September 20, 1978
Page 30317
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, once again, the Senate, as well as all handicapped Americans, owes thanks to the floor manager of S. 2600, Senator RANDOLPH, whose vision and leadership have done so much to improve the lives of the handicapped.
The bill he brings before us today would reauthorize the Vocational Rehabilitation Act and the Developmental Disabilities Act, the two major Federal programs designed to aid the disabled. The bill would also authorize new programs to expand services to special populations, such as the blind.
In addition, the bill would establish a major new program which would provide comprehensive services to severely handicapped individuals.
The vocational rehabilitation program is one of the oldest and most successful Federal programs, and I wholeheartedly support its continuation. Several cost benefit analyses of this program have been conducted, and they all conclude that the benefits derived from the vocational rehabilitation program are worth many times its cost.
For example, the 303,000 people rehabilitated in 1976 earned $1.3 billion in that year, a net increase of $1.1 billion over their earnings prior to entering the rehabilitation system. If we assume that these clients return roughly 6 percent of their additional earnings to the Federal Treasury in taxes, then rehabilitation results in a net gain of $66 million in Federal revenue alone.
This contribution is over and above the savings that result from the removal of handicapped people from public assistance rolls and public institutions.
The new program of services to the severely handicapped proposed in S. 2600 would represent a major expansion in Federal resources committed to the estimated 7.5 million severely handicapped who have received few, if any, rehabilitative services under existing programs.
Ostensibly, many of the activities provided for in this program are already underway in the developmental disabilities program, which would be reauthorized by this bill through fiscal year 1983.
A few weeks ago, in recommending favorably on a resolution waiving a provision of the Budget Act with regard to this bill, the Budget Committee expressed its concern over the possible duplication of programs extended and proposed in this bill.
The Budget Committee's report on the waiver resolution stated in part:
The Budget Committee has a continuing concern about the pressure on Federal spending created by duplication and overlap in authorized spending.
The Budget Committee, in expressing this concern, was not voicing opposition to any one program or beneficiary group The committee neither intends that any essential services for the developmentally disabled be eliminated nor that services be deprived to those severely handicapped who remain unserved.
Rather, it was expressing its belief that true control over Federal spending — rather than being achieved through across-the-board spending cuts such as those passed by the Senate in recent weeks — can only come through careful evaluation of Federal programs to eliminate duplication and waste.
I understand that the sponsors of this bill have included language to foster coordination among programs included in the bill. I applaud these attempts and will support any efforts at further coordination as the programs are implemented.
In that same waiver report the Budget Committee also recommended that the authorization period for the vocational rehabilitation program be shortened from 5 to 3 years.
The reason for this recommendation, as stated in the committee's report on the waiver resolution, is the Budget Committee's concern over "long-term commitments involving increasing expenditures in entitlement programs." The report goes on to say:
Such programs should be reviewed more frequently in light of changing needs and condition.
Mr. President, in expressing these concerns, the Budget Committee does not deny the need of the handicapped for assistance. To the contrary, the committee is very much aware of the needs of the handicapped and supports funding for programs for the handicapped.
Moreover, I believe that the vast majority of Americans wholeheartedly support these programs.
For these reasons I intend to support this bill.