Serial: Tips and Trends, Vol. 2, No. 4

Item

Other Media: s-leg_578_010_017_tr

Transcription (Scripto): Read Full Text Only
Extent (Dublin Core): 8 Pages
File Name (Dublin Core): s-leg_578_010_017
Title (Dublin Core): Serial: Tips and Trends, Vol. 2, No. 4
Description (Dublin Core): Issue of Tips and Trends , contains various articles about the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability activist efforts domestically and abroad.
Date (Dublin Core): 1990-04
Date Created (Dublin Core): 1990-04
Congress (Dublin Core): 101st (1989-1991)
Topics (Dublin Core): See all items with this value People with disabilities--Civil rights--United States; See all items with this value People with disabilities--Employment; See all items with this value Telephone relays; See all items with this value Transportation
Policy Area (Curation): Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Creator (Dublin Core): President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
Record Type (Dublin Core): serials (publications)
Names (Dublin Core): See all items with this value American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation; See all items with this value Amtrak; See all items with this value United States. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; See all items with this value United States. President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
Location representation (Dublin Core): See all items with this value District of Columbia; See all items with this value Soviet Union; See all items with this value Kansas
Rights (Dublin Core): http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/
Language (Dublin Core): eng
Collection Finding Aid (Dublin Core): https://dolearchivecollections.ku.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=23&q=
Physical Location (Dublin Core): Collection 003, Box 578, Folder 10
Institution (Dublin Core): Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Archival Collection (Dublin Core): Robert J. Dole Senate Papers-Legislative Relations, 1969-1996
Full Text (Extract Text): (page 1)

Tips & Trends

The President's Committee On Employment of People with Disabilities

Vol 2, No. 4
April 1990

The Civil Rights March of 1990

On March 12, hundreds of people from across the United States joined a march for the Americans with Disabilities Act that would give America's 43 million people with disabilities rights that other minorities have had for years.

Beginning at the White House and ending at the United States Capitol, the demonstrators marched the 19 city blocks chanting "Access is our Civil Right" and other slogans in favor of ADA's immediate passage with no weakening amendments. The procession moved slowly in the 89-degree heat as individuals with disabilities and advocates made their way along the streets of the Nation's Capital.

Aside from many demonstrators in wheelchairs, banners, handmade signs and colorful tee-shirts made the procession a media extravaganza, as representative of national, local and many independent news services from around the country served the event. Camera crews kept focus on the demonstration well after arrival at the Capitol, where a brief ceremony was held.

Mike Auberger, an ADAPT organizer and leader of the march, introduced Justin Dart, Chairman of the Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities and Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. He gave a rousing address, followed by remarks from Evan Kemp, Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Congressman Major Owens (D-NY), who

March, cont. page 7

(in box)
BULLETIN:
Executive Director Jay Rochlin announces his retirement. Story page 3.
(photograph of disability rights activists at the march for the Americans with Disabilities Act.)

(page 2)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4
Soviets Seek Advice on Employment of People with Disabilities

A recent cablegram to Chairman Justin Dart confirmed that an official delegation of Soviet officials who are interested in rehabilitation and employment will be coming to the President's Committee's 1990 Annual Meeting, May 2-4 in Washington.

The announcement was made in Moscow by the State Commissioner of Labor, in response to an invitation extended by Chairman Dart and carried to the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister by Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Ambassador Richard Schifter.

This development is one of several agreements resulting from the meeting between President George Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta, at which time the United States agreed to cooperate with the Soviet Union in efforts to improve the quality of Soviet life from a humanitarian point of view.

An interagency task force, working with the State Department, has been planning various ways to bring about closer contact between rehabilitation personnel in the two countries, particularly with respect to exporting knowledge to American low technology to Russia to assist in the manufacture of aids, equipment and devices to make work and living more accessible to its people with disabilities.

The State Department decided that the Annual Meeting of the President's Committee, with its Exhibition of over 100 display booths featuring products and programs, its 40 workshops, plus several plenary sessions, would afford the Soviet delegation an opportunity to learn and observe how Americans with disabilities are faring in this country. In addition to the many professionals the foreign visitors will encounter, the Annual Meeting provides a way for them to mingle and converse with several hundred persons with disabilities who will be attending from throughout the United States.

The cablegram from Moscow states that... "it is with deep gratitude that we accept your invitation to participate in the annual meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and are intending to send a delegation."

The Annual Meeting of the President's Committee, a national training conference on employment of people with disabilities, is open to all who wish to register. There is no registration fee.

Kansas Dual Party Relay Begins in May

Kansas Relay Service, Inc. (KRSI), a nonprofit organization in Topeka, KS, awarded the Southwestern Bell a five-year contract to provide a telephone service to speech or hearing impaired persons in Kansas.

The relay system will be used to complete calls originating and billed in Kansas, to include outgoing interstate calls. Out-of-state callers will not be able to use the service to call telephone customers in Kansas.

Customers will access the relay center using a standard TDD. Users type their phone request, which is received on a terminal at the Kansas Relay Center in Lawrence, KS. The relay attendant then places an outgoing call to the requested party and acts as a relay for the two parties by communicating their conversation by voice and TDD. The system will work in reverse, and a hearing person can contact a person with a hearing impairment.

"There is a great need for this service in Kansas", said Mary Manning, General Manager of Customer Relations for SW Bell's Kansas Division. "There are approximately 184,000 hearing impaired and 35,000 speech impaired residents in the state", she added.

Five supervisors and up to 45 attendants will staff the Relay Center in Lawrence, and will receive special training to handle the calls.

Law Internships Offered

The Community Health Law Project (CHLP) is now seeking applicants for the Ann Klein Internship for 1990. Applicants may be students in schools of law, public administration, social work or other graduate and professional schools and programs.

Interns will be supervised by experienced attorneys and advocates at CHLP, which is a unique public interest legal and advocacy organization that serves people with disabilities. CHLP has served more than 20,000 New Jersey residents since 1977, and its clients include people of all ages who have developmental, mental or physical disabilities.

Interns may work directly with individual clients under CHLP supervision, and will participate in special legal and advocacy cases and activities of state and national significance.

The CHLP program provides unique opportunities to learn about the law and about policies, programs and issues in such areas as health care, insurance, housing, human services, employment and education.

The internships are named for Ann

Internships, cont, page 8

2

(page 3)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No.

ADA Activists Arrested at Capitol

During the week of March 12-17, members of ADAPT (American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit) expressed their views to members of Congress and captured national media attention. On March 13, about 150 activists demonstrated in the Capitol Rotunda.

Speaker of the House Thomas S. Foley (D-WA) addressed the group from the balcony, as did House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-IL) and Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD). After the Congressmen spoke to the activists, they began chanting "Access Is a Civil Right", and "The People United will Never be Defeated!"

Demonstrating inside the Capitol Building is against the law and when the gathering was asked to disperse by U.S. Capitol Police, over 100 people continued chanting. They were subsequently arrested by the Capitol Police, many dressed in riot uniforms. The arrests took in excess of two hours, and the police used acetylene torches to sever the chains that people in wheelchairs used to link themselves together.

Those arrested were charged with demonstrating in the Capitol and unlawful entry. All were later released on their own recognizance. Wide Blank, a founder and organizer of the disability rights activist group, commented: "We're taking the strategies of the '60s that helped get rights for black and brown people and women, and using them for people with disabilities."

(in box)
Correction
The article appearing in the February issue (2.2) on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program was a reprint of a press release from the Social Security Administration. It was unintentionally attributed to Jean Mahoney, our staff liaison to the Social Security Administration.

(in box)

Rochlin to Retire in November

Executive Director of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Jay Rochlin, announced his intent to retire effective November 1. The announcement was made during a staff meeting on April 11. Chairman Justin Dart read a letter he wrote applauding Rochlin's efforts as Executive Director of the President's Committee, a post he has held since November 1986.

Excerpts of that letter appear bellow:

"During his five years with the Committee, Jay Rochlin has made truly outstanding contributions. He has lead the Committee from the brink of extinction to be one of the nation's most credible disability-related agencies... He has, as an individual, been deeply involved with the disability rights movement....".

