The President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities

Chairmen of the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities

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An Overview of
The President's Committee on Employment
of People with Disabilities

by
Ruth Ellen Ross

This overview was written to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the President's Committee by highlighting many of the building blocks. It is not intended to be an official history, nor does it include every significant event or program or person. While very few individuals are mentioned by name, it is important to note that it is thousands of volunteers who made it all work.

To each person who has been associated with the President's Committee during the past 50 years, the President's Committee expresses deep gratitude. The progress in employment and empowerment of people with disabilities has come about because of your diligence, your perseverance, and your commitment.

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Table of Contents

Front Cover

Chairmen of the President's Committee (Inside Front Cover)

Cover Page

From the Beginning–Public and Private Sector Cooperation

How the Committee Grew

The Fifties: A Decade of Progress

Toward a Barrier-Free America

Opening New Doors

Consumer-Led Change

The Creative Eighties

A New Era Begins

Beyond the ADA

Inside Back Cover

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From the Beginning
Public and Private Sector Cooperation

It all started with President Truman--right after World War II. He became the matchmaker for the merger of a few people with disabilities and a few federal leaders. In 1945, the challenge was to provide post-war jobs for returning veterans and for wartime civilian jobholders with disabilities who would be replaced by returning veterans.

The special problems of veterans with physical disabilities were recognized in 1945 by the Congress, which passed H.J. Resolution 23, calling for an annual observance of National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week (NEPH). More than 50 years ago, Congress recognized that "there is now and shall be for some time to come, a positive necessity for utilizing every available ounce of manpower in America." On August 11, 1945, the resolution was approved by President Truman, and became Public Law 176.

Paul Strachan, who was then President of the American Federation of the Physically Handicapped, and who was deaf, had spearheaded the effort in Congress for the Resolution. He continued to press for constructive legislation, as did Millard Rice, the former National Commander of the Disabled American Veterans after the first NEPH Week celebration.

At first the merger of private and public groups had a simple purpose: to direct the attention of the Nation, especially employers, to the true worth of veterans and civilians with disabilities who were trained to do a good job. Resolution 23 referred to the 25,000,000 citizens with disabilities, plus annual additions of 800,000 injured in industrial jobs, who needed special consideration and attention. Said Congress: Rehabilitation and placement of the "Physically Handicapped" are among the most important issues in our national economy, and are "engaging more and more attention of the Federal Government and Private Industry."

Individuals who were national leaders brought together their special talents and strengths. Major General Graves B. Erskine, U. S. Marine Corps, led the 1946 observance of "The Week." Through the new Retraining and Re-employment Administration (RRA), he formed the Cooperating Committee of all Federal agencies and representatives of more than 40 national groups interested in the welfare of individuals with physical disabilities. In this merger of public and private resources, the President's Committee, a unique organization, had its roots. A large extended family of many groups was added to the core; and the first years proved to be lively, exciting and provocative. Since no funding was provided for promotion of the message and the cause, the committee operated on a totally volunteer basis.

When the Cooperating Committee reported to the Secretary of Labor Lewis B. Schwellenbach in March 1947 that the RRA would expire in June, General Erskine recommended to him that "the President appoint a commission or committee composed of representatives of Federal Agencies, as well as a limited number of persons outside the government who had had experience in assisting the physically handicapped obtain employment or who have demonstrated their interest." A similar letter had gone to the Secretary of Labor from the National Association for Employment of the Handicapped (an embryonic organization formed by some members of the Cooperating Committee in an effort to continue the work started). It suggested that the group should operate directly under the President, and Paul Strachan was personally pressing his friend, Secretary Schwellenbach, to secure the President's approval.

With the assistance of other leaders in the disability field, like Merle E. Frampton, Principal of the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind, and Vice Admiral Ross T. McIntire, the proposal went to President Truman. When Truman signed the third annual proclamation to set aside October 5-12, 1947, as "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week," he sent a letter to Secretary Schwellenbach and other agency heads, asking for Federal agencies to take a vigorous part in the campaign. A now-famous handwritten postscript was added by the President to his letter to Schwellenbach: "You may want to call upon officials and leading citizens outside the Federal government for all possible assistance in this program."

This note of August 27, 1947, marked the beginning of the President's Committee. Within a few weeks, on September 12, the first meeting was convened at the Department of Labor. Selected to head the President's Committee and this meeting was Vice Admiral Ross T. McIntire. Thirty-three people were present--representatives from industry and labor, service clubs, veterans' organizations, women's groups and government agencies. A single representative of the press attended, Esther VanWagoner Tufty, columnist of the Michigan Dailies News Service, who suggested that the Committee establish an "honor roll of all employers hiring handicapped persons." The involvement of employers has been a priority since the beginning of the Committee, and remains so today.

Other participants at that first small meeting in 1947 became key figures in the development of the Committee: William P. McCahill, a former Marine officer, who became the first Executive Secretary; and Robert Ramspeck, Executive Vice President of the American Air Transport Association. Ramspeck, as former Majority Whip of the House of Representatives, had steered the NEPH Week legislation through the House. Two months later, more than 120 organizations sent representatives to the second meeting of the Committee, and serious planning of a nationwide campaign was started. At this meeting, held at the White House with President Truman, Secretary Schwellenbach stressed the non-political venture of the endeavor and noted the wide diversity of groups represented.

Enlisting volunteers to work at state and local levels was of utmost importance. The public information campaign launched earlier became a basis for developing an on-going program to be carried out between observations of the annual "Week." Through the Bureau of Employment Services, the Veterans' Employment Services and the State Employment Services, the message spread throughout the United States. Then began the work of building state and local committees, who became local counterparts of the President's Committee. The national group constantly promoted state committees through letters to governors and heads of state agencies. Some state and local committees were started as early as 1947, such as California and Maryland; Saginaw, Michigan; and Dallas, Texas. Bill McCahill's drive and enthusiasm for this effort knew no bounds. Such was his influence nationally, that for many years he was known to all as "Mr. President's Committee."

The place and role of the President's Committee was clear from the beginning. For both rehabilitation agencies and employment service agencies, the Committee would add a strong educational and promotional effort. For veterans' organizations and the Veterans Administration, the Committee would add the prestige of a Presidential body. For private service organizations, the Committee would enhance their efforts to achieve employment opportunities for people with disabilities. In short, the President's Committee, both nationally and in the states and communities, would spearhead the growing efforts to master the issues related to employment of people with disabilities.

In their own words . . .
On the President's Committee . . .

"It was a real privilege to be Chairman of the President's Committee. As you know, I am a critic of the federal government and of the federal bureaucracy. It may not be a perfect government, but I believe it is the best government in the world. The President's Committee is full of dedicated and passionate people." – Justin Dart

On Youth . . .

