Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced last week the Committee had approved nominations to fill positions at the National Council on Disability and other federal agencies. The nominees now move to the full Senate for confirmation.
The nominees for NCD membership are:
- Gary Blumenthal of Massachusetts
- Chester Alonzo Finn of New York
- Sara A. Gelser of Oregon
- Ari Ne'eman of Maryland
- Dongwoo Joseph Pak of California
- Carol Jean Reynolds of Colorado
- Fernando Torres-Gill of California
- Jonathan M. Young of Maryland
10 comments:
I think this is outstanding to have such a wonderful panel of people to be selected on this committee.
Annette L Rios
It is surprising to me that there are so many nominees for the National Council on Disabilities. It is great that these people want to be a part of this council. It is not easy to be part of this committee, but these people are at least taking a risk. It’s a great factor to even be nominated. It just shows that there are many people out there who do care about people with disabilities. They are willing to help them out in any way just being part of this committee. Some people are selfish and won’t even budge for a person with a disability. They do need more attention then others because their abilities are limited according to their diagnosis. This article just proves that these people will support people with disabilities in any way they could. It’s not an everyday thing where we have several people wanting to helping people with intellectual disabilities.
Jennifer Valerio
I hope all the individuals who were nominated have good intentions in their hearts. We often don’t have an idea what the individual plans to do. The good ones are the one who seek to aid the cause of the disabled, while others seek only to aid themselves. Being nominated to one of those positions is not only a great honor but a great responsibility. I understand that the political games played often results in positions filled out of favors but I pray that some individuals who end up in those positions have the right intentions and will not get caught up and force to ride the political coaster. It is bad enough that some will get stone walled and be rendered powerless to bring about change. I can’t understand how we as voters have not united and forced all these politicians to be accountable. Only then can we be sure that all nominees are truly qualified to sit in those seats.
Does anyone know if there is an established web site that lists the qualifications of nominees and the top competitors for those nominations? Every one of us should be concerned about what goes on behind closed doors. We shouldn’t have to ask someone to create it. If the right individuals had been nominated all along I don’t think it would have taken so long for legislation such as Americans with Disabilities Act to be introduced and passed. Each of us should let our representatives know how we feel about these nominations, but in order to do that we need to know ourselves who the nominees are and if they were good choices.
Albert Lazo
It is wonderful to see that people are willing to participate and feel so passionate about helping people with disabilities. I would feel extremely honored to be a nominee. Being that I am not all too familiar with the National Council on Disabilities, I decided to do my research. First off, I was not aware that the fifteen members that make up the NCD are chosen by the President with the approval of the Senate. What a prestigious position to hold! The NCD is responsible all the programs, policies etc to help ensure that people with disabilities are able to integrate successfully into society. Now that I am a little more informed about the NCD and what exactly they do, I hope that these nominees go into this process with an over all desire to help make life for people with disabilities as easy as possible.
Victoria Lopez
I did not want to comment on this blog until I had the opportunity to actually research the candidates for their qualifications. I really think President Obama did a great job in selecting these nominees, they are truly qualified and have made great contributions in helping individuals with disabilities. What amazes me the most is how most of the candidates have a disability or a family member very close to them does, which shows that in their hearts they really have good intentions to help, improve, and ease the lives for individuals with disabilities. My top three nominees are Sara Gelser from the state of Oregon, Jonathan M. Young from the state of Maryland, and Ari Ne'eman from the state of Maryland; at least to me, their accomplishments and life experiences seemed to stand out more above the rest.
-Sukania Mendez
Knowing that these nominees are willing to help out people with disabilities is wonderfull news! I think that the President has done a great job in selecting these people who care about those with disabilites. Helping incorparate into society takes more than representing them. Knowing their background of each one of them, the team will more forward into a positive outcome at the National Council on Disabilities.
By now, all of the nominees, with the exception of Ari Ne’eman, are listed as official members on the National Council on Disability (NCD) website. I read each of the new member’s biographies and I am beyond amazed with their dedication to promoting the rights and advocating for people with disabilities! Each new member of the NCD has an inspiring story and an equally impressive background in the area of working with people with disabilities.
As members of the NCD, they will now how the job of advising the President, Congress and executive agencies on promoting policies and procedures. For now, the NCD is working on six complex current issues. One of the current issues, of interest, is the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (DD Act). The last evaluation and reauthorization has not occurred since 2000. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what the NCD recommends.
B. Ramirez
Its good to have seen that all these people were nominated. I hope that every single person has good intentions and good hearts in regards to working and advocating for people with disabilites.
ALINA LIMON
By now, all of the President’s nominees for the key posts in the National Council on Disability (NCD) are listed as members with the exception of Ari Ne'eman. I read through their biographies and I am so impressed with the variety of experiences that these members will add to the NCD. These new members have dedicated their time to empower people with disabilities and promote equality throughout the community. As new members of the NCD, they will have the job to advise the President, Congress and executive branches on policies, programs, and procedures that will guarantee equality for all people with disabilities. The NCD will be working on very difficult issues such as the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act: Implementation Evaluation and Recommendations for Reauthorization. This act has not been reauthorized in more than 10 years and it will be very interesting to see what recommendations are made.
B. Ramirez
This is great that there are so many people that are nominated to be part of the national council for disabilities. People with disabilities are just being heard and people are starting to finally notice that there is a lot of issues to take care of that are important. It is amazing that there are people that care and want to help people with disabilities. The world is not a easy place and we need people in higher grounds to help and advocate for people with disabilities.
Nora
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