(portrait of Jay Rochlin)

ADAPT's Ten Best/Worst Transit Systems-1989

American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) released their 1989 list of the ten best transit systems n the country and the ten transit systems that provide the worst accessibility for people with disabilities

Ten Most Accessible:
New York City Transit Authority (bus only)
Southern California Rapid Transit District (Los Angeles)
Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle
San Francisco Municipal Railway
Alemeda-Contra Costa Country Transit District (Oakland, CA)
Regional Transportation District (Denver, CO)
Santa Clara County Transportation Agency (Austin, TX)
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (Portland, OR)
Cambria County Transit Authority (Johnstown, PA)

Ten Least Accessible:
Metropolitan Transit Commission (Minneapolis, MN)
Detroit Department of Transportation
Port Authority of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, PA)
Mass Transit Administration of Maryland (Baltimore, MD)
Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation
City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services
Regional Transit Authority (New Orleans, LA)
Sorta/Queen City Metro (Cincinnati, OH)
Madison Metro Transit Authority (Madison, WI)
Charlotte Transit System (Charlotte, NC)

3

(page 4)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

ADA Mark Ups
House Energy and Commerce Committee

On March 13, 1990, the full Committee on Energy and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives, held their mark-ups of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The mark-up version was introduced jointly by Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Committee Chairman, and Rep. Norman Lent (R-NY) and was approved by a vote of 40-3.

The major provisions that were approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee are cited below.

Amtrak

Within five years, 50% of the following accessibility requirements must be available, and within 10 years, 100% of the following requirements must be fulfilled:

*With specified exceptions, all new cars purchased or leased by Amtrak must be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use a wheelchair.

* New single-level passenger coaches need not meet wheelchair accessibility requirements, but after 10 years Amtrak must have available on its trains a number of spaces to park and secure wheelchairs (for passengers wishing to sit in their wheelchairs) and a number of spaces to fold and store wheelchairs (for passengers wishing to transfer to a coach set). The number of each type of these spaces must equal the number of single level passenger coaches in the train. These spaces may be located in either the coaches or in food service cars, with maximum of two of each type in any one car.

* The accessibility requirements applicable to dining cars and the availability to dining cars and the availability of food service will differ depending on the age and type of equipment. In all cases, Amtrak will be required to provide equivalent food service in the most integrated setting practicable.

Commuter Rail Transportation

* Within 5 years all commuter rail system authorities must have at least one accessible car per train.

* All new cars purchased by commuter rail system authorities must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs. For commuter rail purposes, accessibility does not require an accessible restroom if no restroom is provided on the car for any passenger, nor does it require space to store and fold a wheelchair.

Private Rail Transportation

* Provides an exception for historical and antiquated rail cars and stations served exclusively by such cars to the extent that compliance with accessibility requirements would significantly alter the historic or antiquated characters of such cars or rail stations.

Rail Stations

* All new stations used in Amtrak or commuter rail systems must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs

* Amtrak must make existing stations within its system accessible (within 20 years), and commuter system authorities must make key stations within their systems accessible (within 3 years) A waiver of up to 20 years may be granted by the Secretary of Transportation to commuter authorities for certain extraordinarily expensive structural changes.

* Improves current law by clearly allocating the responsibility for making stations accessible among Amtrak, commuter authorities, other public owners, and private owners.

General

* Provides a "safe harbor" provisions for a design of stations and rail cars during the period when new regulations, guidelines, and standards for accessibility are being developed by federal agencies, so that covered entities can begin alterations without waiting for publication of the regulations.

Telecommunications

* The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will ensure that any interstate and intrastate relay services are available, to the extent possible and in the most efficient manner, to persons with hearing and/or speech-impairments.

* Common carriers must provide telecommunications relay service- individually, through designees, through a competitively selected vendor, or in concert with other carriers within 3 years.

* Provides for FCC certification of state programs to make such relay services available on an intrastate basis.

* Any television public service announcement produced or funded in whole or part by any Federal agency or instrumentality must include closed captioning.

AMENDMENTS

Five amendments were introduced by other members of the Committee. Rep. Howard C. Nielson (R-UT) introduced an amendment which would allow persons with disabilities to use motorized wheelchairs or mechanical devices in wilderness areas. The

Energy and Commerce continued page 6

4

(page 5)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

House Surface Transportation Subcommittee
Mark Up

The Surface Transportation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation met on March 6 to mark up those sections of Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act which deals with transportation.

Following a supportive opening statement by Subcommittee Chairman Norman Y. Mineta (D-CA), Representative Glenn Anderson (D-CA), Bud Shuster (R-PA), John Hammerschmidt (R-ARK), Bob Clement (D-TN), Ron Packard (R-CA) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) made opening remarks. They stated the need for the bill but expressed some concerns about it. However, Representative Boehlert also expressed appreciation to people with disabilities for the work they were doing on behalf of their civil rights.

The Subcommittee took up and approved a substitute for the House version of the Americans with Disabilities Act and referred it to the full Committee on Public Works and Transportation with one amendment. The amendment was introduced by Representative Dennis Halstert (R-IL) to permit commuter rail systems to have one car per train rather than to make all cars accessible. However, additional accessible cars would have to be added to a train as they became necessary. This substitute amendment differs from the Energy and Commerce Committee provision, which provides that new cars must be accessible.

The substitute measure is similar to the Senate version of the ADA in most of the transportation areas, requiring new buses, rail vehicles and other vehicles operating on routes to be accessible to people with disabilities. Exceptions are for school buses and vehicles operating on a system of the National Register of Historic Places. Also, key train stations would be given 30 years to meet accessibility requirements if two-thirds of the rail stations are accessible in 20 years.

* Paratransit services to submit an annual plan of service to the Department of Transportation;

* The Secretary of Transportation to establish a standard for over-the-road buses within a year after enactment of the bill.

The standard could allow access to over-the-road buses via a boarding chair and ramp. However, advocates for the Act have expressed their opposition for safety reasons and because they don't believe that procedure will provide for a valid study of services to people with disabilities.

By votes of 24-14, two amendments offered by Representative Shuster lost. One would have allowed the Secretary of Transportation to grant waivers to the requirement for wheelchair lift on buses in communities with 200,000 people or less if they provide an adequate paratransit system. The other would have exempted private entities, not primarily engaged with transportation but which operate buses or shuttles, such as for their employees, from some of the requirements.

At the conclusion of the session, Representative Shuster and Hammerschmidt announced that they would introduce other amendments to the bill at the mark-up session conducted by the full Public Works and Transportation Committee scheduled for April 3..

State Relations Standing Committee

The mission of the State Relations Committee is to provide a formal structure to enable State Governors' Committees or State liaison organizations to bring issues and concerns to the attention of the President's Committee. Further, the Committee assists states in matters concerning employment, plans, program issues, legislation, research and publications. The Committee's projects aim to meet the following objectives:
1. to identify employment related concerns and issues of the states;
2. to transmit these issues and concerns to the President's Committee;
3. to develop and recommend strategies to address these concerns and issues; and,
4. to foster coordination and cooperation among states and the President's Committee in order to enhance the mutual achievement of employment-related goals.

Projects developed and carried out by the Committee include the State Profile Manual, the Orientation Manuel for New Chairs and Executives, and the creation of the Governor's Council and informational letters to Governors, the conducting of the bid procedure for annual meetings, and the development of a manual on the establishment and maintenance of local committees.

The States Relations Standing Committee is comprised of the members of the States Executive Committee of the National Association of Governor's Committees on People with Disabilities. The National Association of Governor's Committees on the People with Disabilities is the national organization of all Governor's Committees. Its memberships is made up of the Chairs and Executive Directors, or

States, continued page 7

5

(page 6)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

Long-Standing Republican Presidential Aide Appointed to Civil Rights Commission

In a move to "re-invigorate" the embattled Civil Rights Commission, President George Bush selected Arthur A. Fletcher, former United Nations Deputy and Aide to three Presidents, to chair the Commission on February 23. By nominating Fletcher, President Bush intends to show that he wants to restore the commission as "an effective institution", according to White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater.