"I think that education of children with disabilities should start right from the beginning. Get a child with a disability, find out what the child's talents are and steer that child in that direction. You've got to get children with disabilities out 'on stage' where people can see them and talk to them. People will find that they are no different from anyone else." – Harold Russell

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How the Committee Grew

This new public-private partnership, still all-volunteer, emphasized continuity. President Truman, addressing the delegation to the l948 meeting, said, "Just because Congress has set aside one week only as Physically Handicapped Week, that is just 1/52nd of the time. The thing must go on 52 weeks in the year. Do what you do a little better each week for 52 weeks. . .then for 52 weeks more. . . ."

Under the guidance of the state offices of the U. S. Department of Labor and the Rehabilitation Administration, every state and many towns soon had events, programs and public information activities each year. Employers were the target of extensive publicity efforts: posters on outdoor display signs, speakers at service clubs, hundreds of articles in the print press and on radio, awards ceremonies for outstanding employers and people with disabilities--on and on. The awards' recipients were important people and organizations: Ford Motor Company in Dallas was recognized in 1947. In 1948, Dr. Arthur S. Abramson, a paralyzed veteran from the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, was the first "Disabled Person of the Year" while he was Assistant Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Veterans Hospital in the Bronx. This was a wonderful beginning to local, state and national programs of recognition of organizations and individuals, based on performance at every level.

Two themes dominated the program of the President's Committee in the Forties and Fifties. "It's good business to hire the handicapped" was a slogan meant to emphasize the bottom line--this was not an appeal to sympathy or patriotism. The basic facts about the efficiency, low absenteeism, productivity and good safety records of workers with disabilities were stressed. Statistical data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics backed up those facts. The second theme stressed that this was not simply a problem of a government or a desire of people with disabilities; it was a potential financial gain for the nation. Again, statistics backed up the financial benefit to the nation and to the communities in the form of increased taxes paid by employed workers with disabilities, and of the decrease in subsidization of unemployed individuals with disabilities.

The slogan "Hire the Handicapped" appeared everywhere for some 15 years. The promotion ranged from sky-writing messages to postal cancellation dies, from films distributed to "all 30 television stations" to messages from Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Through relationships with the Advertising Council, the National Association of Broadcasters and the American Newspaper Publishers Association, the early members of the President's Committee developed and distributed the message. As early as 1948, the value of donated broadcast time was $500,000.

At the annual meetings, the President of the United States was a regular speaker, along with others of note. In 1948, Secretary of State George Marshall, Secretary of Labor Maurice Tobin, and Earl A. Shreve, President of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, were among the earliest of a long line of distinguished speakers.

Schools got involved with an essay contest in each state, emphasizing the slogan "Ability Counts." Prizes included cash awards, scholarships and trips to Washington to attend the Annual Conference of the President's Committee. The labor movement was extremely active in sponsoring the winners, along with the Disabled American Veterans.

In spite of all the volunteer successes, there was no appropriation of funds for the President's Committee. In July 1948 Admiral McIntire wrote President Truman of the impending demise of the new Committee, and the President issued a directive to find funds. After being reassured that the Committee had no intention of "superimposing any coordination over government agencies or regulation over private groups," on July 11, 1949, the President signed H.J. Resolution 228, which became Public Law 162, authorizing a sum not to exceed $75,000. The Committee had its first real income and budget. Paul Strachan, in marveling that the Committee was finally in place, said prophetically, "Teamplay has made the greatest Nation on earth, and if we will but continue teamplay, we shall have the finest handicapped program on earth." The terminology has changed; the goal has not.

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The Fifties: A Decade of Progress

The Fifties brought a decade of constant growth. Legislation was passed in the late Forties, starting with Public Law 80-617, amending the Civil Service Act to prohibit discrimination against persons with physical disabilities in examination, appointment or promotion to any civil service position which could be efficiently performed by a person with a disability. This was a small beginning and much more needed to be done. The Federal-State rehabilitation program was expanding as the result of advances in technology, but more jobs were needed. Education was needed to prepare rehabilitation clients for jobs; but access was a challenge, specifically access on school and college campuses for students who had physical disabilities. President Truman, speaking at the 1950 meeting, made clear his priorities: "Nothing is more important in the rehabilitation of the disabled than the final step--the acceptance by employers and the public of the physically handicapped as normal members of society."

The job of the Committee was to provide state, local and private groups with the tools to intensify the mission. By developing publications targeting job successes of people with disabilities through a monthly publication called Performance, and through specialized fact pamphlets, the Committee rapidly became the largest national resource of tools and ideas. Governors got involved, as did mayors. All of this activity was voluntary.

Legislatively, the decade of the Fifties was a relatively quiet one--it was the period preceding Civil Rights activities and the Vietnam conflict. Reaching employers and training facilities with the facts about the reliability and skills of people with disabilities was done primarily through written words and radio--slow-going, but constantly attacking the negative attitudes and myths that continued to prevent major employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Progress was made on local levels: Governor Okey L. Patterson of West Virginia pointed with pride to the increase in rehabilitations; Governor Christian A. Herter of Massachusetts highlighted the economic advantages of rehabilitating and hiring people with disabilities; Mayor Hubert H. Humphrey of Minneapolis conducted a year-long campaign to spur employment of people with disabilities.

In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower pledged his full support at the Annual Meeting. "There are many commissions and committees that carry with them the title of President's committee or commission. There is none that engages the interest of my heart, or of which I am prouder, than this one," he said.

In 1954, Admiral McIntire resigned as Chairman to enter politics in California. He told the President that he did not think it was advisable to remain as Chairman, "for this Committee must always remain on a strictly nonpartisan basis." And so it did.

Named as new Chairman was Major General Melvin Maas, USMC, Retired, who had served as a Vice-Chairman. General Maas had been a member of Congress from Minnesota for 16 years, and had served in three wars. He had become totally blind, but remained a vigorous leader, particularly in fighting for new legislation that brought about long-range changes in vocational rehabilitation. New programs were initiated, and private sector partnerships were formed, with the President's Committee often as the catalyst that brought groups together at the state and national levels.

Meanwhile, various members of the President's Committee grouped together as subcommittees to work on specific projects. The Medical Committee, with leadership from the American Medical Association, worked to convince industrial physicians that it was wrong to screen out job applicants on any basis other than their ability to do the job, and to give family physicians encouragement to pronounce "fit and able" their patients with chronic disabilities who could and wanted to work. The Employer Committee was made up of Fortune 500 representatives who were, and still are, a potent source of information and encouragement regarding the documented success of employing people with disabilities. The Women's Committee, composed of presidents of leading national women's organizations, developed programs under the leadership of Dorothy Goldberg and Jane Wirtz (wives of two Secretaries of Labor) and Dr. Lillian Gilbreth, famed industrial designer. These programs launched a campaign to improve the design of many products that enable people with disabilities to work.

