Capitol Insider Highlights

Highlights from The Capitol Insider for the Week of September 27, 2010:

The ARC and UCP to Oppose CLASS Act Repeal
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced S. 3829, a bill to repeal the CLASS Act. Senators Chambliss (R- GA), Coburn (R-OK), Cornyn (R-TX), and McCain (R-AZ) joined as co-sponsors of the bill. The CLASS Act, part of the Affordable Care Act, creates a nationwide long term insurance program to assist people with long term service needs while avoiding the impoverishment necessary to receive Medicaid benefits. The Arc and UCP strongly supported passage of the CLASS Act and will oppose its repeal.

Obama to Sign "R" Word Elimination Bill
The House of Representatives passed Rosa’s Law (S. 2781), substituting the term “intellectual disabilities” for “mental retardation” in many federal laws. The bill is identical to the bill passed by the Senate earlier this year. President Obama will sign the bill into law soon. The terminology change does not affect eligibility or services available under the laws where the terminology is changed. This bill is a huge victory for self advocates and their families who have fought for years to remove the term “mental retardation”.

Expanding Assistance in Individuals with Autism
The House of Representatives passed HR 5756, The Training and Research for Autism Improvements Nationwide Act to amend Title I of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance Act and Bill of Rights Act (The DD Act), expanding assistance to children and adults with autism. The bill would authorize $17 million grants to University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) to provide training and services, and provide grants for up to four new UCEDDs that collaborate with minority institutions. The bill now does to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee for consideration.

Previous issues of the Capitol Insider are available at www.ucp.org anytime by choosing "Capitol Insider" under "Public Policy." If you have any questions, please contact Annie Acosta at acosta@thedpc.org.

Today is National Spread the Word to End the Word Day

Condensed Release From the Office of Texas State Senator Judith Zaffirini--

Wednesday (March 3) is National “Spread the Word to End the Word” Awareness Day, offering us a rich opportunity to focus on using respectful language for persons with intellectual disabilities by eliminating the “R-word.”

Our efforts were bolstered recently when an American Psychiatric Association review panel unveiled proposed revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, an influential guidebook in the mental health field. One recommended change favored by the panel is particularly overdue: eliminating all variations of the word "retarded" and replacing them with respectful language referencing persons with intellectual disabilities...

To find out how you can help promote respectful language, visit http://www.r-word.org/. More than 70,000 persons have visited the site and pledged to support eliminating the R-word in their everyday speech.

One Step Closer to Eliminating the "R-Word"

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On November 17, Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (Democrat- Maryland) and Michael B. Enzi (Republican-Wyoming) introduced Rosa’s Law, a bill designed to eliminate the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from most federal usage. Rosa’s Law, named after one of Mikulski’s young constituents in Maryland who has Down’s syndrome, requires the use of the terms “intellectual disabilities” and “person with an intellectual disability” in place of the older, stigmatizing terms. The Maryland State Assembly recently passed a similar bill.

About 6 million adults and children have an intellectual disability. Several other laws still use “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded”, including No Child Left Behind, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the current health care reform legislation under consideration.

SOURCE:

Rosa's Law to End Term 'Mentally Retarded'

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/rosas-law-asks-senate-kill-slur-mentally-retarded/story?id=9109319&page=2

RELATED:

What's in a name? Legislation would end use of the term 'mental retardation'

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/11/whats-in-a-name-legislation-would-end-use-of-the-term-mental-retardation.html

Senators Propose Replacing ‘Mental Retardation’ With ‘Intellectual Disability’

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/11/17/intellectual-disability-bill/6224/