MESSAGE FROM
SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY

National Organization for Women and American Association of People with Disabilities Women with Disabilities and Allies Forum: Linking Arms for Equality and Justice For All
October 17, 2003

I commend the National Organization for Women and the American Association of People with Disabilities for hosting this impressive forum, and I wish very much that I could be there in person. I know that so many of you have been at the forefront of all the major battles for equal justice and equal rights and equal opportunity in recent years. I commend you for coming together today to link arms for equality and justice and develop new ways to advance the great goals we share.

On so many fronts, the Bush Administration and Republicans in Congress are leading us down the wrong track and reversing much of the progress we've made over the years.

We know that vast numbers of women and especially those with disabilities, rely on federal, state and local programs to obtain the health care they need to survive, the education they need to succeed, the job opportunities they need to enable them to live independently, and the support they need to raise their children. But this Administration has constantly shown a callous disregard for their well-being, by starving the federal government and the states of the resources they need to meet these urgent obligations.

Their highest priority has been tax cuts for the wealthy, and the wealthier the better. They've done that not once, but twice. As a result of those irresponsible tax cuts, their failed policy on the economy, and their failed policy in Iraq, the federal government is facing a $500 billion budget deficit that will only go higher in the future. Nearly every state in the nation is facing immense budget shortfalls and impossible choices over which basic services to cut. Medicaid, education, housing, and other essential public programs are taking the hit, and we know that each and every one of these cuts is disproportionately hurting women and people with disabilities.

It's a total travesty and tragedy that this Administration is so quick to open the federal budget for restoring and even creating new services for the people of Iraq, but slams the budget shut for meeting the needs of our people who need help the most.

We know that it doesn't have to be this way, and we never thought it could be this way again.

I was there and so were many of you, when we passed the Education for the Handicapped Act, which said that no person with a disability would ever be denied an education. We were there when we passed Medicaid and Medicare, which said that government would enable the needy and elderly to obtain the health care they deserve. We were there when we passed the Ryan White Care Act, which said that we would not allow the AIDS epidemic to ravage any group in our society. We were there with Dr. King when we passed the great Civil Rights Act in 1964 that tore down so many barriers of discrimination once and for all. We were there when we passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which said that no employer can discriminate against a woman for taking time off their job to have a child. We were there when we passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, that other great civil rights law which recognized both the basic rights and the great potential of people with disabilities. And we stand strong together today and say we will not allow this Administration to roll back these rights and these freedoms.

We know that the challenges facing us are enormous. On reproductive rights, this Administration has made its highest priority the repudiation of a woman's right to choose. In the coming week, it now appears that Congress will pass and President Bush will sign the first anti-choice bill since Roe v. Wade and the first bill I've seen in all my years in Congress that shows a total disregard for the health of women. Banning an abortion procedure that may be the only option for women facing a potentially life-threatening birth of her child will turn back the clock to the shameful days when Congress said, women don't count. I know that the National Organization for Women and many other organizations intend to challenge that law in court the instant it is signed, and I have every confidence you'll succeed. If the Supreme Court means what it has clearly said, the bill is clearly unconstitutional.

Finally, another major area where right-wing Republican ideology is trumping justice is the Administration's constant nomination of judges who want to roll back the guarantees we've worked so hard for. They want to tear down the ADA and dismantle our great civil rights legacy. I will continue to oppose any nominee who rejects the letter and the spirit of these basic laws, and I know I can count on your strong support.

Thank you again for all you do so well for the great causes we share, and for your leadership in insisting that America must never disrespect the hopes and dreams of women and the disabled.