Washington, Nov. 28 – By publicly poking fun at an award-winning reporter who has significant physical disabilities, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump expanded stigmas that have been undermining people with disabilities for ages. It’s now been more than 25 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). True, physical architecture…
Des Moines, Nov. 25 – Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said people with disabilities could “look at his record” and be comforted. “I’ve been very supportive of the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) in my own state,” the former governor of Arkansas said following the Presidential Family Forum Friday night. “When we did renovations to the…
Des Moines, Nov. 24 – “We have a little girl with a severe disability and we treasure her,” former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum said following the Presidential Family Forum on Friday. “We believe she’s every bit as important a member of our family and contributing to society as any one of our kids,” the…
Des Moines, Nov. 23 – “People with disabilities want independence,” Sen. Ted Cruz said to The RespectAbility Report. “They don’t want to be dependent on government,” the presidential hopeful added. “There are many programs that provide, but sometimes trap people in dependency.” Fully one-in-five Americans have a disability and polls show…
Newton, Iowa, Nov. 20 – Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said, “I will” when asked if he is committed to getting more veterans and people with disabilities employed. “You gotta give them hope, build their spirit,” Trump said during a town hall Thursday night in Newton, IA. “The unemployment numbers don’t…
Des Moines, Nov. 17 – At a roundtable with family caregivers and medical experts, presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders listened to Iowans talk about how both retirees needing additional help and working age people with disabilities who choose to work may lose coverage for personal care attendants under Medicaid and Medicare –…
Des Moines, Nov. 17 – Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton pledged to be a strong voice for people with disabilities. “This has been a strong concern and priority of mine,” Clinton said in an exclusive interview with The RespectAbility Report immediately following the Democratic presidential debate in Iowa Saturday night. The former Secretary…
Des Moines, Nov. 15 – The second Democratic presidential debate began with a focus on American foreign policy and military involvement in the Middle East. Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders interrupted the conversation, pivoting to veterans’ affairs – causing criticism to grow that he lacks the international affairs experience needed to be presidient. Yet,…
Des Moines, Nov. 15 – Maryland increased its effectiveness of its workforce training programs, presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley said of his time as Maryland’s governor. “I learned as governor the very disparate way, that people with disabilities are kept out of our workforce, and so as governor we actually increased…
Des Moines, Nov. 14 – I’m Justin Chappell, The RespectAbility Report’s newest reporter. I’m covering the CBS Democratic debate this evening along with hundreds of other journalists from around the country. To my knowledge, I’m the only reporter here who uses a wheelchair – and glad to be keeping with…
Des Moines, Nov. 14 – Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign is focusing on caregivers and assistance for people with disabilities this month, according to Bruce Koeppl, a senior advisor for the campaign who is based in Iowa. “That’s what you can look for this weekend as we begin to unroll some additional…
Des Moines, Nov. 14 – While presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton had a shaky start with outreach to the disability community, recently she has talked about issues such as autism and treatments for mental illness. In addition, her campaign website has a page dedicated to disability issues and campaign staffers are beginning…
Des Moines, Nov. 14 – Ahead of tonight’s Democratic debate, all of the Democratic campaigns in addition to two Republican campaigns met with twenty disability leaders in Iowa yesterday. Ben Chou, Martin O’Malley’s Constituency Outreach Director in Iowa, said the former governor is a champion for dignity for all people. “Dignity…
Washington, Nov. 11 – As the nation celebrates Veterans Day, it is important to truly remember our veterans and ensure we are taking care of their needs. One of their top priorities is employment. Government policies that help veterans with disabilities get and keep jobs are a win-win because they…
Washington, Nov. 11 – While disability issues were not discussed during last night’s debate, Republican hopeful Marco Rubio brought up a very important topic – the stigma attached to vocational training as an alternative to traditional college. “For the life of me, I don’t know why we have stigmatized vocational…
Washington, Nov. 11 – Today, our nation observes Veterans’ Day. It is a moment for our country to pause and celebrate the brave men and women who have served in the Armed Forces. This date also is an opportunity to discuss the way our nation cares for veterans. In 2014,…
Washington, Nov. 11 – When FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo asked former Gov. Jeb Bush about unemployed Americans seeking a job or who have stopped looking, the Republican presidential hopeful listed off a few ways he’d attempt to drive the economy back to four percent growth. “The reason why we…
Washington, Nov. 11 – In the undercard debate, the Republican presidential hopefuls were asked how they would get America back to work again. One after another, they dodged the question and said they would reduce taxes. However, when Sen. Rick Santorum answered the question, he focused instead on job skills.…
Washington, Nov. 9 – Hillary Clinton announced support for medical research of marijuana. She is the latest of the three Democratic presidential hopefuls to do so. While Clinton had previously declined to endorse legalized medical or recreational marijuana at the federal level, on Saturday she detailed a proposal to increase research…
Washington, Nov. 5 – When Canada’s new prime minister, Justin Trudeau, was sworn into office on Wednesday, he revealed his diverse cabinet. Many news outlets are reporting how 50 percent of the cabinet ministers are women, helping to make it the most diverse cabinet Canada has ever seen. But it…
