President Bush Offers Plan to Increase ADA Access

President Bush today will announce a $1 billion plan to provide people with disabilities easier access to schools, places of employment and religious institutions, Knight Ridder/Akron Beacon Journal reports. Called the "New Freedom Initiative," the proposal expands on a campaign plan Bush offered in June, and sets four goals for improving the lives of the nation's 54 million disabled residents: "increasing access to technology, expanding educational opportunities, integrating disabled citizens into the work force and promoting access to community life." Under the plan, states would receive $20 million a year in matching funds to provide loans for people with disabilities to purchase equipment that would allow them to telecommute. It also would offer states $10 million in matching funds "to help organizations that are exempt" from the Americans With Disabilities Act, including "places of worship and civic groups," to "increase accessibility." Finally, the proposal would create a National Commission on Mental Health Services to improve mental health treatment. In a "draft introduction" to the proposal, Bush said, "Though progress has been made in the last decade, too many barriers remain. My administration is committed to tearing down these barriers" (Enda, Knight Ridder/Akron Beacon Journal, 2/1).