Democratic Platform on Disabilities

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in presidential campaigns. As in 2020, the Democrats have a detailed plank on disability.  The Republican platform does not even mention the word.

From the 2024 Democratic Platform:

People with disabilities have long strengthened our economy and expanded our nation’s possibilities. And, groundbreaking legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act have made significant strides toward equal opportunity for people with disabilities. But there is more work to do. People with disabilities are three times less likely to have a job, and when they do, they are often paid less money for doing the same work.

Democrats are taking action to fix that. President Biden signed an executive order establishing a government-wide commitment to advancing equality and equity in federal employment, including for people with disabilities. The Labor Department is protecting workers with disabilities and fighting to end unjust employment practices. The Administration is helping state and local governments, businesses, and nonprofits access federal funds to hire more disabled Americans. And President Biden is making sure his Administration looks like America, appointing people with disabilities to positions all across our government. He is making the federal government a model employer when it comes to wages, accommodations, and opportunities to advance for people with disabilities. And he’s helping young people with disabilities transition from education to employment through the Disability Innovation Fund.

Democrats will enforce laws that ensure equal opportunity for people with disabilities: the ADA, IDEA, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Mental Health Parity Act, and the Help America Vote Act. We oppose efforts to weaken the ADA and build on the ACA to prevent health care discrimination. Democrats will enforce the Olmstead integration mandate and enforce

non-discrimination protections in health care, employment, education, housing, voting. We

will promote equitable treatment of students with disabilities so every child with disabilities can thrive. And to support people with disabilities and their families, we will support home and community-based care and end the subminimum wage.

President Biden is also working to improve health care for people with disabilities. The Administration released a rule barring providers from denying medical treatments related to organ donations or lifesaving care for disabled Americans based on their disability alone. It launched long COVID clinical trials and created the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice. The National Institutes of Health designated people with disabilities a “health disparity population,” unlocking new resources for research. President Biden also signed an executive order increasing access to quality care and supporting caregivers; as well as historic legislation that expands home- and community-based services under Medicaid.

Accessible public spaces are essential to ensuring equal opportunity for people with disabilities. Democrats have invested in accessible infrastructure, including rail station accessibility and actions to make airports and airplanes more accessible. And Democrats passed and President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which expanded access to affordable broadband, an especially important step for people with disabilities.

Trump has a long record of discrimination against people with disabilities, including publicly mocking them. His business has faced a series of lawsuits for failing to comply with the ADA. Discrimination complaints from federal workers with disabilities employed at Cabinet-level agencies increased 20 percent while he was president, and in his first year in office, the number of people with disabilities fired by the government increased 24 percent, with workers with disabilities fired at almost two times the rate of workers without disabilities.

 Democrats will enforce laws that ensure equal opportunity for people with disabilities: the ADA, IDEA, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Mental Health Parity Act, and the Help America Vote Act. We oppose efforts to weaken the ADA and build on the ACA to prevent health care discrimination. Democrats will enforce the Olmstead integration mandate and enforce on-discrimination protections in health care, employment, education, housing, voting. We will promote equitable treatment of students with disabilities so every child with disabilities can thrive. And to support people with disabilities and their families, we will support home and community-based care and end the subminimum wage

Trump repeatedly proposed billions in cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance and called for restrictions on eligibility and benefit cutbacks. He called to cut funding for special education grants and eliminate federal funding for the Special Olympics. He has promised to close the Department of Education, threatening enforcement of IDEA protections for students with disabilities. And he rescinded guidance protecting students with disabilities, including guidance aimed at ensuring students with disabilities were not unfairly disciplined.

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