Public Law 565, the Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments of 1954, had a major impact on the future of the President's Committee because it specifically called upon the President's Committee, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare to "develop and recommend" ways of improving job opportunities for people with disabilities. Another section of the new law authorized raising the appropriation for the President's Committee--a significant breakthrough for the still-fledgling Committee.

In the same year, a brand new special event co-sponsored by the Committee took place--an exposition and parade of progress in rehabilitation and employment of people with disabilities. This three-day event attracted thousands and featured new devices of all types. Such notables as President Eisenhower, Vice-President Nixon, Bernard Baruch and Captain Eddie Rickenbacker (then President of Eastern Airlines) attended. The year 1954 was exceptional all around.

In 1955 came another "first": Executive Order 10640, signed by President Eisenhower, was the first "certificate of incorporation" which spelled out the composition, function, advisory groups and other provisions governing the work of the President's Committee. The Vice Chairs appointed at that time were Gordon Freeman (International President of the IBEW-AFL-CIO) and Earl Bunting (of the National Association of Manufacturers), representing two significant constituencies-- the labor movement and the business community. Representatives from each have continued to hold key positions--a very valuable alliance of two forces over the years. The Advisory Council was composed of the heads of Federal agencies, which as a group had become the largest employer in the country. Early in the Council's meetings, agency coordinators were appointed to lead and track the employment of people with disabilities within the Government. This process developed into a model selective placement program for the U. S. Civil Service. By 1959, there were more than 1,300 Federal Coordinators--a significant breakthrough for those seeking jobs and upward mobility in Federal service.

The latter half of the Fifties was a period of steady growth as the Committee pressed private-sector employers to recruit qualified people with disabilities. Among the notable successes: Eastern Airlines announced the goal of hiring 1,000 men and women with disabilities to a payroll of 12,500; Chance Vaught Aircraft Company had 2,400 out of 13,000 employees on the payroll. At the time of the President's Committee's 10th anniversary in 1957, it was estimated that more than 2,600,000 people with physical disabilities had been employed. The national Advertising Council placed the Committee's slogan on 3,000 billboards throughout the country; and in 1958 a 15-minute promotional film, "Employees Only," was made by Hughes Aircraft Company, and shown in 2,000 theaters across the nation. In 1960, after years of effort by the President's Committee, the U. S. Post Office commissioned, produced and distributed a commemorative "Employ the Handicapped" stamp designed by the famous illustrator Carl Bobertz. It was heavy-duty promotion, and it was paying off.

In their own words . . .
On Youth . . .

"Reaching back to my own experiences, I am very conscious of the fact that there are some things we can do to help youth with disabilities. We need to provide them with the same hope and the same dreams that other kids have. Those of us who are in a position to be supportive and give guidance can really make a tremendous impact." – Tony Coelho

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Toward a Barrier-Free America

This type of activity led directly to a national campaign to remove architectural barriers on a grand scale. Preparing people with limited mobility for jobs and sending them to worksites would mean nothing if they could not access the sites or access transportation. Started in cooperation with the National Easter Seal Society and other local and national groups, that campaign literally changed the world. It was ironically fitting that the first major call to action was inspired by the experience of Hugo Deffner who, as the recipient of the 1956 "Handicapped American of the Year Award," could not accept his award at the Annual Meeting because he was unable to enter the Department of Labor auditorium. The building had imposing steps rising from the street.

The Executive Committee of the President's Committee was determined to reach architects and builders nationwide through the American Standards Association (now the American National Standards Institute). An ad hoc committee was formed, chaired by Leon Chatelain, Jr., former President of the American Institute of Architects, and Professor Timothy J. Nugent who, as an engineer, had led a strong movement to enable students with severe disabilities to attend the University of Illinois. In 1961, after four years of intensive work, the first American Standards Association code for barrier-free construction emerged. Chairman Melvin Maas saw the code as "a declaration of independence for the handicapped." Armed with materials and survey forms distributed by the President's Committee, Governor's Committees became extremely active; and in 1963 the first state law was passed by South Carolina to require public buildings to be barrier-free. Within 10 years every state, through the persuasion of volunteer groups, had passed similar legislation.

In 1968, the Public Works Committees of the House and Senate agreed on a Federal Architectural Barriers bill, introduced by Senator E.L. Bartlett of Alaska, which was strongly supported by members of the President's Committee at Congressional public hearings. The Committee was asked to testify regarding the need for the legislation. Fortunately, on Senator Bartlett's staff at that time was Hugh Gallagher, himself a person with a disability, who helped coordinate the passage of the law. Known to disability historians as "Public Law 90-480," this landmark legislation required all buildings financed all or in part by federal funds to be accessible. To recognize Senator Bartlett's pivotal role, the President's Committee instituted an award named for the Senator, to be given to architects for excellence in barrier-free design. The now-familiar wheelchair symbol sticker denoting accessibility was distributed nationally by the Committee through the generosity of the 3-M Company.

At the same time that this intensive leadership program for the removal of architectural barriers was being maintained by the President's Committee and supported strongly by national groups such as Easter Seals, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and United Cerebral Palsy of America (UCP), plus civic groups and other friends in the private sector, the Committee continued to push forward on the employment front.

In their own words . . .
On Change . . .

"One change that is very significant is the growing consciousness on the part of people with disabilities that they are going to have to stick up for their own rights; and they are going to have to go out and get their jobs, and participate in enforcing their rights and be active in politics and business and education and the daily life of society or they are never going to get to the 'Promised Land.' This is significant progress, thanks to the independent living movement, to the veterans' movement and, thanks in many ways to the President's Committee." – Justin Dart

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Opening New Doors

Almost from the beginning of the President's Committee there had been discussion of having the Committee direct its attention to employment of persons with psychiatric disabilities, as well as those with mental retardation. In 1959, the Executive Committee, under the leadership of General Maas, had directed that a study be made of incorporating the interests of people with mental retardation and psychiatric disabilities into the work of the Committee. The decision of the Executive Committee to initiate action in this direction was made emphatic by the election of President John F. Kennedy, with his decisive ideas about mental retardation and his public stand for a more enlightened approach to rehabilitation and opportunities for people with mental retardation. The study opened a door that admitted a huge population of people who needed to be included in all employment decisions in the future.

One result of the President's interest which had great significance for the Committee was the issuance of a new Executive Order in 1962, Number 10994, which removed the word "Physically" from the title of the President's Committee. There was already in place within the President's Committee a Committee on the Mentally Handicapped, chaired by Dr. Ralph Collins, Consultant in Psychiatry at Eastman Kodak Company. The work of this committee took on new importance, and influenced state and local committees. Also among the driving forces at the President's Committee was then Deputy Director (later Executive Director) Bernard Posner. Through his efforts at the Committee and through his writings, Posner was a pioneer in addressing the issues of employment for people with mental retardation and psychiatric disabilities.