"By selecting someone to serve as chair with some credentials in civil rights, said Althea Simmons, director of the Washington Bureau of the NAACP, "it provides that the President has some sensitivity with reference to the Commission."

But the conservative composure of the Civil Rights Commission concerns some in the civil rights community. "Regardless of the Fletcher appointment", said Ralph Neas, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, "there are too many right-wingers on the Commission."

Fletcher served as Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Richard Nixon, as Deputy Presidential Assistant for Urban Affairs for President Gerald Ford, and as an advisor to President Ronald Reagan.

Established in 1957 to evaluate Federal laws and the effectiveness of government equal opportunity programs, the commission has no enforcement authority. The President fills half of the eight-member panel, and Congress selects the remaining four.

Fitzwater also said that the President will fill another vacancy on the commission soon.

Energy and Commerce, from page 4

motion was dropped when it was agreed that this was not under the jurisdiction of this committee.

Four amendments was introduced by Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-CA); all four were overwhelmingly defeated by the committee. The amendments were:

1. Change the wording of the definition of a handicap to eliminate the wording 'regarded as having an impairment'.
2. Eliminate the reference to anticipatory discrimination.
3. Exclude individuals with contagious or sexually transmitted diseases.
4. Add a phrase to indicate that nothing in the ADA shall prohibit the railroad company to require a physician's certificate stating that the prospective disabled employee's job does not pose a danger or risk to the health and safety of others.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) spoke vigorously against each amendment along with others.

Supporters of the ADA say that passage of the Energy and Commerce Committee was a triumph for people with disabilities.

Publications

The Office of Special Advisor to the President for Consumer Affairs released its Consumer's Resource Handbook, 1990 edition, in early February. The Handbook provides names, addresses, and telephone numbers for federal, state and local consumer officials. Included are contacts in the corporate community, Better Business Bureaus, Trade Associations, and government agencies. Voice and TDD numbers are cited for State Vocational and Rehabilitation Agencies and state agencies on aging. In the guide's introduction President George Bush makes this remark: "Indeed, the marketplace skills of individual consumers play an important role in ensuring that every American citizen has his or her share of our Nation's prosperity."

Some topics included in the Handbook are health issues, health fraud, home improvements, teleshopping, vacation certificates, travel clubs, warranties, auto repair and credit cards. Single copies are free by writing to the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO, 81009. Questions should be directed to Juanita Yates, 202/634-4297.

(in box)
Job Fair

A Job Fair at the Annual Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2, at the Blackburn Center at Howard University from 1 3 pm.

It is sponsored by the Epilepsy Foundation for the National Capital Area, and open to all candidates without a fee.

Transportation service will be provided from the Annual Meeting site at the Washington Hilton Hotel following the Opening Session.

For more information, call the Epilepsy Foundation for the National Capital Area at (202) 638-5229.

6

(page 7)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

March, from page 1

marched in the rally, Representative Patricia Schroeder (D-CO), Dr. I. King Jordan, President of Gallaudet University, Jim Brady, former Press Secretary and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, and Bob Silverstein, Staff Director of the Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy.

Following the formal ceremony, activists in wheelchairs crawled up four flights of stairs to the Capitol building in a dramatic display of commitment to their cause. Each carried with them a copy of the "Disabled People's Bill of Rights", a document generated by American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT).

(photograph of a crowd in front of the U.S. Capitol)
Monica Hall
Ceremony Assembly at Capitol

(photograph of two demonstrators hugging in front of the U.S. Capitol)
Monica Hall
After the March

(photograph of activists on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Steps)
Crawling on the Capitol Steps

States, from page 5

their designees, of the state Governor's Committees. The purpose of this organization is to promote equal access to employment, programs and services on behalf of persons with disabilities and to advocate for the inclusion of all citizens with disabilities into the mainstream of life. The National Association of Governor's Committees conducts the annual Media Advertising Award, presented to the outstanding television advertisement that effectively includes persons with disabilities. The National Association of Governor's Committees conducts an Annual Training conference in conjunction with the President's Committee's Annual Meeting.

The State Relations Committee is chaired by Francine Lee, Executive Director of the Commission on Persons with Disabilities for the state of Hawaii and staffed by Faith Kirk, an employment advisor for the President's Committee

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1990 - 721-817 - 1302/20065

7

(page 8)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

Upcoming Events

April
25-26
Second Annual Seminar on Law and Disability, New Jersey Law Center, New Brunswick, NJ. Contact Carl Moore, 201/672-5012 (v), and 201/678-7513 (TDD).

May
2-4
Annual Meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Washington Hilton Hotel. Contact, the President's Committee, 202/653-5044.
12-15
Independence Living Conference, Hyatt Bethesda Hotel, Bethesda, MD. Contact 913/864-4095.
20-25
Fifth International Conference of Rehabilitation International, Dublin, Ireland. Contact Conference Secretariat, National Rehabilitation Board, 24/25 Clyde Road, Dublin 4, Ireland.
22-25
Second International Conference on Student Development and the Hearing Impaired, Washington, DC. Contact Beth Benedict, 202/651-5247.

June
7-10
Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured Adult and Child, Williamsburg, VA. Contact Kathy Martin. 804/786-7290.
11-17
"Preparing for Tomorrow": Community Service Organization Training, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC. Contact Jackie Kinner, 202/651-5351.

July
18-22
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Annual Convention, Chicago, Il. Contact NAMI, 703/524-7600.

Internships, from page 2

Klein, who was a distinguished advocate in her professional, voluntary and public roles. She was a social worker, President of the New Jersey League of Women Voters, a member of the New Jersey Legislature, and the first woman to be Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services.

The Internships are made possible through private contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations.

(in box)
Tips and Trends
A complimentary publication of the President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities

Chairman: Justin Dart, Jr.
Executive Director: Jay Rochlin
Chief of Publications: Dick Dietl
Editor: Hardy Stone

For further information contact:
The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
1111 20th Street, NW Suite 636
Washington, DC 20036-3470

(202) 653-5044 (voice)
(202) 653-5050 (TDD)
(202) 653-7386 (FAX)

All public documents produced by the President's Committee are available on Braille, large print and on cassette tape.

8

The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
Washington, DC
20036-3470

Bulk Rate

Postage and Fees Paid
U.S. Department of Labor, Permit G-59; (page 1)

Tips & Trends

The President's Committee On Employment of People with Disabilities

Vol 2, No. 4
April 1990

The Civil Rights March of 1990

On March 12, hundreds of people from across the United States joined a march for the Americans with Disabilities Act that would give America's 43 million people with disabilities rights that other minorities have had for years.

Beginning at the White House and ending at the United States Capitol, the demonstrators marched the 19 city blocks chanting "Access is our Civil Right" and other slogans in favor of ADA's immediate passage with no weakening amendments. The procession moved slowly in the 89-degree heat as individuals with disabilities and advocates made their way along the streets of the Nation's Capital.

Aside from many demonstrators in wheelchairs, banners, handmade signs and colorful tee-shirts made the procession a media extravaganza, as representative of national, local and many independent news services from around the country served the event. Camera crews kept focus on the demonstration well after arrival at the Capitol, where a brief ceremony was held.

Mike Auberger, an ADAPT organizer and leader of the march, introduced Justin Dart, Chairman of the Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities and Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. He gave a rousing address, followed by remarks from Evan Kemp, Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Congressman Major Owens (D-NY), who

March, cont. page 7

(in box)
BULLETIN:
Executive Director Jay Rochlin announces his retirement. Story page 3.
(photograph of disability rights activists at the march for the Americans with Disabilities Act.)

(page 2)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4
Soviets Seek Advice on Employment of People with Disabilities

A recent cablegram to Chairman Justin Dart confirmed that an official delegation of Soviet officials who are interested in rehabilitation and employment will be coming to the President's Committee's 1990 Annual Meeting, May 2-4 in Washington.

