Contact:
Jennifer Dexter, Easter Seals, 202-347-3066
Nadia Facey, National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, 202-408-9514
Joy Relton, American Foundation for the Blind, 202-408-0200
Jane West, Association of Tech Act Projects, 202-289-3903


August 6, 2004

Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
United State Senate

Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee
United State House of Representatives

Dear Senator/Representatives:

As members of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) we are writing to encourage you to work with your colleagues in the Senate/House to pass a final assistive technology bill this year. We are very pleased with the progress made to date on completing this legislation: the House has unanimously passed bi-partisan reauthorization legislation, H.R. 4278; and the Senate has introduced a bi-partisan bill, S. 2595. With so little time left on the legislative calendar, we are eager to see a compromise reached between the two bills so that they can be endorsed by each body without the need for a conference.

While this program is relatively small in dollars (last year’s appropriation was $25.9 million), it has a significant impact. Children and adults with disabilities depend on these programs to ensure their access to vital assistive technology.

Without a new authorization bill this year, the program will remain vulnerable to the elimination of funding in years to come. If a compromise between the House and Senate versions of reauthorization bills is not reached, a valuable resource for people with disabilities will be lost forever.

We have several recommendations about compromises for the final legislation. They fall into the following categories: assuring maintenance of effort with the current level of service, authorizing sufficient resources to provide services, providing for sufficient accountability of project activities, and equality of services for all people with disabilities. The specific proposals that would support these goals are attached.


We look forward to working with you as this bill moves forward. Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions, please contact one of the CCD Technology and Telecommunications Task Force Co-chairs.

Sincerely,

Adapted Physical Activity Council
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
American Association of People with Disabilities
American Association on Mental Retardation
American Foundation for the Blind
American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association
American Network of Community Options & Resources
American Psychological Association
Association of Tech Act Projects
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Brain Injury Association of America
Council for Exceptional Children
Council for Learning Disabilities
Easter Seals
Goodwill Industries
Helen Keller National Center
I-NABIR
Learning Disabilities Association of America
Lutheran Services in America
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
National Coalition on Deaf-Blindness
National Organization on Disability
NISH
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America
Research Institute for Independent Living
Spina Bifida Association of America
TASH
The Arc of the United States
United Cerebral Palsy
United Spinal Association











Assuring Maintenance of Effort with the Current Level of Service

• The sunset in the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 must be removed. Both the House and Senate bills do this, but without passage of legislation this year, the program is at risk of being eliminated permanently.
• Authorization levels should be sufficient to provide funding for training and technical assistance for both state assistive technology projects and the protection and advocacy for assistive technology program.

Authorizing Sufficient Resources to Provide Services

• The state minimum of $500,000 for state grants and $150,000 for the territories proposed by the Senate should be adopted.
• A minimum grant increase for the protection and advocacy program included in the Senate bill is needed to assure sufficient services to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
• Enable the protection and advocacy for assistive technology program to retain earned income; similar provisions are included in both the House and Senate bill.
• The final legislation needs to include authorization for sufficient funding and flexibility to support a range of needed services. Each state’s needs and existing level of services will be unique and the final bill should not jeopardize needed services by applying rigid rules about what services should be offered.

Providing for Sufficient Accountability of Project Activities

• CCD supports the Senate language on data collection for activities of state projects.

Equality of Services for all People with Disabilities

• CCD supports the inclusion of a protection and advocacy for assistive technology grant for the American Indian Consortium.