The only remaining Republican left in the race to replace Mark Parkinson at the residence at Cedar Crest, recently cast a vote in the US Senate designed to end future help for workers who become disabled. The late Senator Ted Kennedy was the champion behind the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. The purpose of the bill, as stated by the Alliance for Retired Americans:
[T]he bill would create an insurance program for adults who become functionally disabled. This legislation will help people with severe functional impairments and their families to pay for the services and supports they need to stay functional and independent, and to have choices about community participation, education and employment.
The reason for the legislation lies in the fact that the current system does not adequately provide for support when someone becomes disabled. Under the current system, to qualify for Medicaid benefits a person must have less than $2000 in savings, and only receive about $30 a month allowance from Social Security. It forces people into long-term care institutions, requiring people to spend themselves into poverty to receive the help they need. The CLASS Act would provide a safety net for those who require more long-term services and support.
Why any person would attempt to deny benefits to those who become disabled is beyond my comprehension. I know several people who have become disabled, and they are forced to live a severely limited life depending on the kindness of others. Monetary limitations coupled with life-long disabilities that prevent them from working have created an environment where grown adults are forced to return to their parents home to receive the support they need. The CLASS Act could solve this problem and give these people a new lease on life, why anyone would want to prevent that is beyond my comprehension.
Like most things that unite the Republican Party, the program was being described as a “drain on the federal budget.” The problem is that their claim can be flat-out rejected when one refers to the budget analysis provided by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (see table below). As has become the norm for Senator Brownback and the rest of the Congressional Republicans – facts just don’t matter.
But what does matter to Kansans, including the over 61,000 disabled workers and their families, is that in his vote last Friday Senator Brownback once again proved that he is wholly unqualified to become Governor. Under the Sebelius years, Kansas was recognized by US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as one of the states with the “best practices of hiring and retaining people with disabilities.” And well, one thing’s for sure, under a Brownback administration that won’t be happening.
Loading ...