The announcement was made in Moscow by the State Commissioner of Labor, in response to an invitation extended by Chairman Dart and carried to the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister by Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Ambassador Richard Schifter.

This development is one of several agreements resulting from the meeting between President George Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta, at which time the United States agreed to cooperate with the Soviet Union in efforts to improve the quality of Soviet life from a humanitarian point of view.

An interagency task force, working with the State Department, has been planning various ways to bring about closer contact between rehabilitation personnel in the two countries, particularly with respect to exporting knowledge to American low technology to Russia to assist in the manufacture of aids, equipment and devices to make work and living more accessible to its people with disabilities.

The State Department decided that the Annual Meeting of the President's Committee, with its Exhibition of over 100 display booths featuring products and programs, its 40 workshops, plus several plenary sessions, would afford the Soviet delegation an opportunity to learn and observe how Americans with disabilities are faring in this country. In addition to the many professionals the foreign visitors will encounter, the Annual Meeting provides a way for them to mingle and converse with several hundred persons with disabilities who will be attending from throughout the United States.

The cablegram from Moscow states that... "it is with deep gratitude that we accept your invitation to participate in the annual meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and are intending to send a delegation."

The Annual Meeting of the President's Committee, a national training conference on employment of people with disabilities, is open to all who wish to register. There is no registration fee.

Kansas Dual Party Relay Begins in May

Kansas Relay Service, Inc. (KRSI), a nonprofit organization in Topeka, KS, awarded the Southwestern Bell a five-year contract to provide a telephone service to speech or hearing impaired persons in Kansas.

The relay system will be used to complete calls originating and billed in Kansas, to include outgoing interstate calls. Out-of-state callers will not be able to use the service to call telephone customers in Kansas.

Customers will access the relay center using a standard TDD. Users type their phone request, which is received on a terminal at the Kansas Relay Center in Lawrence, KS. The relay attendant then places an outgoing call to the requested party and acts as a relay for the two parties by communicating their conversation by voice and TDD. The system will work in reverse, and a hearing person can contact a person with a hearing impairment.

"There is a great need for this service in Kansas", said Mary Manning, General Manager of Customer Relations for SW Bell's Kansas Division. "There are approximately 184,000 hearing impaired and 35,000 speech impaired residents in the state", she added.

Five supervisors and up to 45 attendants will staff the Relay Center in Lawrence, and will receive special training to handle the calls.

Law Internships Offered

The Community Health Law Project (CHLP) is now seeking applicants for the Ann Klein Internship for 1990. Applicants may be students in schools of law, public administration, social work or other graduate and professional schools and programs.

Interns will be supervised by experienced attorneys and advocates at CHLP, which is a unique public interest legal and advocacy organization that serves people with disabilities. CHLP has served more than 20,000 New Jersey residents since 1977, and its clients include people of all ages who have developmental, mental or physical disabilities.

Interns may work directly with individual clients under CHLP supervision, and will participate in special legal and advocacy cases and activities of state and national significance.

The CHLP program provides unique opportunities to learn about the law and about policies, programs and issues in such areas as health care, insurance, housing, human services, employment and education.

The internships are named for Ann

Internships, cont, page 8

2

(page 3)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No.

ADA Activists Arrested at Capitol

During the week of March 12-17, members of ADAPT (American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit) expressed their views to members of Congress and captured national media attention. On March 13, about 150 activists demonstrated in the Capitol Rotunda.

Speaker of the House Thomas S. Foley (D-WA) addressed the group from the balcony, as did House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-IL) and Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD). After the Congressmen spoke to the activists, they began chanting "Access Is a Civil Right", and "The People United will Never be Defeated!"

Demonstrating inside the Capitol Building is against the law and when the gathering was asked to disperse by U.S. Capitol Police, over 100 people continued chanting. They were subsequently arrested by the Capitol Police, many dressed in riot uniforms. The arrests took in excess of two hours, and the police used acetylene torches to sever the chains that people in wheelchairs used to link themselves together.

Those arrested were charged with demonstrating in the Capitol and unlawful entry. All were later released on their own recognizance. Wide Blank, a founder and organizer of the disability rights activist group, commented: "We're taking the strategies of the '60s that helped get rights for black and brown people and women, and using them for people with disabilities."

(in box)
Correction
The article appearing in the February issue (2.2) on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program was a reprint of a press release from the Social Security Administration. It was unintentionally attributed to Jean Mahoney, our staff liaison to the Social Security Administration.

(in box)

Rochlin to Retire in November

Executive Director of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Jay Rochlin, announced his intent to retire effective November 1. The announcement was made during a staff meeting on April 11. Chairman Justin Dart read a letter he wrote applauding Rochlin's efforts as Executive Director of the President's Committee, a post he has held since November 1986.

Excerpts of that letter appear bellow:

"During his five years with the Committee, Jay Rochlin has made truly outstanding contributions. He has lead the Committee from the brink of extinction to be one of the nation's most credible disability-related agencies... He has, as an individual, been deeply involved with the disability rights movement....".

(portrait of Jay Rochlin)

ADAPT's Ten Best/Worst Transit Systems-1989

American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) released their 1989 list of the ten best transit systems n the country and the ten transit systems that provide the worst accessibility for people with disabilities

Ten Most Accessible:
New York City Transit Authority (bus only)
Southern California Rapid Transit District (Los Angeles)
Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle
San Francisco Municipal Railway
Alemeda-Contra Costa Country Transit District (Oakland, CA)
Regional Transportation District (Denver, CO)
Santa Clara County Transportation Agency (Austin, TX)
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (Portland, OR)
Cambria County Transit Authority (Johnstown, PA)

Ten Least Accessible:
Metropolitan Transit Commission (Minneapolis, MN)
Detroit Department of Transportation
Port Authority of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, PA)
Mass Transit Administration of Maryland (Baltimore, MD)
Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation
City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services
Regional Transit Authority (New Orleans, LA)
Sorta/Queen City Metro (Cincinnati, OH)
Madison Metro Transit Authority (Madison, WI)
Charlotte Transit System (Charlotte, NC)

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

ADA Mark Ups
House Energy and Commerce Committee

On March 13, 1990, the full Committee on Energy and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives, held their mark-ups of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The mark-up version was introduced jointly by Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Committee Chairman, and Rep. Norman Lent (R-NY) and was approved by a vote of 40-3.

The major provisions that were approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee are cited below.

Amtrak

Within five years, 50% of the following accessibility requirements must be available, and within 10 years, 100% of the following requirements must be fulfilled:

*With specified exceptions, all new cars purchased or leased by Amtrak must be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use a wheelchair.

* New single-level passenger coaches need not meet wheelchair accessibility requirements, but after 10 years Amtrak must have available on its trains a number of spaces to park and secure wheelchairs (for passengers wishing to sit in their wheelchairs) and a number of spaces to fold and store wheelchairs (for passengers wishing to transfer to a coach set). The number of each type of these spaces must equal the number of single level passenger coaches in the train. These spaces may be located in either the coaches or in food service cars, with maximum of two of each type in any one car.

* The accessibility requirements applicable to dining cars and the availability to dining cars and the availability of food service will differ depending on the age and type of equipment. In all cases, Amtrak will be required to provide equivalent food service in the most integrated setting practicable.

Commuter Rail Transportation

* Within 5 years all commuter rail system authorities must have at least one accessible car per train.

* All new cars purchased by commuter rail system authorities must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs. For commuter rail purposes, accessibility does not require an accessible restroom if no restroom is provided on the car for any passenger, nor does it require space to store and fold a wheelchair.

Private Rail Transportation

* Provides an exception for historical and antiquated rail cars and stations served exclusively by such cars to the extent that compliance with accessibility requirements would significantly alter the historic or antiquated characters of such cars or rail stations.

Rail Stations

* All new stations used in Amtrak or commuter rail systems must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs

* Amtrak must make existing stations within its system accessible (within 20 years), and commuter system authorities must make key stations within their systems accessible (within 3 years) A waiver of up to 20 years may be granted by the Secretary of Transportation to commuter authorities for certain extraordinarily expensive structural changes.

