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[an error occurred while processing this directive] Governmental Affairs: Advocacy in action. Read current and previous Legislative Network Alerts. View a listing of the Legislative Network Members. Frequently asked questions about the Legislative Network. |
Legislative Network Alerts Alert Number 132 June 30, 2005 For Your Information An Urgent Call to Action: The Dismantlement of RSA and the Rehab Act To: Members of the Legislative Network From: Patricia Leahy, Director of Governmental Affairs The National Rehabilitation Association is proud of the advocacy of its Membership for a number of reasons, not the least of which is your impressive response to the many CALLS TO ACTION that we have issued over the past several years when we knew the Rehab Act was in danger of being block granted and/or consolidated with other job training programs; thus losing its identity and its discrete funding stream. Both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives will stand in recess all of next week in observance of our Independence Day -- The Fourth of July. This is an opportune time for you to contact (either by phone and/or fax) or visit with your respective Senators and Congresspersons about the insidious dismantling of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) and the Rehab Act. We are now calling upon you again to save RSA and the Rehab Act from dismantlement. And, we assure you, these actions on the part of the U.S. Department of Education are as serious -- if not more serious -- than the WIA PLUS BLOCK GRANT. Why do we say this? Because what is happening within RSA is the insidious -- and purposeful -- dismantling of not only RSA but also the carefully-crafted Rehabilitation Act. So, what is happening in RSA and in the Rehab Act that warrants such an admonition? THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SUPPORTS THE WIA PLUS BLOCK GRANT. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SUPPORTS THE DOWNGRADING OF THE OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF RSA. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NOT ONLY SUPPORTS BUT WAS THE GENESIS FOR PROPOSING THAT THE RSA REGIONAL OFFICES BE ELIMINATED, THUS CUTTING THE RSA STAFF, WHICH IS THE STAFF THAT HAS THE EXPERTISE IN THE VR PROGRAM TO ADVISE OUR STATE VR AGENCIES AND OTHERS ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND MONITORING. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAS PROPOSED AND IS IN THE PROCESS OF DISMANTLING BOTH THE DEAFNESS AND BLINDNESS BRANCHES IN RSA. If we have ever seen 'Death by a Thousand Cuts,' this is it. Unless you -- all of our Members -- act now, the Rehab Act as we know it today -- will be dismantled and we will probably never get it back. Because as everyone knows, once you lose a program in Washington, you are at least a generation away from getting it back -- if at all. While other Departments in D.C. are trying to maintain what they have, the U.S. Department of Education, under Secretary Margaret Spellings, and the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Ed and Rehab Services (OSERS), John Hager, and his recently-announced Deputy, Troy Justesen, are trying to dismantle RSA and the Rehab Act. And why would they want to scuttle their own program? Because Spellings, Hager and Justesen all believe in the blockgranting of VR -- they want the one-stops to be able to take VR's money with abandon and with no accountability. Let's look at the facts that lead up to the dismantling of RSA and the Rehab Act: First and foremost, all decisions regarding the elimination of RSA's Regional Offices were made absent both the knowledge of or input from the recently-resigned RSA Commissioner, The Honorable Joanne Wilson, or any of RSA's qualified staff. The individuals making the decisions to dismantle RSA and the Rehab Act -- John Hager, Troy Justesen, Andy Pepin and Jennifer Sheehy -- do not have the expertise in the VR Program, have never been involved in monitoring or technical assistance to the best of our knowledge, and have never run a VR Program. RSA, under the aegis of Commissioner Wilson, stood in the way of blockgranting the VR Program. Why else do you think Hager, Justesen, Pepin and Sheehy eliminated Commissioner Wilson and the very capable RSA staff from discussions about WIA PLUS and the closing of RSA's Regional Offices? RSA's dedicated, qualified staff stood in the way of blockgranting VR and giving VR's money -- lock-stock-and barrel -- to the one-stops. The U.S. Department of Education realized over the past several months that they weren't going to get the WIA PLUS BLOCK GRANT AMENDMENT THROUGH THE CONGRESS SO, WHY NOT DO AN END-RUN AROUND THE CONGRESS AND DISMANTLE RSA THE OFFICE THAT PROTECTS THE INTEGRITY OF THE CAREFULLY-CRAFTED REHABILITATION ACT. And, that is exactly what the U.S. Department of Education is doing. It's doing an end-run on the Congress. The Department of Education never did an impact study on the effects of eliminating the staff in the Regional Offices (which comprises half of RSA's staff) on the VR program or on individuals with disabilities who rely on this program for economic independence. The U.S. Department of Education officials making these decisions do not know VR; have never participated in monitoring, do not have expertise in either monitoring or technical assistance, and simply do not know the VR Program. That said, these individuals -- Spellings, Hager, Justesen and Sheehy are railroading through the dismantlement of the RSA and the VR Program without regard for the consequences to not only the VR program but for the consumers of the VR program. Both Sheehy and Justesen are consumers of the VR Program and had spoken glowingly about the services they received from the Public/Private VR Partnership. Indeed, Jennifer Sheehy was so impressed with the supports and services she received from VR, she brought her VR counselor with her just a few short years ago to RSA's Employment Conference. So, what happened? One can only speculate what happens to these people once they enter the Washington bureaucracy. The National Rehabilitation Association realizes that these are tough words; but these are tough times for RSA and the Rehab Act and we desperately need your continued advocacy. In the very strongest of terms, we ask you to call and fax your Senators and Congresspersons and ask them -- the Congress -- to review the decisions that are being made by the Department of Education on the dismantlement of RSA and the Rehab Act. Because as we all know, the Rehab Act is only as strong as the entity that administers it -- the entity that administers the Rehab Act is RSA. Please call and fax your respective Senators and Congresspersons in your State and ask them to intervene in what many organizations feel is the misguided dismantling of RSA and the Rehab Act. The National Rehabilitation Association will do everything and anything it takes the protect the integrity of the Rehabilitation Act so that at the end of the day, we -- one of the longest-serving advocates for all individuals with disabilities -- can say that we did everything we could do to protect and defend the integrity of the Rehab Act and the entity that administers it -- The Rehabilitation Services Administration. The National Rehabilitation Association wants to ensure that no Member of Congress will say: 'If we only knew.' Make sure they know. Call your Representatives now. Thank you. |
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