The U. S. Civil Service Commission (the largest employer in the country at the time) led the way for private sector employers by establishing new hiring procedures for persons with mental retardation for specific types of jobs. This resulted in significant growth of national programs, and state and private rehabilitation services increased their case loads. The President's Committee took the lead in publishing materials on the value of employing people with mental retardation, and the states quickly followed.

These were exciting times. After 15 years of service, the President's Committee took stock and found that more than 4,000,000 workers with disabilities had been placed in jobs by the state jobs services. In 1961-62 alone, the state vocational rehabilitation programs had served and placed in employment more than 100,000 people--a new record. Because of its leadership role, the Committee was an active participant in a meeting with President Kennedy, who personally invited a small group of government officials to a brief ceremony marking this achievement.

In November 1963, the Nation lost President Kennedy, and a few months later the President's Committee lost its tireless traveler and beloved Chairman, General Melvin Maas, who had become severely disabled by arthritis, diabetes and a heart condition. President Lyndon Johnson moved promptly to appoint Harold Russell as the new Chairman. Russell had served as one of the Committee's Vice-Chairpersons, and was well known for his leadership of disabled veterans worldwide as well as his Oscar-winning role in the movie "The Best Years of Our Lives."

The challenges were many; the Vietnam veterans were beginning to come home, and many of them returned with physical or psychiatric disabilities. The totals were climbing, and by 1968 there would be more amputees from the Vietnam conflict than from World War II and the Korean War combined. The President's Committee and its Committee on Disabled Veterans knew they had a major task ahead to see that those disabled veterans could establish themselves in jobs and lead normal lives. The veterans committee, with representatives from all of the national veterans organizations, became the main force against attitudinal and other employment barriers faced by these returning veterans.

Throughout the Sixties, the regular work of the Committee's national promotional program aimed at employers continued, with many contributions by private sector initiatives in radio, television, graphics, awards programs and other forms of keeping the employment of people with disabilities front and center. Each initiative of the President's Committee was extended by the state committees and their local committees. State relations was an important component always, and the state and national removal of architectural barriers programs continued to strengthen the ties with the states. The successes were, of course, at the local level where the problems impacted personally and daily on the lives of people with mobility limitations.

The national Civil Rights movement of the Sixties had an impact on all minority groups in America, and ultimately on people with disabilities. The famed incident of Rosa Parks taking her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, was recalled every time a person who uses a wheelchair was denied access to a bus or a train anywhere.

Recognition of discrimination in all aspects of daily life united people with disabilities. While the membership of the President's Committee (and of Governor's and Mayor's Committees) had always included people with disabilities, there had never been a specific mechanism within the organization to reflect the ideas and proposals of people with disabilities. In 1969 the ad hoc Blue Ribbon Committee, composed entirely of men and women with disabilities, was formed, with Max C. Reinberger, Jr., as Chairman. A year earlier, while accepting the President's Trophy, the highest honor given through the President's Committee, Reinberger had proposed the formation of this committee. Workshops were held to teach the techniques of influencing the legislative process. Groups of people with disabilities were encouraged to form into larger groups and to join into coalitions so that they could speak with a more powerful voice.

By 1964, an impressive number of talented and creative people had joined the Committee to play important roles in the programs, one of whom was Jayne Baker Spain, President of the Alvey-Ferguson Company in Cincinnati. Spain frequently spoke to employers worldwide on the importance of including qualified people with disabilities in the workforce. She actively recruited people who were blind as employees for her manufacturing company. She also led a campaign to increase the influence of women on programs for people with disabilities worldwide. President Johnson appointed Spain a Vice Chairperson of the Committee, and she was a tireless traveler on behalf of the cause. At the annual meeting in 1965, there was significant representation of the General Federation of Women's Clubs--an extremely influential group at home and abroad.

In 1966, Chairman Russell led the fight to tackle the unemployment of people with severe disabilities--extending the spotlight to include people with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and other congenital conditions which had forced so many people to remain in the background of society and outside of the employment community. Various efforts, such as "Project Earning Power," were established with the goal of increasing entrepreneurship opportunities for individuals with disabilities over and above the old-type exclusionary "cottage industries." All of these efforts led to what was to emerge in later decades as an emphasis on rehabilitation of people with severe disabilities and other types of unique Federal programs.

In 1966, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, speaking to the Annual Meeting, quoted Thomas Wolfe: "To every man, regardless of his birth, his shining opportunity; to every man the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing. . .his vision can. . .make him. That is the promise of America." Also featured at that meeting was the U. S. Wheelchair Sports Demonstration Team--a forerunner of the prominence of successful athletes with disabilities, including the Paralympics.

For these athletes and thousands of other people who used wheelchairs, the issue of accessible transportation rose to the top of the agenda. So began the President's Committee's Transportation Committee, with a disabled leader, Henry Viscardi, as its Chairman. Under his leadership, members of the President's Committee testified for the rights of individuals to travel on commercial airlines without question. The Committee consistently protested regulations of the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Federal Aviation Administration which limited access. It also presented arguments before the Urban Mass Transportation Administration to force local transit authorities to buy lift-equipped buses with their Federal grants. It took subsequent legislation and regulations to make such actions binding, but the President's Committee had set the stage by providing the impetus.

In 1967, recognizing the 20-year record of the Committee, Paul Strachan said, "It has been estimated that operations stemming from 'The Week' [throughout the country] have been the means of affording employment to more than five million [people with disabilities], who earned more than four billion dollars and paid taxes of more than one billion dollars. . . ."

Past is prologue--and the efforts on all fronts in the late 1960's found the Committee on the cutting edge of issues that were of paramount importance to people with disabilities. The state and local committees looked to the President's Committee for information about proposed Congressional actions, for promotional materials, for statistics about reliability of workers with disabilities, for details about the extent of problems of disabled veterans, for successful experiments in removing architectural barriers--and on and on. The Committee had become a catalyst for all types of groups to work together: employers, organizations of people with disabilities, rehabilitation and Federal employment agencies, and state and local governments.

In their own words . . .
On the Future . . .

"People with disabilities should promote themselves socially. I early learned at Walter Reed Hospital to put out the hook and make people shake hands, and they quickly overcame their confusion. We should keep on working to improve relationships between disabled people and non-disabled people. It is very important." – Harold Russell

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Consumer-Led Change

The momentum of 1967-68 led to the "militant" Seventies and the "Consumer Movement." In 1969, the Committee's ad hoc Transportation Committee, which had been studying the problems of transportation generally, concentrated on the building of the new Metropolitan Washington rapid transit system which could serve as a model for the nation. Working with the Potomac Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Committee found itself serving as Amicus Curiae in a suit filed by Dick Heddinger, a Federal employee who used a wheelchair, on behalf of people with disabilities. A number of disability groups, among them the PVA and the Spinal Cord Injury Association, had also joined in the suit. Their demand was to halt construction of the new subway until it was established, by court order, that every station would have an elevator of some kind that would enable wheelchair users to move from line to line at transfer stations, and exit or enter at every station. The united effort paid off: the subway system is usable by everyone.

