Disability Rights, Access, and Opportunity

As a civil rights attorney, I am appalled by the myriad ways our government continues to not provide equal access and opportunity to Americans with disabilities. Despite over 70 million Americans living with some kind of disability, far too often their suffering is sidelined by our society, ignored and unaddressed. You have my commitment, and my record clearly shows that I have always and will continue to focus on breaking down the barriers that prevent Americans with disabilities from living a life with dignity and opportunity. We need a new, reinvigorated government approach for providing equal access to all, starting with our schools, where vital services and accommodations remain too hard to receive, and extending to the workplace, where invidious discrimination still exists and must be addressed. Here in Texas, especially, we must also confront the fact that many Americans living with severe disabilities have their claims rejected by our under-staffed, under-resourced, state agencies. But even if those with significant in-home needs are recognized by the state, our government and economic policies have made it impossible for healthcare workers and paraprofessionals to make a living providing critical services. And for those with the ability and desire to live independently, our municipal transportation services and local infrastructure fall short of providing equal access all too often. This is a modern civil rights struggle - to ensure equal rights, access, and opportunity, in schools, at the workplace, in public and private spheres, and I am ready to champion this fight.

Senate Priorities

Rebuild the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education that Trump dismantled which is responsible for ensuring school districts are providing the accommodation services required by students’ IEPs, 504s, and ARDs.
Pass federal legislation honoring our promise to students with disabilities, their teachers, and their parents by significantly increasing funding for paraprofessionals, assistive technology, and reducing student-teacher ratios, allowing more opportunity for pull-outs and enabling teachers the time to actually understand and implement their students’ IEPs, 504s, and ARDs.
Pass legislation to cover the costs for parents of getting any required medical or professional opinion to verify a student’s disability to the school district.
Ensure colleges and vocational programs provide robust accommodations, both by easing the transfer of accommodations from K-12, and by investing in assessment services, vital both for incoming students without the resources to have received accommodations in school, and for adult learners, many of whom are deterred from participation due to a lack of this investment at present
Crack down on discrimination in hiring, firing, and promotion influenced by an individual’s disability status, including both by investing in greater government-led activity and easing the cost burden on individuals which too often currently prevents them from even attempting to vindicate their rights.
Increase federal funding, and encourage states to increase state funding, for employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities through the AbilityOne program, as well as piloting support for models with increasing amounts of competitive integrated employment
Require State-administered disability determinations be made more timely, with updated, consistent, clear eligibility rules, operating on modern technology, to ensure Americans with disabilities aren’t being denied the support they are due.
Pass federal legislation to increase the pay for and jobs in the “care economy” which is not only vital for Americans with disabilities, but is becoming even more important across the economy with an aging population.
Properly fund and incentivize the creation, expansion, and proper maintenance of public transit systems and paratransit systems across the country, providing Americans with disabilities the dignity and opportunity afforded by the ability to travel.
Incentivize municipalities to make the process of reporting and curing physical barriers to access, from discontinuous elevation changes to nonexistent or poorly designed crosswalk signals, easier and more timely
Supporting federal programs addressing key resource gaps, like food deserts, recognizing that Americans with disabilities are often the first on the margins impacted when resources have limited availability.
Increase the accessibility of federal programs, especially through reforms to the 508 process, and more broadly holding everyone to a higher standard for online accessibility.

My Work in the United States Congress

Led a months-long bipartisan investigation into Congressional procurement practices, resulting in increased Congressional partnerships with, and funding for procurement from the AbilityOne program, increasing job opportunities for Americans with disabilities. This effort combined oversight, appropriations, and legislative activity and is an example of how I bring every tool to bear when fighting for the American People
Co-sponsored the Think DIFFERENTLY Small Business Accessibility Act aimed at easing the process of securing reasonable accommodations at small businesses
Co-sponsored the Stop The Wait Act which would end needless waiting periods preventing individuals with disabilities from receiving SSDI eligibility determinations, allowing critical relief to come half a year sooner, as well as enabling disabled workers to access Medicare without the needless 2-year waiting period in current law
Introduced the Rural Housing Voucher Enhancement Act which would have ensured Americans with disabilities living in rural subsidized housing were actually able to use the vouchers meant to help them relocate once the building is no longer subsidized, but which in practice are often not accessible, forcing these individuals to move sometimes more than 50 miles away, disconnected from their support networks, to afford market rate housing
Urged the federal government to pause Texas’ deeply flawed Medicaid redetermination process, which wrongfully stripped coverage from nearly 100,000 Texans, especially impacting Texans with disabilities
Listened to issues faced by disabled veteran constituents, giving voice to their concerns by pressing the Department of Veterans Affairs to address documented racial disparities in disability benefit approvals