* Improves current law by clearly allocating the responsibility for making stations accessible among Amtrak, commuter authorities, other public owners, and private owners.

General

* Provides a "safe harbor" provisions for a design of stations and rail cars during the period when new regulations, guidelines, and standards for accessibility are being developed by federal agencies, so that covered entities can begin alterations without waiting for publication of the regulations.

Telecommunications

* The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will ensure that any interstate and intrastate relay services are available, to the extent possible and in the most efficient manner, to persons with hearing and/or speech-impairments.

* Common carriers must provide telecommunications relay service- individually, through designees, through a competitively selected vendor, or in concert with other carriers within 3 years.

* Provides for FCC certification of state programs to make such relay services available on an intrastate basis.

* Any television public service announcement produced or funded in whole or part by any Federal agency or instrumentality must include closed captioning.

AMENDMENTS

Five amendments were introduced by other members of the Committee. Rep. Howard C. Nielson (R-UT) introduced an amendment which would allow persons with disabilities to use motorized wheelchairs or mechanical devices in wilderness areas. The

Energy and Commerce continued page 6

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

House Surface Transportation Subcommittee
Mark Up

The Surface Transportation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation met on March 6 to mark up those sections of Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act which deals with transportation.

Following a supportive opening statement by Subcommittee Chairman Norman Y. Mineta (D-CA), Representative Glenn Anderson (D-CA), Bud Shuster (R-PA), John Hammerschmidt (R-ARK), Bob Clement (D-TN), Ron Packard (R-CA) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) made opening remarks. They stated the need for the bill but expressed some concerns about it. However, Representative Boehlert also expressed appreciation to people with disabilities for the work they were doing on behalf of their civil rights.

The Subcommittee took up and approved a substitute for the House version of the Americans with Disabilities Act and referred it to the full Committee on Public Works and Transportation with one amendment. The amendment was introduced by Representative Dennis Halstert (R-IL) to permit commuter rail systems to have one car per train rather than to make all cars accessible. However, additional accessible cars would have to be added to a train as they became necessary. This substitute amendment differs from the Energy and Commerce Committee provision, which provides that new cars must be accessible.

The substitute measure is similar to the Senate version of the ADA in most of the transportation areas, requiring new buses, rail vehicles and other vehicles operating on routes to be accessible to people with disabilities. Exceptions are for school buses and vehicles operating on a system of the National Register of Historic Places. Also, key train stations would be given 30 years to meet accessibility requirements if two-thirds of the rail stations are accessible in 20 years.

* Paratransit services to submit an annual plan of service to the Department of Transportation;

* The Secretary of Transportation to establish a standard for over-the-road buses within a year after enactment of the bill.

The standard could allow access to over-the-road buses via a boarding chair and ramp. However, advocates for the Act have expressed their opposition for safety reasons and because they don't believe that procedure will provide for a valid study of services to people with disabilities.

By votes of 24-14, two amendments offered by Representative Shuster lost. One would have allowed the Secretary of Transportation to grant waivers to the requirement for wheelchair lift on buses in communities with 200,000 people or less if they provide an adequate paratransit system. The other would have exempted private entities, not primarily engaged with transportation but which operate buses or shuttles, such as for their employees, from some of the requirements.

At the conclusion of the session, Representative Shuster and Hammerschmidt announced that they would introduce other amendments to the bill at the mark-up session conducted by the full Public Works and Transportation Committee scheduled for April 3..

State Relations Standing Committee

The mission of the State Relations Committee is to provide a formal structure to enable State Governors' Committees or State liaison organizations to bring issues and concerns to the attention of the President's Committee. Further, the Committee assists states in matters concerning employment, plans, program issues, legislation, research and publications. The Committee's projects aim to meet the following objectives:
1. to identify employment related concerns and issues of the states;
2. to transmit these issues and concerns to the President's Committee;
3. to develop and recommend strategies to address these concerns and issues; and,
4. to foster coordination and cooperation among states and the President's Committee in order to enhance the mutual achievement of employment-related goals.

Projects developed and carried out by the Committee include the State Profile Manual, the Orientation Manuel for New Chairs and Executives, and the creation of the Governor's Council and informational letters to Governors, the conducting of the bid procedure for annual meetings, and the development of a manual on the establishment and maintenance of local committees.

The States Relations Standing Committee is comprised of the members of the States Executive Committee of the National Association of Governor's Committees on People with Disabilities. The National Association of Governor's Committees on the People with Disabilities is the national organization of all Governor's Committees. Its memberships is made up of the Chairs and Executive Directors, or

States, continued page 7

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

Long-Standing Republican Presidential Aide Appointed to Civil Rights Commission

In a move to "re-invigorate" the embattled Civil Rights Commission, President George Bush selected Arthur A. Fletcher, former United Nations Deputy and Aide to three Presidents, to chair the Commission on February 23. By nominating Fletcher, President Bush intends to show that he wants to restore the commission as "an effective institution", according to White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater.

"By selecting someone to serve as chair with some credentials in civil rights, said Althea Simmons, director of the Washington Bureau of the NAACP, "it provides that the President has some sensitivity with reference to the Commission."

But the conservative composure of the Civil Rights Commission concerns some in the civil rights community. "Regardless of the Fletcher appointment", said Ralph Neas, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, "there are too many right-wingers on the Commission."

Fletcher served as Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Richard Nixon, as Deputy Presidential Assistant for Urban Affairs for President Gerald Ford, and as an advisor to President Ronald Reagan.

Established in 1957 to evaluate Federal laws and the effectiveness of government equal opportunity programs, the commission has no enforcement authority. The President fills half of the eight-member panel, and Congress selects the remaining four.

Fitzwater also said that the President will fill another vacancy on the commission soon.

Energy and Commerce, from page 4

motion was dropped when it was agreed that this was not under the jurisdiction of this committee.

Four amendments was introduced by Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-CA); all four were overwhelmingly defeated by the committee. The amendments were:

1. Change the wording of the definition of a handicap to eliminate the wording 'regarded as having an impairment'.
2. Eliminate the reference to anticipatory discrimination.
3. Exclude individuals with contagious or sexually transmitted diseases.
4. Add a phrase to indicate that nothing in the ADA shall prohibit the railroad company to require a physician's certificate stating that the prospective disabled employee's job does not pose a danger or risk to the health and safety of others.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) spoke vigorously against each amendment along with others.

Supporters of the ADA say that passage of the Energy and Commerce Committee was a triumph for people with disabilities.

Publications

The Office of Special Advisor to the President for Consumer Affairs released its Consumer's Resource Handbook, 1990 edition, in early February. The Handbook provides names, addresses, and telephone numbers for federal, state and local consumer officials. Included are contacts in the corporate community, Better Business Bureaus, Trade Associations, and government agencies. Voice and TDD numbers are cited for State Vocational and Rehabilitation Agencies and state agencies on aging. In the guide's introduction President George Bush makes this remark: "Indeed, the marketplace skills of individual consumers play an important role in ensuring that every American citizen has his or her share of our Nation's prosperity."

Some topics included in the Handbook are health issues, health fraud, home improvements, teleshopping, vacation certificates, travel clubs, warranties, auto repair and credit cards. Single copies are free by writing to the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO, 81009. Questions should be directed to Juanita Yates, 202/634-4297.

(in box)
Job Fair

A Job Fair at the Annual Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2, at the Blackburn Center at Howard University from 1 3 pm.

It is sponsored by the Epilepsy Foundation for the National Capital Area, and open to all candidates without a fee.

Transportation service will be provided from the Annual Meeting site at the Washington Hilton Hotel following the Opening Session.

For more information, call the Epilepsy Foundation for the National Capital Area at (202) 638-5229.

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

March, from page 1

marched in the rally, Representative Patricia Schroeder (D-CO), Dr. I. King Jordan, President of Gallaudet University, Jim Brady, former Press Secretary and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, and Bob Silverstein, Staff Director of the Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy.

