish a Disability
Research Center through SSA’s research office. This  Center will work across
agencies and in collaboration with outside researchers  to improve the quality 
of
disability research.
Expand  Disability Research. The  Budget provides $120 million for the
National Institute on Disability and  Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), including
$10 million to support a new cloud  computing initiative that uses the
internet infrastructure to improve technology  access through the development,
implementation, and delivery of mechanisms that  will provide on-demand
accessibility for everyone who faces technology  accessibility barriers. NIDRR
conducts comprehensive and coordinated programs of  research and related
activities to maximize the full inclusion, social  integration, employment, and
independent living of individuals with disabilities  of all ages.
Strengthen  Independent Living. The  Budget includes more than $103 million
for Grants for Independent Living program  that would provide formula
grants to States to support the provision of  independent living services 
through
centers for independent living. The Budget  also provides an additional $34
million for independent living services for  older individuals who are
blind. In addition, the President’s six-year, $556  billion surface
transportation reauthorization proposal supports investments to  provide 
individuals,
including the elderly and the disabled, with access to more  transportation
options, making our communities more livable. That proposal will  include an
unprecedented funding commitment for transit programs.
Assist  Programs for Youth with Disabilities. The  2012 Budget maintains
funding for the Special Olympics at $8 million through the  Department of
Education. The Budget also provides $5 million for a new program:  Mentoring for
Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. Both programs would  support
activities to increase the participation of people with intellectual
disabilities in social relationships and other aspects of community life, 
including
recreation, education, and employment.
Strengthen  Anti-Discrimination Enforcement. Even  in tough budget times,
the substantial investments that have been made by  the Administration to
strengthen civil rights enforcement against racial,  ethnic, sexual
orientation, disability, religious, and gender discrimination  continue in the 
2012
Budget. The Budget proposes an increase for the Community  Relations Service in
the Department of Justice to fight hate crimes and provides  an $18
million, a 5 percent increase over the 2010 enacted level, for the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is responsible for enforcing 
Federal
laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an
employee. This investment will allow EEOC to add additional staff to reduce
the  agency’s backlog of private-sector discrimination charges.
Provide  Housing for Persons with Disabilities. Because  difficult choices
had to be made in order to invest in programs that would yield  the highest
returns, the Budget provides a total of $196 million for the Housing  for
Persons with Disabilities Program, which is a $104 million cut relative to
the 2010 enacted level. The majority of the overall reduction reflects a shift
 in funding to the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance account to support
Mainstream  Vouchers for persons with disabilities. The Budget includes $85
million to  support existing units and $111 million for new construction and
expansion  activities. The Administration is committed to working with Congress
to update  and reform these programs so that project sponsors can maximize
use of the  funding for new construction by effectively leveraging and
targeting investments  based on need and by providing residents access to key
services required to live  independently.
Expand  Research into Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The  Budget
continues to expand research, detection, treatment, and other activities 
related to
improving the lives of individuals and families affected by ASD  through
increasing funding for programs at the National Institutes of Health  (NIH),
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources  and
Services Administration. NIH will pursue comprehensive and innovative
approaches to defining the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to
ASD, investigate epigenomic changes in the brain, and accelerate clinical
trials  of novel pharmacological and behavioral interventions by 2016. NIH
will continue  to investigate environmental factors, early detection, and
novel treatments to  transform our understanding of ASD.
Help  Families Care for Aging and Relatives with Disabilities.  The Budget
includes $96 million for the Administration's Caregiver Initiative,  an
effort to expand help to families and seniors so that caregivers can better
manage their multiple responsibilities and seniors can live in the community
for  as long as possible. Without creating new programs, this initiative
provides new  resources to support the network of agencies in local communities
across the  country that already provide critical help to seniors and
caregivers.
Support  for Employment of People with Disabilities in the Federal
Workforce. In  July 2010, the President signed an Executive Order to increase
Federal  employment of individuals with disabilities and the Budget provides 
funds
to the  Office of Personnel Management to implement that Executive Order.
Expand  Passenger Rail Options. The  President’s surface transportation
reauthorization proposal includes funding to  eliminate the longstanding ADA
gap at intercity passenger rail stations.  Overall, the Administration’s
reauthorization provides $53 billion over six  years for intercity passenger
rail, putting the country on track toward a system  that gives 80 percent of
Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years –  and would provide many
citizens with disabilities access to an additional,  convenient
transportation option.
_______________________________________________
Nfbf-l mailing list
Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfbf-l:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/jdking09%40earthlink.net