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Read the Candidate Positions on Disability Issues!

Response of Candidates for U.S. Rep. Districts 2 and 3

We wanted to find out the positions and views candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives in Districts 2 and 3, regarding issues that affect people with disabilities. We urge you to read on so you can be an informed voter on election day, November 5, 2002!

In the U.S. House of Representatives, District 3 race, Representative Dennis Moore (D), Adam Taff (R), and Doug Martin (L) responded. Dawn Bly (Reform candidate) did not.

In the District 2 race, only Dan Lykins (D) responded. Representative Jim Ryun (R) and Art Clack (L) did not respond. Dan Lykins response to all four questions was "Yes." The questions and more detailed responses of candidates for District 3 appear below.

1. If elected, would you actively support S 1298, the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA)? MiCASSA would establish a national program of community-based attendant services and supports for people with disabilities.

Rep. Dennis Moore: Yes. I am a cosponsor of H.R. 3612, the House version of MiCASSA. I believe strongly that individuals should have the option to receive services in their own homes and that Medicaid should be changed by giving individuals the flexibility and independence to choose where and how they receive services.

Adam Taff: Yes, I support MiCASSA legislation. Beneficiaries should have the opportunity to select where and how services are provided. I support legislation that promotes independent living and guarantees that individuals with disabilities, regardless of age or disability, have the freedom and flexibility to select their own service provider.

Doug Martin: I believe we should do all we can together to support our citizens with disabilities. We are a great nation and a very charitable nation, so yes I would support S 1298 to ensure that our citizens with disabilities can enjoy a more fulfilling life.

2. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that children with disabilities be provided a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Do you believe children with disabilities should be educated in the general education classroom?

Rep. Dennis Moore: Yes, and I have been working since being elected in 1998 to fully fund the federal government's promise to provide 40% of the cost of special education. Full funding would benefit all children in public schools and mean an additional $90 million a year for Kansas schools. It is the single most important thing the federal government could do to help our schools. Next year, Congress will be reauthorizing this important federal law, and you can be assured that I will do all that I can to ensure that all kids get an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment.

Adam Taff: Yes, I believe that children with disabilities should be afforded every opportunity to receive a public education in the least restrictive environment. Teachers, parents and local school boards are best qualified to determine how to educate children with disabilities. I oppose unfunded mandates on local school districts. I believe that the federal government should increase funding and provide greater flexibility in educating children with disabilities.

Doug Martin: Personally I believe that children with disabilities should be treated as equals with other children, but I also understand that not every kid in the general education classroom is exactly "sensitive" to the feelings of other children. I believe the decision should be left to the parent or caregiver as to which classroom the child should attend.

3. If elected, would you vote for the Family Opportunity Act? Why or why not?

Rep. Dennis Moore: I am a cosponsor of H.R. 600, the Family Opportunity Act. This important legislation will help hundreds of thousands of American families who have children with disabilities get access to Medicaid.

Adam Taff: Yes, the states should have the ability to offer middle-income families with children with disabilities the option to buy into Medicaid.

Doug Martin: Yes, I would vote for the Family Opportunity Act because it is the right thing to do. We as a great society should do all we can to make the lives of our children with disabilities more complete and fulfilling, and this includes providing them with access to needed health care services.

4. Do you support the Health Care Access Resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 99, directing Congress to enact legislation that provides access to comprehensive health care for all Americans?

Rep. Dennis Moore: It has been one of my main priorities throughout my service in Congress to find a way to extend health insurance coverage to every uninsured or underinsured American. A majority of the uninsured work for small businesses, so I introduced legislation that would help these low-wage employees get health insurance. At this time, I believe that it would be most beneficial to focus our energy on ensuring that our current system, which centers around employer-based health insurance, covers as many individuals as possible. I think that approach should be complemented by expansions of and improvements in public programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP). I have gone door-to-door to help enroll kids in CHIP and support legislation to expand CHIP to include parents of low-income children as well as pregnant women. I also supported former President Clinton's effort to allow individuals under 65 to buy into Medicare.

Adam Taff: Though our health care system is the finest in the world, I believe that reform is absolutely necessary. I support efforts to make health [care] more affordable and more accessible. While I continue to review that Health Care Access Resolution, I support the goal of providing access to all Americans.

Doug Martin: While the ideal of quality health care for all is certainly noble, I do not support this Resolution because I believe that people who are fully capable of working and making a contribution to society should be able to do so and to provide for their own health care needs, with the difference in costs and what they can afford to be made up by private charity organizations. I believe it neither was at its founding nor should be today the intent of our nation to force one capable citizen to pay the bills of another fully capable citizen.

Remember, Election Day is November 5, 2002.

Vote for the candidates of your choice!