Following the formal ceremony, activists in wheelchairs crawled up four flights of stairs to the Capitol building in a dramatic display of commitment to their cause. Each carried with them a copy of the "Disabled People's Bill of Rights", a document generated by American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT).

(photograph of a crowd in front of the U.S. Capitol)
Monica Hall
Ceremony Assembly at Capitol

(photograph of two demonstrators hugging in front of the U.S. Capitol)
Monica Hall
After the March

(photograph of activists on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Steps)
Crawling on the Capitol Steps

States, from page 5

their designees, of the state Governor's Committees. The purpose of this organization is to promote equal access to employment, programs and services on behalf of persons with disabilities and to advocate for the inclusion of all citizens with disabilities into the mainstream of life. The National Association of Governor's Committees conducts the annual Media Advertising Award, presented to the outstanding television advertisement that effectively includes persons with disabilities. The National Association of Governor's Committees conducts an Annual Training conference in conjunction with the President's Committee's Annual Meeting.

The State Relations Committee is chaired by Francine Lee, Executive Director of the Commission on Persons with Disabilities for the state of Hawaii and staffed by Faith Kirk, an employment advisor for the President's Committee

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1990 - 721-817 - 1302/20065

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

Upcoming Events

April
25-26
Second Annual Seminar on Law and Disability, New Jersey Law Center, New Brunswick, NJ. Contact Carl Moore, 201/672-5012 (v), and 201/678-7513 (TDD).

May
2-4
Annual Meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Washington Hilton Hotel. Contact, the President's Committee, 202/653-5044.
12-15
Independence Living Conference, Hyatt Bethesda Hotel, Bethesda, MD. Contact 913/864-4095.
20-25
Fifth International Conference of Rehabilitation International, Dublin, Ireland. Contact Conference Secretariat, National Rehabilitation Board, 24/25 Clyde Road, Dublin 4, Ireland.
22-25
Second International Conference on Student Development and the Hearing Impaired, Washington, DC. Contact Beth Benedict, 202/651-5247.

June
7-10
Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured Adult and Child, Williamsburg, VA. Contact Kathy Martin. 804/786-7290.
11-17
"Preparing for Tomorrow": Community Service Organization Training, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC. Contact Jackie Kinner, 202/651-5351.

July
18-22
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Annual Convention, Chicago, Il. Contact NAMI, 703/524-7600.

Internships, from page 2

Klein, who was a distinguished advocate in her professional, voluntary and public roles. She was a social worker, President of the New Jersey League of Women Voters, a member of the New Jersey Legislature, and the first woman to be Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services.

The Internships are made possible through private contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations.

(in box)
Tips and Trends
A complimentary publication of the President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities

Chairman: Justin Dart, Jr.
Executive Director: Jay Rochlin
Chief of Publications: Dick Dietl
Editor: Hardy Stone

For further information contact:
The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
1111 20th Street, NW Suite 636
Washington, DC 20036-3470

(202) 653-5044 (voice)
(202) 653-5050 (TDD)
(202) 653-7386 (FAX)

All public documents produced by the President's Committee are available on Braille, large print and on cassette tape.

8

The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
Washington, DC
20036-3470

Bulk Rate

Postage and Fees Paid
U.S. Department of Labor, Permit G-59; (page 1)

Tips & Trends

The President's Committee On Employment of People with Disabilities

Vol 2, No. 4
April 1990

The Civil Rights March of 1990

On March 12, hundreds of people from across the United States joined a march for the Americans with Disabilities Act that would give America's 43 million people with disabilities rights that other minorities have had for years.

Beginning at the White House and ending at the United States Capitol, the demonstrators marched the 19 city blocks chanting "Access is our Civil Right" and other slogans in favor of ADA's immediate passage with no weakening amendments. The procession moved slowly in the 89-degree heat as individuals with disabilities and advocates made their way along the streets of the Nation's Capital.

Aside from many demonstrators in wheelchairs, banners, handmade signs and colorful tee-shirts made the procession a media extravaganza, as representative of national, local and many independent news services from around the country served the event. Camera crews kept focus on the demonstration well after arrival at the Capitol, where a brief ceremony was held.

Mike Auberger, an ADAPT organizer and leader of the march, introduced Justin Dart, Chairman of the Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities and Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. He gave a rousing address, followed by remarks from Evan Kemp, Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Congressman Major Owens (D-NY), who

March, cont. page 7

(in box)
BULLETIN:
Executive Director Jay Rochlin announces his retirement. Story page 3.
(photograph of disability rights activists at the march for the Americans with Disabilities Act.)

(page 2)

Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4
Soviets Seek Advice on Employment of People with Disabilities

A recent cablegram to Chairman Justin Dart confirmed that an official delegation of Soviet officials who are interested in rehabilitation and employment will be coming to the President's Committee's 1990 Annual Meeting, May 2-4 in Washington.

The announcement was made in Moscow by the State Commissioner of Labor, in response to an invitation extended by Chairman Dart and carried to the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister by Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Ambassador Richard Schifter.

This development is one of several agreements resulting from the meeting between President George Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta, at which time the United States agreed to cooperate with the Soviet Union in efforts to improve the quality of Soviet life from a humanitarian point of view.

An interagency task force, working with the State Department, has been planning various ways to bring about closer contact between rehabilitation personnel in the two countries, particularly with respect to exporting knowledge to American low technology to Russia to assist in the manufacture of aids, equipment and devices to make work and living more accessible to its people with disabilities.

The State Department decided that the Annual Meeting of the President's Committee, with its Exhibition of over 100 display booths featuring products and programs, its 40 workshops, plus several plenary sessions, would afford the Soviet delegation an opportunity to learn and observe how Americans with disabilities are faring in this country. In addition to the many professionals the foreign visitors will encounter, the Annual Meeting provides a way for them to mingle and converse with several hundred persons with disabilities who will be attending from throughout the United States.

The cablegram from Moscow states that... "it is with deep gratitude that we accept your invitation to participate in the annual meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and are intending to send a delegation."

The Annual Meeting of the President's Committee, a national training conference on employment of people with disabilities, is open to all who wish to register. There is no registration fee.

Kansas Dual Party Relay Begins in May

Kansas Relay Service, Inc. (KRSI), a nonprofit organization in Topeka, KS, awarded the Southwestern Bell a five-year contract to provide a telephone service to speech or hearing impaired persons in Kansas.

The relay system will be used to complete calls originating and billed in Kansas, to include outgoing interstate calls. Out-of-state callers will not be able to use the service to call telephone customers in Kansas.

Customers will access the relay center using a standard TDD. Users type their phone request, which is received on a terminal at the Kansas Relay Center in Lawrence, KS. The relay attendant then places an outgoing call to the requested party and acts as a relay for the two parties by communicating their conversation by voice and TDD. The system will work in reverse, and a hearing person can contact a person with a hearing impairment.

"There is a great need for this service in Kansas", said Mary Manning, General Manager of Customer Relations for SW Bell's Kansas Division. "There are approximately 184,000 hearing impaired and 35,000 speech impaired residents in the state", she added.

Five supervisors and up to 45 attendants will staff the Relay Center in Lawrence, and will receive special training to handle the calls.

Law Internships Offered

The Community Health Law Project (CHLP) is now seeking applicants for the Ann Klein Internship for 1990. Applicants may be students in schools of law, public administration, social work or other graduate and professional schools and programs.

Interns will be supervised by experienced attorneys and advocates at CHLP, which is a unique public interest legal and advocacy organization that serves people with disabilities. CHLP has served more than 20,000 New Jersey residents since 1977, and its clients include people of all ages who have developmental, mental or physical disabilities.

Interns may work directly with individual clients under CHLP supervision, and will participate in special legal and advocacy cases and activities of state and national significance.

The CHLP program provides unique opportunities to learn about the law and about policies, programs and issues in such areas as health care, insurance, housing, human services, employment and education.

The internships are named for Ann

Internships, cont, page 8

2

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No.