The President's Committee, at this time, also responded to the needs of people with hearing loss and helped to start, alongside the National Association for the Deaf (NAD), the movement that resulted in closed captioning on television networks some 15 years later. These were exciting times for both private groups and the Committee. In addition, the financial status of the Committee was greatly improved when the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1968 raised the annual budget ceiling.

Preparation for the civil rights movement for people with disabilities was of primary importance in the Sixties. Since the President's Committee, as a Federal agency, could not lobby for or against legislation, and could testify at hearings only if invited, its role was to supply the volunteer members and members of state and local committees with up-to-date information so that they, in turn, could inform their groups and offer their expertise and reactions. The building of strong relations with the states became increasingly critical, and the Committee launched a country-wide support system, including national and regional training conferences for executive directors and chairpersons of state committees. In addition, the state committees (all volunteers) held national meetings. The agenda always included legislative updates and awareness training. Thus, when the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was being fashioned in the late Sixties and early Seventies, there were both heightened awareness and input from the various publics that made up the President's Committee.

John Brademas, Democratic Congressman from Indiana, took the lead in developing a new rehabilitation bill. That first effort failed because of President Nixon's veto in 1972. The failure resulted in increased zeal by an informed Congress and public. Yet, another version of the bill was again vetoed by the President in March 1973. The Senate failed to override this veto. A third version of the bill was voted on, passed by Congress and sent to the President in September. Finally, on September 26, the President signed into law the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this law to people with disabilities, employers, Federal agencies and (of course) the President's Committee. Title V fashioned the agenda of the Committee for years to come, and was a critical building block leading to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 17 years later.

During the period leading to the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act, the President's Committee offered a forum for people with disabilities to speak out and be heard, and for legislators to be questioned directly. The Annual Meeting of 1972 was the first organized gathering to bring together leaders of the disability movement where everyone had a time and a place to hear and be heard. Advocacy was crystallized, and both non-disabled advocates and people with disabilities were leading the ground swell. Small groups of people with disabilities were encouraged by the Committee to form into larger groups, and to join into coalitions so that they could speak with a more powerful voice.

Achieving implementation of the Rehabilitation Act and completion of the regulations took additional pressure from the disability community. Leaders of the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, including Judy Heumann (now Assistant Secretary in the U. S. Department of Education), Ed Roberts and Frank Bowe, led sit-ins, including one at the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) offices in San Francisco, and picketed the Washington, DC, home of HEW Secretary Joseph Califano. These activities helped ensure that the regulations were not only completed, but that they had "guts."

Section 501 of Title V of the Rehabilitation Act made permanent the structure developed earlier to ensure fair and affirmative employment practices within the Federal government. Section 501 mandated a permanent Federal Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees, and made reference to fully utilizing the "resources of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped" for its work.

Section 503 of Title V covered the employment rights of people with disabilities in the private sector. In writing the regulations, the Department of Labor turned to the President's Committee to create and staff an Affirmative Action Task Force, consisting of hand-picked employers, people with disabilities and rehabilitation professionals. Their assignment was to hammer out regulations that were both fair and realistic in extending affirmative action to civilians with disabilities. Among the driving forces in drafting these regulations was Ron Drach, newly appointed National Employment Director for Disabled American Veterans and member of the President's Committee's Disabled Veterans Committee. The excellent relationships that the President's Committee had with employers made it possible for the affirmative action regulations which emerged to remain virtually unchanged to the present.

There were, however, no hiring goals or timetables established. It was expected that individual affirmative action taken should stand on its own merits and not result in "tokenism," which was often the fallout from other similar programs. The regulations applied only to the three million employers with Federal contracts, but it was an excellent start and developed the experience that set the stage for what later became a civil rights issue in the passage of the ADA. The Committee's task force was disbanded after completing its work, but its employers became the nucleus of a new and revitalized Employer Committee which focused on the promotion and development of model affirmative action plans.

Section 504 also made a quiet but profound impact on the work of the Committee, and cast a long shadow reaching to the ADA. This briefly worded section opened the door to a very significant concept--that all programs funded in any part by the Federal government, including education, health services, etc., could not discriminate against people with disabilities in employment and in the provision of services. Since most of the programs were state-funded as well, the state committees were important allies in making sure that college campuses, elementary and secondary schools, hospitals, clinics, programs for the aging, etc. were fully accessible to people with disabilities of all ages. Section 504 was a very brief piece of legislation that had a very great impact.

While the President's Committee had taken a leadership role in access and barrier issues, its work still focused primarily on employment according to its charter; and transition from school to work for people with disabilities was of major concern. The Committee recognized that access to education consisted of more than just physical accessibility. Bolstered by the regulations of Section 504 and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, the Committee embarked on an ambitious series of conferences throughout the country. These conferences, titled "Pathways to Employment," were intended to promote cooperation among various service delivery agencies to prevent students with disabilities from falling through the cracks. Again, the state committees played an important role. A cadre of about 150 leaders in the field of education emerged nationwide. In 1976, the White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals brought forward a host of new friends in the disability movement in each state.

More and more, educators and students with disabilities worked together to solve some of the problems brought to light by new Federal legislation, and the Committee was fully involved with the disabled youth movement. A Youth Subcommittee, started in 1975, was on the move--the first of its kind in the country. The President's Committee was framing the questions, to be answered by state and federal legislation, education and rehabilitation. Changes were slow in coming, but the role of catalyst played by the Committee brought

federal and state education programs together, resulting in a national movement promoting instruction which supported the transition from school to work for students with special needs. Among the strong supporters of the transition programs was Madeline Will, the Assistant Secretary of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. The results are still evident today. There are transition coordinators in each of the country's 16,000 school districts.

The importance of the state committees and other groups cannot be overestimated. With 16 subcommittees working on various projects, it was crucial that national conferences sponsored by the President's Committee find willing hosts outside of Washington. These included those sponsored by the Medical Committee on affirmative action and its application to occupational medicine, and by the Labor Committee on collective bargaining agreements covering workers with disabilities. Also, the continuing efforts on behalf of youth with disabilities and the always-important veterans' issues of employment and services could best be examined at the local levels. The state committees worked hard to do the local "leg work" to mount these conferences, and the resulting findings were widely distributed.

