Carrying forward on a campaign promise, President Bush has asked Congress to appropriate funds to help people with disabilities acquire technology and transportation that will help them hold jobs.
The proposal would also expand funding for research and development of so-called assistive technologies, such as a communications and control system called Eye Gaze, which responds to eye movements, at 15 Rehabilitative Research Engineering Centers nationwide.
Demonstration grants and other funds also would be made available to about 2,500 small companies that are developing assistive technologies.
The proposal would also provide federal matching funds to states for use in guaranteeing low-interest loans for individuals with disabilities to buy computers and other equipment that would enable them to work from home.
The package also proposes 10 pilot programs to develop transportation plans for persons with disabilities, who might otherwise not be able to hold jobs outside their homes.
An estimated 70 percent of people with disabilities are not working, according to a Michigan online job-search company, iCan Inc. (http://www.ican.com). The company says thousands of people with disabilities who hold advanced degrees are unemployed but eager to find work.
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jwthompson@tribune.com