ADA Activists Arrested at Capitol

During the week of March 12-17, members of ADAPT (American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit) expressed their views to members of Congress and captured national media attention. On March 13, about 150 activists demonstrated in the Capitol Rotunda.

Speaker of the House Thomas S. Foley (D-WA) addressed the group from the balcony, as did House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-IL) and Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD). After the Congressmen spoke to the activists, they began chanting "Access Is a Civil Right", and "The People United will Never be Defeated!"

Demonstrating inside the Capitol Building is against the law and when the gathering was asked to disperse by U.S. Capitol Police, over 100 people continued chanting. They were subsequently arrested by the Capitol Police, many dressed in riot uniforms. The arrests took in excess of two hours, and the police used acetylene torches to sever the chains that people in wheelchairs used to link themselves together.

Those arrested were charged with demonstrating in the Capitol and unlawful entry. All were later released on their own recognizance. Wide Blank, a founder and organizer of the disability rights activist group, commented: "We're taking the strategies of the '60s that helped get rights for black and brown people and women, and using them for people with disabilities."

(in box)
Correction
The article appearing in the February issue (2.2) on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program was a reprint of a press release from the Social Security Administration. It was unintentionally attributed to Jean Mahoney, our staff liaison to the Social Security Administration.

(in box)

Rochlin to Retire in November

Executive Director of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Jay Rochlin, announced his intent to retire effective November 1. The announcement was made during a staff meeting on April 11. Chairman Justin Dart read a letter he wrote applauding Rochlin's efforts as Executive Director of the President's Committee, a post he has held since November 1986.

Excerpts of that letter appear bellow:

"During his five years with the Committee, Jay Rochlin has made truly outstanding contributions. He has lead the Committee from the brink of extinction to be one of the nation's most credible disability-related agencies... He has, as an individual, been deeply involved with the disability rights movement....".

(portrait of Jay Rochlin)

ADAPT's Ten Best/Worst Transit Systems-1989

American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) released their 1989 list of the ten best transit systems n the country and the ten transit systems that provide the worst accessibility for people with disabilities

Ten Most Accessible:
New York City Transit Authority (bus only)
Southern California Rapid Transit District (Los Angeles)
Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle
San Francisco Municipal Railway
Alemeda-Contra Costa Country Transit District (Oakland, CA)
Regional Transportation District (Denver, CO)
Santa Clara County Transportation Agency (Austin, TX)
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (Portland, OR)
Cambria County Transit Authority (Johnstown, PA)

Ten Least Accessible:
Metropolitan Transit Commission (Minneapolis, MN)
Detroit Department of Transportation
Port Authority of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, PA)
Mass Transit Administration of Maryland (Baltimore, MD)
Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation
City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services
Regional Transit Authority (New Orleans, LA)
Sorta/Queen City Metro (Cincinnati, OH)
Madison Metro Transit Authority (Madison, WI)
Charlotte Transit System (Charlotte, NC)

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

ADA Mark Ups
House Energy and Commerce Committee

On March 13, 1990, the full Committee on Energy and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives, held their mark-ups of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The mark-up version was introduced jointly by Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Committee Chairman, and Rep. Norman Lent (R-NY) and was approved by a vote of 40-3.

The major provisions that were approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee are cited below.

Amtrak

Within five years, 50% of the following accessibility requirements must be available, and within 10 years, 100% of the following requirements must be fulfilled:

*With specified exceptions, all new cars purchased or leased by Amtrak must be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use a wheelchair.

* New single-level passenger coaches need not meet wheelchair accessibility requirements, but after 10 years Amtrak must have available on its trains a number of spaces to park and secure wheelchairs (for passengers wishing to sit in their wheelchairs) and a number of spaces to fold and store wheelchairs (for passengers wishing to transfer to a coach set). The number of each type of these spaces must equal the number of single level passenger coaches in the train. These spaces may be located in either the coaches or in food service cars, with maximum of two of each type in any one car.

* The accessibility requirements applicable to dining cars and the availability to dining cars and the availability of food service will differ depending on the age and type of equipment. In all cases, Amtrak will be required to provide equivalent food service in the most integrated setting practicable.

Commuter Rail Transportation

* Within 5 years all commuter rail system authorities must have at least one accessible car per train.

* All new cars purchased by commuter rail system authorities must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs. For commuter rail purposes, accessibility does not require an accessible restroom if no restroom is provided on the car for any passenger, nor does it require space to store and fold a wheelchair.

Private Rail Transportation

* Provides an exception for historical and antiquated rail cars and stations served exclusively by such cars to the extent that compliance with accessibility requirements would significantly alter the historic or antiquated characters of such cars or rail stations.

Rail Stations

* All new stations used in Amtrak or commuter rail systems must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs

* Amtrak must make existing stations within its system accessible (within 20 years), and commuter system authorities must make key stations within their systems accessible (within 3 years) A waiver of up to 20 years may be granted by the Secretary of Transportation to commuter authorities for certain extraordinarily expensive structural changes.

* Improves current law by clearly allocating the responsibility for making stations accessible among Amtrak, commuter authorities, other public owners, and private owners.

General

* Provides a "safe harbor" provisions for a design of stations and rail cars during the period when new regulations, guidelines, and standards for accessibility are being developed by federal agencies, so that covered entities can begin alterations without waiting for publication of the regulations.

Telecommunications

* The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will ensure that any interstate and intrastate relay services are available, to the extent possible and in the most efficient manner, to persons with hearing and/or speech-impairments.

* Common carriers must provide telecommunications relay service- individually, through designees, through a competitively selected vendor, or in concert with other carriers within 3 years.

* Provides for FCC certification of state programs to make such relay services available on an intrastate basis.

* Any television public service announcement produced or funded in whole or part by any Federal agency or instrumentality must include closed captioning.

AMENDMENTS

Five amendments were introduced by other members of the Committee. Rep. Howard C. Nielson (R-UT) introduced an amendment which would allow persons with disabilities to use motorized wheelchairs or mechanical devices in wilderness areas. The

Energy and Commerce continued page 6

4

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

House Surface Transportation Subcommittee
Mark Up

The Surface Transportation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation met on March 6 to mark up those sections of Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act which deals with transportation.

Following a supportive opening statement by Subcommittee Chairman Norman Y. Mineta (D-CA), Representative Glenn Anderson (D-CA), Bud Shuster (R-PA), John Hammerschmidt (R-ARK), Bob Clement (D-TN), Ron Packard (R-CA) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) made opening remarks. They stated the need for the bill but expressed some concerns about it. However, Representative Boehlert also expressed appreciation to people with disabilities for the work they were doing on behalf of their civil rights.

The Subcommittee took up and approved a substitute for the House version of the Americans with Disabilities Act and referred it to the full Committee on Public Works and Transportation with one amendment. The amendment was introduced by Representative Dennis Halstert (R-IL) to permit commuter rail systems to have one car per train rather than to make all cars accessible. However, additional accessible cars would have to be added to a train as they became necessary. This substitute amendment differs from the Energy and Commerce Committee provision, which provides that new cars must be accessible.

The substitute measure is similar to the Senate version of the ADA in most of the transportation areas, requiring new buses, rail vehicles and other vehicles operating on routes to be accessible to people with disabilities. Exceptions are for school buses and vehicles operating on a system of the National Register of Historic Places. Also, key train stations would be given 30 years to meet accessibility requirements if two-thirds of the rail stations are accessible in 20 years.

* Paratransit services to submit an annual plan of service to the Department of Transportation;

* The Secretary of Transportation to establish a standard for over-the-road buses within a year after enactment of the bill.

The standard could allow access to over-the-road buses via a boarding chair and ramp. However, advocates for the Act have expressed their opposition for safety reasons and because they don't believe that procedure will provide for a valid study of services to people with disabilities.

By votes of 24-14, two amendments offered by Representative Shuster lost. One would have allowed the Secretary of Transportation to grant waivers to the requirement for wheelchair lift on buses in communities with 200,000 people or less if they provide an adequate paratransit system. The other would have exempted private entities, not primarily engaged with transportation but which operate buses or shuttles, such as for their employees, from some of the requirements.

