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Bernie Sanders: People with Disabilities Must Have All Opportunities

Senator Bernie Sanders arrives for a town hall meeting in Davenport, Iowa, on May 28, 2015.
Senator Bernie Sanders arrives for a town hall meeting in Davenport, Iowa, on May 28, 2015.
Davenport, Iowa, June 23 – While disability issues are not yet hot-button topics in the presidential campaign, they are becoming more prominent. When The RespectAbility Report’s Liz Seffrin asked Sen. Bernie Sanders about a specific plan to increase competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities in America, he promised to work on the issue.

“I have worked with the disability community in my own state,” Sanders said at a town hall in Davenport, Iowa on May 28, 2015. “People with disabilities must have all of the opportunities possible open to them from an educational point of view and from an employment point of view. So I promise you we will work on that issue.”

America has 56 million people with disabilities, more than 20 million of whom are working age. More than 50 percent of Americans report having a family member or close friend with a disability. Fifty-two percent of Democrats report that they or a loved one have a disability, and for Republicans, a smaller number of 44 percent report they have a disability. Surprisingly, Independents have the largest number of voters who say they have a disability, with 58 percent saying yes. This shows that swing voters with disabilities and their families are up for grabs.

Published inBernie SandersDemocrats

7 Comments

  1. […] have worked with the disability community in my own state,” Sanders said at a town hall in Davenport, Iowa on May 28, 2015. “People with disabilities must have all of the opportunities possible open to […]

  2. Tyrone Giordano Tyrone Giordano

    I share many of the same beliefs as Bernie, but he really needs to walk the talk and caption all of his videos. They’re inaccessible.

    Hillary hasn’t captioned all her videos, but she has a lot more captioned videos than Bernie, who hasn’t got a single one, I believe? I didn’t dig deeply, but the point is: I shouldn’t have to.

  3. Glen Meiselman Glen Meiselman

    I have a severe traumatic brain injury.
    I worked for the Browsed clerk of Court (fl)for 4 years
    I was fired when I had a seizure.
    All Fl courts protected them selves and would not let me have an impartial jury.
    The courts just protected themselves.
    Please let this case show 54 million disabled are protected by these laws
    It is a matter of great IMPORTANCE

    Glen Meiselman
    Hapdog1@aol.com.

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