The Committee on Disabled Veterans, always a strong supporter of the President's Committee, frequently spoke on behalf of the mission in Congress and in state legislatures. Over a period of many years, local forums have brought veterans together to give testimony identifying the continuing needs of disabled veterans. This testimony has been shared with appropriate Congressional veterans subcommittees.

In 1983, the Employer Committee leadership created the concept of putting into a database the experiences of big business in developing reasonable accommodation initiatives. The database, belonging to the President's Committee, could be readily accessed by all employers. Out of this came the President's Committee's Job Accommodation Network (JAN), which has proven to be one of the most popular and heavily used information sources in the Federal government. The U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) provided initial funding. Employers also supported JAN financially. By 1991 it would become a permanent part of the Committee's budgeted program.

In their own words . . .
On the Future . . .

"For the future, one of the things I would like to see is the President's Committee working with companies that provide equipment that makes jobs more accessible. We should work with software and hardware manufacturers. There is tremendous potential impact on the lives of people with disabilities and what they can achieve in the workplace. If the government sets the pace, others will follow." – Tony Coelho

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The Creative Eighties

In 1986, President's Committee Chairman Harold Russell and the Executive Committee took stock of the "family" of volunteers and programs over the years, which represented a staggering array of activities and interests. All previous Executive Orders had stipulated that the Committee would hold an Annual Meeting, bringing together business, labor, industry and service providers to address the problems related to employment of people with disabilities. The programs of these meetings, all held in Washington, reflected many types of interests in addition to employment. The volunteer membership had grown to over 600 individuals and organizations, plus the countless numbers reached by the "ripple effect" of publications and program guidance through Governor's Committees and the work of 16 subcommittees.

The small office staff was busy serving many publics, and the emphasis throughout the disability community was on civil rights on every front. The President's Committee had responded to each new piece of legislation and crusade to solve specific problems because, for many years, it had been the only national vehicle for bringing all issues together. A gala event, "Inspire '85," co-sponsored by the Committee on the Mall in Washington, DC, in the summer of 1985, had mirrored the far-flung extent of the interests of the Committee. The event attracted thousands of people.

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986 authorized "such sums as may be necessary" for the work of the Committee for the following five years. It was time to review the Committee's accomplishments and re-focus its energies on its primary mission. That year, following the retirement of Bernard Posner, who had served some 13 years as Executive Director, Harold Russell invited a business executive, Jay Rochlin, to take on that post. Rochlin, who had served as Chairman of the Employer Committee and was newly retired from AT&T, brought together a team to address the Committee's chartered purpose: employment of people with disabilities--still one of the most challenging issues for the disability community. The Committee's structure was streamlined, with both the number of subcommittees and members decreased. Annual work plans were created to address the key issues. Theoretical projections were out; best practices were in.

Among issues considered were those affecting young people with disabilities, and how their educational experience could lead to work. It was at that time that an exciting new program, High School-High Tech, became part of the Committee's outreach to youth. It combined summer programs for students interested in the sciences with local programs sponsored by businesses looking for talented students and offering "hands-on" experiences and mentoring.

The Chairman invited more people with disabilities to serve on the Executive Committee and as chairpersons of subcommittees. Members of Congress were made aware of the potential of the President's Committee to assist employers in making positive employment decisions regarding qualified people with disabilities through use of JAN. Annual Meeting programs reflected the new issues of AIDS in the workplace, the successes or the unmet needs of job applicants with disabilities under the Job Training Partnership Act, the unique and complex issues of minorities with disabilities in the job market, and so on. This was "rubber meets the road" thinking that brought new energies to the publications of the Committee as well as to its conferences. The nature of work was changing in America; and old reliable manufacturing jobs dwindled, to be supplanted by the growing hospitality industry and other service-providing job opportunities requiring new techniques of job preparation and placement. Technology enterprises were booming.

Communication techniques to the states were upgraded. Reinforcing relationships with the states included taking the Annual Conference "on the road"--to the people. In 1987, for the first time, the conference left Washington and was held in Denver, CO. States were given the opportunity to bid on hosting future meetings.

In the mid-1980s, leaders in the disability community and the President's Committee held a series of meetings in which terminology was discussed as stereotyping individuals. Terminology related to disability tended to identify the person by the disability. Leaders in the disability community felt strongly that "people-first" language was needed. The terminology agreed upon resulted in the nationwide adoption of "people with disabilities" as the appropriate positive identification.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed Executive Order 12640, establishing the current name of the Committee as the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. In the same year the Committee was authorized to receive gifts and bequests, as well as the voluntary and uncompensated services it had long enjoyed. In addition, the Handicapped Programs Technical Amendments Act of 1988 changed the historic "Week" to a full month, and designated October of each year as "National Disability Employment Awareness Month."

In 1989, following 25 years of outstanding service to the President's Committee, Harold Russell retired as Chairman. To succeed him, President George Bush appointed Justin Dart, a former Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, who had played a leading role as an advocate in national disability rights initiatives. Increasingly, the agenda of the President's Committee focused on issues requiring legislative initiatives. Its job was to gather and disseminate information so that an informed public and Congress would make the right choices. Congress asked for members of the Employer Committee to testify at its hearings on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

In their own words . . .
On the ADA . . .

"The most significant happening for people with disabilities was passing the ADA. . . . Although I wasn't there for the signing of the bill itself, the significance of having a legal process for employment of people with disabilities was tremendous. The passage of the law cemented all of the things that had happened up until then." – Harold Russell

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A New Era Begins

Justin Dart was the ideal person to serve as Chairman at this exciting, historic point in the 42-year-old campaign to include all people with disabilities in the workforce of this country.

"Whatever it takes" became the watchword for the President's Committee on the eve of passage of the ADA, and has shaped the program from that point on. Empowerment became a strong new goal for the Committee and for the disability community. Passage of the ADA would be an important and necessary step to achieve that goal. Chairman Dart's goal for the country was to fashion and implement a national policy on disability, with emphasis on productivity and employment, and taking into account civil rights, education and empowerment. Dart pointed out that the current approach was costing the country $300 billion per year in subsidies and services that foster dependency and discourage productivity. The nature of work had changed, he pointed out, and people with disabilities had actually lost ground in spite of years of valiant pioneering efforts by both the public and private sectors. These were, indeed, bold ideas, which opened the floodgates for enhancing the mission of the Committee.

The passage of the ADA by Congress, on July 12, 1990, in the House of Representatives and on July 13 in the Senate, was the result of the unflagging individual efforts of people with disabilities, as well as organizations, friends, advocates, organized labor, employers and members of Congress who had become convinced that the legislation was long overdue. The President's Committee had worked tirelessly to present the facts and the rationale for passage to the Congress. Important to this effort were the volunteer members of the Committee, particularly the employers and veterans. What the Committee had worked so long to achieve by volunteer efforts nationally and locally was about to become a mandate to protect the rights of people with disabilities.

