Washington, Jan. 18 – Drug addiction took a spotlight once again at last night’s Democratic presidential debate. “We have to move away from treating the use of drugs as a crime and instead, move it to where it belongs, as a health issue,” Secretary Hillary Clinton said in response to…
Forest City, Iowa, Jan. 16 – People with disabilities (PwDs) are twice as likely to be victims of violent crimes as compared to the general population. When asked about how he would deal with this issue, presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson talked about America losing its faith and values and…
Washington, Jan. 14 – Ahead of tonight’s Republican debate, the disability community is finally being heard and paid attention to by the presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle. In a new ad released today, Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush highlights his fight for the rights of people with…
Washington, Jan. 14 – Eight RespectAbility Report employees and fellows have been crisscrossing New Hampshire and Iowa for the past month, asking candidates to talk about a variety of disability issues – from low employment rates and high crime rates to basic accessibility issues. When James Trout, a fellow with…
Washington, Jan. 10 – Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum took a break from the campaign trail last week to visit the home of Ryan and Katie Buck in Cumming, Iowa. According to the Des Moines Register, the family’s newborn son Alex was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a genetic disorder that…
Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 6 – Secretary Hillary Clinton released the details of her new Autism plan with four main areas: early screening outreach; proper health insurance coverage; transition into adulthood with a focus on employment; and a first-ever national adult autism prevalence study. The greater attention to both research…
Hillary Clinton announces Autism plan, following statements by more than a dozen other candidates on disability issues Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 5 – While campaigning in Iowa, Secretary Hillary Clinton became the first candidate to announce an Autism plan following a week of talking about related issues including mental health…
Des Moines, Jan. 3 – Sen. Bernie Sanders called for an end to all forms of discrimination including against people who may have a disability. “Either we’re going to end bigotry and discrimination or we’re not,” he said during a town hall in Knoxville, IA, on Dec. 31. “I believe we…
Washington, Dec. 31 – Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton announced she will be unveiling an autism plan, making her the first candidate to do so. “I’m actually rolling out a plan about autism in about a week, where I talk about all the different things that we need to do to…
Littleton, NH, Dec. 29 – Sen. Marco Rubio said he would use “the platform of the presidency” to talk about disabilities in order to reduce stigma around mental illness and other disabilities. “There’s a real stigma about mental illness in America,” the presidential hopeful said in Littleton, N.H., last week.…
Manchester, NH, Dec. 28 – At a briefing organized by RespectAbility last week on the disability vote, several campaigns sent their New Hampshire state directors and other representatives. Gov. Martin O’Malley sent two individuals – his N.H. State Director John Bivona and his son William, who was in town for…
Rochester, NH, Dec. 23 – Sen. Marco Rubio stressed the importance of early intervention and education when asked on Monday how he would help people with disabilities achieve employment success and the American Dream by RespectAbility Fellow James Trout, who has Asperger’s syndrome. “You get those first few years –…
Concord, NH, Dec. 23 – Ohio Gov. John Kasich called for full integration of people with disabilities during a town hall in Concord, NH, on Monday evening. “The answer is real simple,” Kasich said when asked how people with disabilities can get out of the shadows and live the American Dream.…
Manchester, NH, Dec. 20 – The third Democratic presidential debate touched on a topic often overlooked among the myriad of issues candidates face at debates – drug addiction, in particular the growing heroin epidemic in New Hampshire and across the country. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called the epidemic a “tragedy…
Washington, Dec. 16 – Foreign affairs, terrorism and ISIS dominated the conversation throughout both of last night’s Republican primary debates. During Rick Santorum’s closing statement, however, the former senator called out ISIS for killing kids with Down Syndrome and brought up his daughter Bella, who has trisomy 18. “Ladies and…
Washington, Dec. 12 – Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said in order to help people with disabilities achieve the American Dream through access to appropriate education and employment, you must include people with disabilities in the decision process. “One of the things I insisted on was that people with disabilities…
Washington, Dec. 12 – In an exclusive interview with a coalition of disability groups including RespectAbility, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, Sen. Rick Santorum defended his opposition to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities U.N. treaty and talked about…
Washington, Dec. 12 – In an exclusive interview, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee stressed the need to employ people with disabilities, calling people who are blind, deaf and with physical disabilities his “best staff members.” The presidential hopeful also talked about inclusion in the educational setting in the interview with…
Washington, Dec. 12 – Since leaving government, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore was named to the Board of Directors of the Alexandria, Virginia Chamber of Commerce, which recognizes businesses that hire people with disabilities. The presidential hopeful talked about this initiative as well as how he has helped people with…
Washington, Dec. 12 – Former New York Gov. George Pataki discussed his experience with enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act in New York and the use of assisted technologies to assist people who are deaf or blind in an exclusive interview with a coalition of disability groups including RespectAbility, Paralyzed…
