Palin details plan to help kids with ‘special needs’
October 24th, 2008
Says Obama would raise taxes on special needs trusts
From CBS News ‘From the Road’ blog, MSNBC ‘Firstread’, the Associated Press, and Fox News ‘Embed’ blog:
In her first policy speech as a vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin said parents should be able to use federal funding to send their children with disabilities to the public or private school of their choice.
She also committed to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, phasing in an additional $15 billion in funding over five years, and promised to reform and refocus services for people with disabilities. She said funds for her plan could be found by realigning federal budget priorities and clamping down on “earmarks for political pet projects.”
“Too often, even in our own day, children with special needs have been set apart and excluded. Too often, state and federal laws add to their challenges, instead of removing barriers and opening new paths of opportunity,” she said. “Too often, they are made to feel that there is no place for them in the life of our country, that they don’t count or have nothing to contribute. This attitude is a grave disservice to these beautiful children, to their families, and to our country — and I will work to change it.”
Palin said Barack Obama would raise taxes on special needs trusts designed to pay for medical and education costs for people with disabilities. “The burden that his plan would impose upon these families is just one more example of how many plans can be disrupted, how many futures can be placed at risk, and how many people can suffer when the power to tax is misused,” she said.
An excerpt from the MSNBC story:
Campaign officials suggested Friday that the project was a priority for her, and would therefore be exempted from a government freeze on domestic discretionary spending, which she and McCain have advocated for on the campaign trail. “We think this is important enough for the next vice president to stand up and talk about,” [McCain senior policy adviser Douglas] Holtz-Eakin said. “If we think it’s important enough to stand up and talk about, we ought to fund it.”
The McCain-Palin plan proposes to allow federal funding to follow children with disabilities from one school to another, but only if state funding does the same. Holtz-Eakin also said the plan would not require private or parochial schools to accommodate children with disabilities.
Palin wrapped her speech in a personal appeal, speaking of her six-month-old son Trig, who has Down syndrome, and her 13-year-old nephew Karcher, who has autism. She spoke in a Pittsburgh airport ballroom filled with families of children with disabilities, and told the crowd not to worry when her remarks were interrupted by a crying baby. “That’s the sound of life. I love it,” she said.
See also, on the McCain-Palin campaign website:
- The full text of Palin’s speech, with video
- The McCain-Palin commitment to children with special needs (press release)
(AP photo from Fox News)
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October 26th, 2008 at 2:32 am
Illinois ranks 51st among the states (and the District of Columbia) “in allocating funds for adults with developmental disabilities to live in small group homes instead of state institution.”
Source: http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2008/08/05/news/state/doc4897e8909e24c094711104.txt
That is not an inconsequential issue, at all. But it’s a little bit different from saying that Illinois ranks 51st in “funding services” for people with disabilities. “Services” is more than just funds for people to live in small group homes.
October 25th, 2008 at 1:54 am
I’m thrilled that at least 11 days from November’s election the GOP ticket has drafted a platform for people with disabilities.
Though I’m saddened that the campaign seems to be lacking proper scientific advice/advisors.
From Palin’s speech today:
“And where does a lot of that earmark money end up? It goes to projects having little or nothing to do with the public good — things like fruit fly research in Paris, France.”
This misinformation needs to be corrected. Fruit fly research she is referring to is at the U of North Carolina and U of South Carolina-not Paris, France-and is terribly important-especially to our disability community.
Fruit flies, like mice and rats, are used as models. The research at U of Chapel Hill discovered a protein in fruit flies that is linked to autism; other fruit fly research is studying Alzheimer’s disease, leukemia, hepatitis C, and multiple conditions; too many to be named here.
Scoffing at fruit flies is like scoffing at scientists using mice or rats as models for research. It seems the GOP ticket has no scientific advisors.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
What makes the verbiage on Obama’s website any more believable than something spoken directly by a candidate? how could one possibly put any faith in what is on Obama’s website in regards to supporting people with disabilities when the state of Illinois ranks 51st in funding services for individuals with disabilities? how can one believe he respects individuals with disabilities but also supports no limitations on abortion — 90% of fetuses prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. clearly, he does not respect these individuals with disabilities……
October 24th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Okay, so maybe Obama’s plan doesn’t address school vouchers, but if McCain’s plan does not require private or parochial schools to accommodate students with disabilities, it’s potentially a mute point. Ironically, for a man called a “baby-killer” and enemy of the unborn with “special needs,” Obama’s plan looks to me like a proclamation of respect and support for this community.
Please see http://www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities for his plan. Prior to Palin’s addition to the ticket, I did a search on both Obama’s and McCain’s websites to see their plans for people with disabilities and could not find much of anything at all on McCain’s. McCain voted against the Community Choice Act which Obama co-sponsored. Maybe McCain is having a change of heart due to his running mate, and I’ll certainly give him credit for that, but he still will not get my vote.
October 24th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Great news, but Senator Obama has had the same points in a plan on his website for months now — since he started his campaign. Thank you to Governor Palin for bringing support for people with disabilities into the forefront for McCain. I don’t see that he was much interested in supporting our families before he met Trig and his mother.
And, see the website: http://www.specialneeds08.blogspot.com for the latest on the false statement that special needs trusts will be taxed under Obama’s plan. Yes that blogger is a Democrat, but it’s pretty easy to see through Palin’s rhetoric on this, regardless of your party affiliation. If our loved ones get more positive support and funding for much needed services as a result of this presidential campaign, it’s worth it; but please don’t assume that Palin will be our advocate based solely on campaign speeches.