Washington, D.C., June 17 – Since she began working as a special education teacher, Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she understood “how important it is to live a life of independence and dignity.” Responding to a question posed to all of the viable 2020 presidential candidates by RespectAbility, a nonprofit, nonpartisan…
Washington, D.C., June 17 – In addition to cosponsoring several pending pieces of legislation that would directly impact people with disabilities, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA 15) has outlined how he will include people with disabilities in his campaign and policies in response to a question posed to all of the…
Washington, D.C., June 16 – Disability is personal to presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, who has a son on the Autism spectrum. In response to a question posed to all of the viable 2020 presidential candidates by RespectAbility, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities for people with…
Washington, D.C., June 13 – The Sanders campaign, which is the only one to have a dedicated page on its website for disability rights, has pledged continued accessibility in response to a question posed to all of the viable 2020 presidential candidates by RespectAbility, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that fights stigmas…
Washington, D.C., June 12 – The inclusion of people with disabilities in society is personal to Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, whose youngest sister has an intellectual and developmental disability. While disability has been a part of his life since childhood, he is newly committing to it in this presidential campaign.…
Washington, D.C., June 11 – For Sen. Klobuchar, disability is not only personal but her past includes a history of legislating for people with disabilities. Responding to a question posed to all of the viable 2020 presidential candidates by RespectAbility, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities…
Washington, D.C., June 10 – Sen. Gillibrand previously committed to having a person with a disability in her Cabinet and now goes further in response to a question posed to all of the viable 2020 presidential candidates by RespectAbility, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that fights stigmas and advances opportunities for…
Washington, D.C., June 9 – Addressing the stigma of mental health head-on, Rep. Seth Moulton spoke about his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following his service during the Iraq war. “After I got back from the war, there were times when I woke up with cold sweats, when I had flashbacks,…
Sanders Campaign Only One to Have Dedicated Page on Website for Disability Rights Washington, D.C., May 28 – Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is no stranger to the presidential primary campaign. As he did in 2016, his campaign has a dedicated page on their website for disability issues. While some of the…
Washington, D.C., May 26 – Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA 15) has joined more than 20 Democratic candidates vying for the presidential nomination. When it comes to how he could help people with disabilities, it is important to note that he is a cosponsor on several pending pieces of legislation that…
Washington, D.C., May 23 – Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan took office in 2003, but he gained notoriety in 2016 when he challenged then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, saying that a new generation of leadership was needed in the Democratic Party. Now, Rep. Ryan is running for President. When examining his record…
Washington, D.C., May 19 – Massachusetts Sen. and Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has made her mark in the field by releasing major new policy proposals on a weekly basis. But how does she fare on disability issues? When analyzing polls, it is integral to identify the participants’ demographics and…
Rockville, Maryland, May 18 – John Delaney, the former Democratic Representative for Maryland’s 6th District until January 2019, announced his intention to run for President in 2017, making him the first declared candidate in the race. Since being elected to Congress in 2012, Delaney neither introduced nor cosponsored any bills…
New York City, May 17 – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is currently in charge of America’s largest city, and now he is running for President. As mayor of NYC, he represented 455,000 working-age people with disabilities in the city, as nearly half of all working-age New Yorkers with disabilities live in the greater New York City metropolitan area.
According to Vice, “Commissioner Victor Calise is working on making New York ‘the most accessible city in the world.’” And the de Blasio administration has taken some concrete steps to move New York closer to that goal. But as the article’s title suggests, the city has a long way to go.
Under Mayor de Blasio, the city has launched NYC ATWORK: a successful program to provide resources and opportunities to job-seekers with disabilities. This effort is overseen by the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, led by Commissioner Victor Calise. NYC ATWORK helps connect people with disabilities looking for jobs and businesses looking to hire qualified individuals. The Mayor’s office is also behind Project Open House, which “removes architectural barriers in the homes of people with permanent disabilities.”
Washington, D.C., May 16 – Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is running for President on the idea that he is a Democratic Governor in a red state who knows how to work with people on both sides of the aisle. But how does he fare on disability issues? While running for…
Washington, D.C., May 16 – Julián Castro (D-TX), the former Mayor of San Antonio and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Obama Administration, has had a campaign that emphasizes the importance of putting “People First,” a clear jab at President Donald Trump’s “America First” doctrine. However, since…
Washington, D.C., May 15 – When Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic Representative from the 2nd congressional district of Hawaii, entered the presidential race, the 38-year-old Iraq war veteran knew that if she were to win the election, she would make history as the first woman president, the first Hindu president, the…
Washington, D.C., May 14 – New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is fighting to be the first woman elected President of the United States. But she has pledged to fight for people with disabilities as well. Gillibrand might not have a disability herself, but she has recognized that for a presidential…
Washington, D.C., May 10 — In November of 2017, Andrew Yang, the son of Taiwanese immigrants and an entrepreneur from New York, entered the 2020 Presidential campaign. Yang, the author of the “War on Normal People,” is running on the idea that average Americans are ill-equipped to survive in our economy, where there is increasing levels of income inequality.
His campaign, like his book, discusses the economic impact of workplace automation and our options for the future, including the idea of instituting a Universal Basic Income (UBI) of $1,000 per month to every American. He calls it the “Freedom Dividend,” and believes it will spur the economy and level the income inequality.
Many of the issues he describes, from workforce automation to income inequality, strikes at the heart of the disability community, and Yang would be well-served to include them in the conversation of “normal” Americans. Indeed, according to the CDC, people with disabilities comprise 25 percent of our country’s adult population, and more than half of Americans have a loved one with a disability. A recent survey shows that fully three-quarters of likely voters either have a disability themselves or have a family member or a close friend with disabilities. Thus, for a presidential candidate to represent all Americans, he must include people with disabilities.
By Lauren Appelbaum and Hon. Steve Bartlett Washington, D.C., May 9 – For a presidential campaign to be fully inclusive of people with disabilities, it needs to meet the following requirements: (1) offer captioning with every video it shares or produces, (2) mention people with disabilities and their issues, (3) depict…