On July 26, 1990, along with EEOC Chairman Evan Kemp and National Council on Disability Chairman Sandra S. Parrino, Chairman Dart appeared on the dais when President Bush signed the ADA into law. With some 3,000 disability rights advocates attending, this was the largest bill-signing ceremony in the nation's history. The President verbalized Dart's challenge when he said, "I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure the disabled are included in the mainstream. . . . They're not going to be left out anymore." July 26, 1990, was truly "Independence Day."

The President's Committee published an all-encompassing issue of its Worklife magazine, describing the event in detail. Much more was published on the ADA in the two years following the signing of the law as the regulations were developed. The role of the Committee under Chairman Dart's leadership was to increase its information resources for employers, people with disabilities and educators regarding the ways to better train people with disabilities in the many kinds of jobs now made more available to them. Fact sheets and bulletins were developed and distributed in even greater numbers to state organizations, employer trade groups, labor unions, veterans groups, service providers and other special interest groups. The inquiries to JAN doubled and tripled not only about accommodations, but also other aspects of the new law. The Annual Meeting held in May 1990, just before the signing of the ADA, had had a prophetic theme: "Agenda for the Nineties: Full Employment for All."

In 1991, Chairman Dart appointed Richard Douglas, who had served as Rehabilitation Director for the state of Vermont, as Executive Director. The programs of the Committee focused on how the new law could be implemented to the advantage of all publics. The Committee worked with Federal agencies, the disability and employer communities and other major constituencies, including the media, to provide technical assistance by serving as an information resource. The Committee offered open, "non-threatening" forums for business to help achieve implementation of the ADA in a reasonable, harmonious and "common-sense" fashion. Chairman Dart took these forums to each of the 50 states. Local leadership, in both the disability and business communities, was important and needed to be cultivated in order to reduce resistance to implementation. Communication was a top priority.

Recognizing how influential communications industries are in shaping public attitudes, in 1992 the President's Committee established a Communications Committee, whose mission was to identify attitudinal stereotypes in media, advertising and entertainment industries, and to find ways to work with these industries to help change the stereotypes. Targeted information became the prime goal in all of the subcommittee activities.

The same year an "ADA Summit," held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, brought together leaders in business, labor, government and the disability community (often opponents in debate over the passage of the ADA). A joint statement was issued as a result of the meeting, calling for "full and harmonious compliance with the ADA, with minimal cost and litigation, with maximum employment of people with disabilities." Issues of the ADA and its relationship to health insurance, collective bargaining, workers' compensation and alternative dispute resolution were singled out for further intensive study. The legal mandate to protect the employment rights of people with disabilities spotlighted the more subtle and complicated, but very important, issues inherent to every employee-employer relationship.

As implementation of the ADA employment provisions began in 1992, the pace quickened for the President's Committee. JAN's calls nearly doubled to approximately 40,000 per year. Employers received technical assistance customized for their individual situations. JAN also established a computer service, DIAL JAN, which handled 22,000 additional callers annually. Legislative updates and a new publication, Washington FAX, which summarized key information on the ADA and related disability/ employment issues, were distributed to the state committees, employers, disability groups and other interested organizations.

All efforts focused on disseminating accurate information to the various publics, and on encouraging the implementation of the ADA. Through the travels of the Chairman and the Executive Director, and by telephone conferences with disability leaders in all 50 states, key follow-up issues were identified and the disability community's network was widened. As a result of the teleconferences in 1993, the Committee produced a report to the President, titled Operation People First, which outlined these issues.

It became increasingly apparent that small businesses needed the most assistance to comply with ADA regulations. Since most potential job opportunities would be in small businesses, these businesses were targeted by the Committee for special attention. The Committee initiated various information and technical assistance activities, which included a pilot project to develop a Business Leadership Network, through which businesses could help each other.

As the Annual Conference traveled to other cities, local awareness of the abilities of people with disabilities, of the ADA and regulations was heightened. The improvements that the cities made to get ready for the conference would have long-lasting positive effects on the cities themselves.

Having helped to set the stage for post-ADA advocacy issues, Chairman Dart submitted his resignation to President Clinton in 1993 in order to focus all of his energy on full-time advocacy on national and international levels. President Clinton praised him as a "leader in making the Americans with Disabilities Act come to life."

In their own words . . .
On the Future . . .

"Priorities for the disability community and for the President's Committee should be studying, communicating and implementing the concept of overall empowerment. . . . The President's Committee for many years after it was founded was a voice in the wilderness for empowerment even though it was focused on employment. I think that empowerment is the issue for the future of human beings as a group--all of them. And I think it is certainly the major issue for people with disabilities." – Justin Dart

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Beyond the ADA

In March 1994, President Clinton appointed Tony Coelho, former Democratic Congressman from California and Majority Whip, to succeed Dart. Coelho, who has epilepsy, had authored and introduced the original version of the ADA in the House of Representatives. A prominent businessman, Coelho remained one of the nation's most articulate spokespersons for the rights of people with disabilities. Chairman Coelho brought to the Committee strong, business-type leadership, which resulted in acceleration of initiatives. He also brought back to the Committee John Lancaster to serve as Executive Director. A civil rights attorney who had been active in disability rights for many years, Lancaster had earlier served as Executive Assistant to Chairman Dart.

Restructuring the Committee to change the Executive Committee to an Executive Board and streamlining the number of subcommittees, Chairman Coelho encouraged more vigorous and more direct participation by the members of the Committee in the various projects and programs. The six Vice Chairs took on leadership roles in the budget, strategic planning and operations of the Committee. A strategic planning process put the focus on projects that could most directly impact on employment of people with disabilities.

Key among those projects was JAN, which continued to be used as a valuable resource by thousands of employers and people with disabilities each year. In fact, between 1984 (when JAN first invited the public to call its toll-free number) and 1996, it processed more than 170,000 calls, supplying information on everything from legislation, to service resources, to employment practices, to available hardware--anything that pertains to the rights and employment of people with disabilities. In addition, since its inception, DIAL-JAN had received more than 100,000 calls. As electronic communications became more and more sophisticated, JAN embarked into cyberspace with a Web site on the Internet in 1995. By late 1996, that site was receiving more than 100,000 hits per month.

Under Chairman Coelho's leadership, the Committee also moved into "fast-forward" on a number of projects, among them the Business Leadership Network (BLN), a project in which businesses throughout the United States, working with President's Committee's state disability partners, develop programs in their own areas to provide business-to-business communication, training or guidance on the benefits of hiring people with disabilities.

The Committee intensified programs that gave leadership and employment opportunities to young people. Impressed by California's successful Youth Leadership Forum for high school students with disabilities, the Committee worked closely with California and coordinated efforts among the states in the preparation of a Youth Leadership training guide, as well as training for representatives of other states who sought to replicate California's program.