At the conclusion of the session, Representative Shuster and Hammerschmidt announced that they would introduce other amendments to the bill at the mark-up session conducted by the full Public Works and Transportation Committee scheduled for April 3..

State Relations Standing Committee

The mission of the State Relations Committee is to provide a formal structure to enable State Governors' Committees or State liaison organizations to bring issues and concerns to the attention of the President's Committee. Further, the Committee assists states in matters concerning employment, plans, program issues, legislation, research and publications. The Committee's projects aim to meet the following objectives:
1. to identify employment related concerns and issues of the states;
2. to transmit these issues and concerns to the President's Committee;
3. to develop and recommend strategies to address these concerns and issues; and,
4. to foster coordination and cooperation among states and the President's Committee in order to enhance the mutual achievement of employment-related goals.

Projects developed and carried out by the Committee include the State Profile Manual, the Orientation Manuel for New Chairs and Executives, and the creation of the Governor's Council and informational letters to Governors, the conducting of the bid procedure for annual meetings, and the development of a manual on the establishment and maintenance of local committees.

The States Relations Standing Committee is comprised of the members of the States Executive Committee of the National Association of Governor's Committees on People with Disabilities. The National Association of Governor's Committees on the People with Disabilities is the national organization of all Governor's Committees. Its memberships is made up of the Chairs and Executive Directors, or

States, continued page 7

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

Long-Standing Republican Presidential Aide Appointed to Civil Rights Commission

In a move to "re-invigorate" the embattled Civil Rights Commission, President George Bush selected Arthur A. Fletcher, former United Nations Deputy and Aide to three Presidents, to chair the Commission on February 23. By nominating Fletcher, President Bush intends to show that he wants to restore the commission as "an effective institution", according to White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater.

"By selecting someone to serve as chair with some credentials in civil rights, said Althea Simmons, director of the Washington Bureau of the NAACP, "it provides that the President has some sensitivity with reference to the Commission."

But the conservative composure of the Civil Rights Commission concerns some in the civil rights community. "Regardless of the Fletcher appointment", said Ralph Neas, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, "there are too many right-wingers on the Commission."

Fletcher served as Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Richard Nixon, as Deputy Presidential Assistant for Urban Affairs for President Gerald Ford, and as an advisor to President Ronald Reagan.

Established in 1957 to evaluate Federal laws and the effectiveness of government equal opportunity programs, the commission has no enforcement authority. The President fills half of the eight-member panel, and Congress selects the remaining four.

Fitzwater also said that the President will fill another vacancy on the commission soon.

Energy and Commerce, from page 4

motion was dropped when it was agreed that this was not under the jurisdiction of this committee.

Four amendments was introduced by Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-CA); all four were overwhelmingly defeated by the committee. The amendments were:

1. Change the wording of the definition of a handicap to eliminate the wording 'regarded as having an impairment'.
2. Eliminate the reference to anticipatory discrimination.
3. Exclude individuals with contagious or sexually transmitted diseases.
4. Add a phrase to indicate that nothing in the ADA shall prohibit the railroad company to require a physician's certificate stating that the prospective disabled employee's job does not pose a danger or risk to the health and safety of others.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) spoke vigorously against each amendment along with others.

Supporters of the ADA say that passage of the Energy and Commerce Committee was a triumph for people with disabilities.

Publications

The Office of Special Advisor to the President for Consumer Affairs released its Consumer's Resource Handbook, 1990 edition, in early February. The Handbook provides names, addresses, and telephone numbers for federal, state and local consumer officials. Included are contacts in the corporate community, Better Business Bureaus, Trade Associations, and government agencies. Voice and TDD numbers are cited for State Vocational and Rehabilitation Agencies and state agencies on aging. In the guide's introduction President George Bush makes this remark: "Indeed, the marketplace skills of individual consumers play an important role in ensuring that every American citizen has his or her share of our Nation's prosperity."

Some topics included in the Handbook are health issues, health fraud, home improvements, teleshopping, vacation certificates, travel clubs, warranties, auto repair and credit cards. Single copies are free by writing to the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO, 81009. Questions should be directed to Juanita Yates, 202/634-4297.

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Job Fair

A Job Fair at the Annual Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2, at the Blackburn Center at Howard University from 1 3 pm.

It is sponsored by the Epilepsy Foundation for the National Capital Area, and open to all candidates without a fee.

Transportation service will be provided from the Annual Meeting site at the Washington Hilton Hotel following the Opening Session.

For more information, call the Epilepsy Foundation for the National Capital Area at (202) 638-5229.

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

March, from page 1

marched in the rally, Representative Patricia Schroeder (D-CO), Dr. I. King Jordan, President of Gallaudet University, Jim Brady, former Press Secretary and Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, and Bob Silverstein, Staff Director of the Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy.

Following the formal ceremony, activists in wheelchairs crawled up four flights of stairs to the Capitol building in a dramatic display of commitment to their cause. Each carried with them a copy of the "Disabled People's Bill of Rights", a document generated by American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT).

(photograph of a crowd in front of the U.S. Capitol)
Monica Hall
Ceremony Assembly at Capitol

(photograph of two demonstrators hugging in front of the U.S. Capitol)
Monica Hall
After the March

(photograph of activists on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Steps)
Crawling on the Capitol Steps

States, from page 5

their designees, of the state Governor's Committees. The purpose of this organization is to promote equal access to employment, programs and services on behalf of persons with disabilities and to advocate for the inclusion of all citizens with disabilities into the mainstream of life. The National Association of Governor's Committees conducts the annual Media Advertising Award, presented to the outstanding television advertisement that effectively includes persons with disabilities. The National Association of Governor's Committees conducts an Annual Training conference in conjunction with the President's Committee's Annual Meeting.

The State Relations Committee is chaired by Francine Lee, Executive Director of the Commission on Persons with Disabilities for the state of Hawaii and staffed by Faith Kirk, an employment advisor for the President's Committee

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1990 - 721-817 - 1302/20065

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Tips and Trends
Vol 2. No. 4

Upcoming Events

April
25-26
Second Annual Seminar on Law and Disability, New Jersey Law Center, New Brunswick, NJ. Contact Carl Moore, 201/672-5012 (v), and 201/678-7513 (TDD).

May
2-4
Annual Meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Washington Hilton Hotel. Contact, the President's Committee, 202/653-5044.
12-15
Independence Living Conference, Hyatt Bethesda Hotel, Bethesda, MD. Contact 913/864-4095.
20-25
Fifth International Conference of Rehabilitation International, Dublin, Ireland. Contact Conference Secretariat, National Rehabilitation Board, 24/25 Clyde Road, Dublin 4, Ireland.
22-25
Second International Conference on Student Development and the Hearing Impaired, Washington, DC. Contact Beth Benedict, 202/651-5247.

June
7-10
Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured Adult and Child, Williamsburg, VA. Contact Kathy Martin. 804/786-7290.
11-17
"Preparing for Tomorrow": Community Service Organization Training, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC. Contact Jackie Kinner, 202/651-5351.

July
18-22
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Annual Convention, Chicago, Il. Contact NAMI, 703/524-7600.

Internships, from page 2

Klein, who was a distinguished advocate in her professional, voluntary and public roles. She was a social worker, President of the New Jersey League of Women Voters, a member of the New Jersey Legislature, and the first woman to be Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services.

The Internships are made possible through private contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations.

(in box)
Tips and Trends
A complimentary publication of the President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities

Chairman: Justin Dart, Jr.
Executive Director: Jay Rochlin
Chief of Publications: Dick Dietl
Editor: Hardy Stone

For further information contact:
The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
1111 20th Street, NW Suite 636
Washington, DC 20036-3470

(202) 653-5044 (voice)
(202) 653-5050 (TDD)
(202) 653-7386 (FAX)

All public documents produced by the President's Committee are available on Braille, large print and on cassette tape.

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The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
Washington, DC
20036-3470

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