ADAPT Action Concludes with Congressional Hearing

"ADAPT Action Concludes with Congressional Hearing"

For Immediate Release:
May 16, 2002
For information contact:
Bob Kafka 512-431-4085
Marsha Katz 406-544-9504

Overflow Crowd at MiCASSA Hearing Concludes ADAPT Action-
Packed Week in Washington

Washington, D.C.--- A week of long ADAPT days, fueled daily
by McDonald's hamburger lunches eaten on the streets while
blocking traffic and doors, ended on Capitol Hill - on an
even higher note than it began. The combination press
event/hearing for S 1298 and H.R. 3612, the Medicaid
Community-based Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA), packed
a cavernous hearing room in the Russell Senate Building
with so many ADAPT members and friends that the overflow
crowd spilled out into the halls and had to listen via a
sound system.

Speakers at the event included co-sponsors of both bills,
disability organizations and individuals from the
grassroots disability community. The first speaker
introduced by Master of Ceremonies, Courtland Townes III of
the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), was the
patriarch and elder statesman of the disability rights
movement, Justin Dart. Dart set the tone when he compared
being warehoused in a nursing home to being held as a
captive slave, and repeated the refrain, "MiCASSA NOW! Free
Our People!" Each time, the enthusiastic crowd loudly
chanted the refrain back to him.

"We worked with legislative staff for months to get this
event scheduled, and it had to be postponed in the wake of
September 11, so today was the culmination of a lot of work
and waiting," said Stephanie Thomas, National ADAPT
Organizer. "It was amazing to have thousands of people join
us by phone, and to have all our partner organizations here
to demand "MiCASSA Now!" with us. And, this event turned
out to be such a hot ticket that several co-sponsors
unexpectedly left the House floor to be here, too."

Speakers from Congress included original co-sponsors of
S1298, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA);
co-sponsors of H.R. 3612, Rep.Danny Davis (D-IL), and Rep.
John Shimkus (R-IL), as well as Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS)
and Rep. Joseph Hoeffel (D-PA). Disability organization and
grassroots particiants included Barbara Toomer, ADAPT Utah
State Organizer; Mike Oxford, President of the National
Council for Independent Living (NCIL); Howard Bedlin of the
National Council on Aging (NCOA); Marty Ford of the Arc
representing the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
(CCD); Rick James of Denver ADAPT and Montana; Jim Ward of
ADA Watch; Marcie Roth, Executive Director of the National
Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA); Becky Ogle and
Brian Rasmussen of United Cerebral Palsy (UCP); Marie
Anderson of Knoxville Tennessee ADAPT; Maureen McCloskey of
Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA); Andy Imparato,
Executive Director of the American Association of Persons
with Disabilities (AAPD); and Shelly Perrin of Rochester,
New York ADAPT.

The MiCASSA press event, followed by visits to
congressional delegations from 35 states, was the
culmination of successful week of action. Mother's Day saw
ADAPT at the White House with a 5 ft. by 8 ft. card for
First Lady Laura Bush, and in Houston, home to former First
Lady Barbara Bush, with an identical card, to point out
that 75% of those in nursing homes are women. Monday's
action, blocking doors and 2 major intersections around the
New Executive Office Building, garnered a meeting with the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
Mitchell Daniels, Jr., to challenge his routine quashing of
MiCASSA on a fiscal basis.

Tuesday's simultaneous actions against the AFL-CIO, and
member unions, AFSCME, and SEIU quickly resulted in a
meeting with union heads to challenge their past opposition
to closing institutions in order to protect jobs. In
addition, Tuesday was the day MiCASSA received an
endorsement from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in
a statement issued by Chair Terry McAuliffe.  Wednesday,
after the nationwide press event, ADAPT kept the pressure
on by lobbying their Senators and Representatives.

"In case anyone is wondering why we didn't hit HUD while we
were here, it's because passing MiCASSA is our biggest
priority right now," said Erik von Schmetterling,
Philadelphia ADAPT. "However, we did visit HUD at 5pm on
Tuesday, and when HUD employees left the building they were
greeted by 500 ADAPT members each sporting a mask of the
face of their boss, HUD Secretary Mel Martinez. We may not
have hit HUD this trip, but we weren't about to have
Martinez think he was forgotten or off the hook for HUD's
poor showing in its response to the President's calling for
swift elimination of barriers to equality for persons with
disabilities. It really was a great week!"

###

=====================

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www.aapd-dc.org     www.jfanow.org

There's strength in numbers!  Be a part of a national
coalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today.
www.aapd-dc.org


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