High School-High Tech, which had been quietly successful in a small number of sites, was expanded to give more and more young people with disabilities interested in technology opportunities to experience the field. As of 1996, 13 sites had made a commitment to the program, and coordination between the public and private partners, as well as local fund-raising efforts, were well underway.

The mid-1990s also saw the maturation of an exciting program that provides work experience for college students with disabilities each year. Since 1976, the Department of Defense (DOD) had operated a Federal Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (FRP), and through this program provided summer, and in some cases permanent, jobs for these students. In 1994, the President's Committee and DOD joined forces, and invited participation of other government agencies to both recruit and hire these students. Over a dozen Federal agencies responded. Despite increased participation, the number of jobs available in the Federal government was generally no more than 150-200 in any given year. Clearly there were many more qualified students than jobs available. In 1997, with more than 130 colleges and universities visited, the candidate pool grew to more than 1,100, so the President's Committee expanded the program to the private sector and renamed it the Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP).

Cooperative efforts with the U.S. Department of Education led to a three-year Cultural Diversity Initiative, beginning in 1996. Potential leaders in minority communities were brought to Washington for training on disability-related issues and on leadership development so that they could further educate their home communities. In addition, minority organizations were invited to join forces with the two Federal agencies to further develop job opportunities for minority individuals with disabilities.

The President's Committee also began work on a program that would assist individuals with disabilities interested in pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities, and on a program that focused on employment for individuals with cognitive disabilities.

As the ADA reached its sixth anniversary in 1996, Chairman Coelho approached the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Census Bureau about the importance of collecting annual data on the employment of people with disabilities. From available survey data, the Census Bureau was able to determine that between 1991 and 1994, the employment population ratio for persons with severe disabilities increased from 23.3 percent to 26.1 percent, which meant that 800,000 more severely disabled individuals entered the workforce during that time. However, no mechanisms were in place to continue to track either employment or unemployment. In a series of meetings, the three agencies mapped out the needs and a plan for addressing this issue.

Keeping tabs on the impact of the ADA meant not only tracking the data, but also continuing a barrage of information on the impact of the law, not only on people with disabilities but businesses as well. Based on information from employers who used its services, JAN began tracking cost/benefit ratios for those companies that were making job accommodations. The bottom line showed that, on average, for every dollar invested in an accommodation, companies were getting a return of $34 in benefits. A major study by Sears, Roebuck and Company reinforced JAN data that showed that it was relatively inexpensive to make accommodations. The President's Committee's communication efforts focused on driving home these messages, as well as providing "tools" in the form of fact sheets, to help educate employers.Chairman Coelho actively promoted the issues before disability and business organizations, as well as in newspapers, on radio and television. In 1996, the Chairman began a regular column, aimed specifically at the business community, which appeared in hundreds of newspapers around the country.

Recognizing the importance of electronic communication, in 1996 the Committee established a national presence on its own Web site on the Internet. The site replicated the available print materials, but also began to target its communications. Among the site enhancements was a "Business Focus" page, which was developed as a type of "one-stop shopping center" on information about the ADA and disability employment issues. Not only were the President's Committee's materials made available on this page, but the Committee also created links to other government agencies who had enforcement or informational roles in disability issues.

Although frequently called upon by foreign visitors for information on disability issues, following the passage of the ADA, the President's Committee became a key resource for other countries seeking to implement similar legislation. Two countries that have relied extensively on this expertise in recent years have been Poland and Vietnam.

Coincidentally, Susan Sygall, Executive Director of Mobility International, who has worked extensively with young people with disabilities throughout the world, was selected as the recipient of the 1995 President's Award. Her associations and knowledge have given additional strength to the Committee's increasing international involvement.

Whatever its international impact, however, the Committee's mission has remained focused on employment of people with disabilities in the United States. With "downsizing" and "rightsizing" in both business and government, there have been dramatic changes in the world of work--both in the nature of work and how work is accomplished.

As they have been from the beginning, partnerships are key to progress, and the President's Committee has continued to form partnerships--with other federal agencies, with states, with businesses, with many constituencies--that lead to the bottom line of more jobs for people with disabilities. A perfect example of the partnerships encouraged between the disability and business communities is evident in the work of the 1996 President's Award winner, Mikki Lam. Lam, who is Executive Director of Just One Break (JOB) in New York City, has an impressive record of success in matching businesses with qualified job candidates with disabilities.

While legislation and the work of many organizations and individuals has led to the elimination of many physical barriers, attitudinal barriers have not been as easy to eliminate. There has been progress, in some cases significant progress, but attitudinal stereotypes continue to block access to the workplace for qualified people with disabilities. As Bill McCahill pointed out, "We have crashed the altitude barrier in space, but we have far to go in crashing the attitude barrier on earth." But, the President's Committee will certainly continue to "go for the record" here.

What began in 1947 as a one-week activity to encourage employment for people with disabilities has become a year-round effort to increase employment opportunities. What began as a meeting of a small group of prominent citizens has become the life-work of thousands of individuals over a 50-year period.

As the 21st Century approaches, the President's Committee continues to pursue its key programs, but is also poised to address future issues, such as technology, which continues to be improved and enhanced at an increasing pace. Such developments have significant implications for future jobs for everyone, but especially for people with disabilities. The President's Committee members are looking ahead, studying the job picture of the future, identifying the potential barriers and identifying ways to address the changes ahead so that more and more people with disabilities will be employed.

In their own words . . .
On the ADA . . .

"In July of 1990, the U.S. Government and the American people said that those of us who have disabilities have the same rights as anybody else. . . . And with those rights comes a lot of pride. You recognize that you are part of it." – Tony Coelho

On the President's Committee . . .

"All of us must redouble our efforts as we approach the dawn of the 21st century. The existing partnerships among the disability community, employers, labor unions and government are a firm foundation for success. The President's Committee must still be the cheerleader."– Tony Coelho

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"As we rapidly approach the 21st Century, we are entering an age dominated by information and technology, the microchip and the global marketplace. We can't afford to waste the talents of a single person if we are to succeed in this exciting and challenging new world, and people with disabilities have a major role to play in helping us to achieve a dynamic, productive work force in a united community." – President William J. Clinton

"Over the last 25 years I have seen a change in attitudes, and I love it that more people with disabilities are involved in politics, in sports and in everyday activities. It is so important that we recognize that it is the totality of our being that has changed in the last few years. . . .

I love the fact that in the business arena attitudes toward people with disabilities are changing. but attitudes of people with disabilities must change too. Changing the law is only the beginning. With the rights we have finally achieved come responsibilities. We must be prepared to seize new opportunities." – Tony Coelho

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