The Presidential Candidates
Positions on Disability Issues
McCain
Disability-related information is found within some of the issue areas of the Web site, such as the Veterans and Health Care sections.
See: JohnMcCain.com
See also: Republican Party 2008 Platform (PDF file)
Obama
Disability-related information is found within the Disabilities section of the Web site.
See: BarackObama.com
See also: Democratic Party 2008 Platform
Both candidates supported.
McCain
Will nominate judges who understand that their role is "to faithfully apply the law as written, not impose their opinions through judicial fiat." He will look for candidates who respect the lawmaking powers of Congress, and the powers of the President.
Obama
Will appoint judges and justices who respect laws designed to protect people with disabilities. States that "when you look at what makes a great Supreme Court justice, it's not just the particular issue and how they rule, but it's their conception of the Court. And part of the role of the Court is that it is going to protect people who may be vulnerable in the political process, the outsider, the minority, those who are vulnerable, those who don't have a lot of clout."
McCain
Will ensure that all citizens can participate in the technology revolution.
Obama
Supports the Fostering Independence Through Technology Act. The Act directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct pilot projects for the purpose of providing incentives to home health agencies to utilize home monitoring and communications technology.
McCain
Will work to advance federal research into autism, to promote early screening, to identify better treatment options, and to provide support for children with autism.
Obama
Will appoint a federal Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) coordinator to oversee all federal ASD efforts, fully fund the Combating Autism Act and federal autism research initiatives, support special needs education for children with ASD, and support universal screening (prenatal and at age 2).
McCain
Does not support.
Obama
Supporter and cosponsor
McCain
No information available.
Obama
Will assure the rights affirmed in Olmstead v. L.C. and will amend the Medicare Homebound Rule.
McCain
Does not support.
Obama
Supporter and cosponsor.
McCain
Will focus federal resources on ensuring that the neediest children have access to a range of high quality programs.
Will build Centers for Excellence in Head Start to lead to excellence in all of the pre-kindergarten and early learning programs that taxpayers support.
Will require meaningful, measurable standards designed to determine that students are ready for school by measuring their school readiness skills.
Will ensure that there are no federal prohibitions against preschool programs offering basic health care screenings to children in their care.
Obama
Will invest $10 billion per year in early intervention and developmental programs for children zero thru five.
Will expand Early Head Start, Early Learning Challenge Grants, and other early intervention programs.
Supports universal screening. In addition to prenatal screening, wants to provide re-screening for all two-year-olds.
McCain
Will establish a National Commission on Workplace Flexibility and Choice.
Obama
Supports increased funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to enforce anti-discrimination laws.
Will increase executive branch hiring of workers with disabilities. Will reinstate Executive Order 13173 (Interagency Task Force on the Economic Development) to achieve its mandate of hiring an additional 100,000 federal employees with disabilities within five years.
Will implement Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (prohibits discrimination and requires employers with federal contracts or subcontracts that exceed $10,000 to take affirmative action to hire, retain and promote qualified individuals with disabilities). Will make changes for people with disabilities to more closely resemble Executive Order 11246 (affirmative action for people of color and women).
Will provide private-sector employers with resources to accommodate employees with disabilities and encourage the private sector to use existing tax benefits to hire workers with disabilities.
Will establish a National Commission on People with Disabilities, Employment and Social Security Commission.
Will support small businesses owned by people with disabilities by amending the Small Business Act.
Will expand the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), encourage states to adopt paid leave, mandate a reasonable amount of paid sick leave and provide protections against caregiver discrimination.
McCain
Stated goal: Provide access to affordable health care for all by paying only for quality health care, having insurance choices that are diverse and responsive to individual needs and encouraging personal responsibility.
Highlights of plan:
Remove the favorable tax treatment of employer-sponsored insurance and provide a tax credit to individuals and families to increase incentives for insurance coverage.
Promote insurance competition.
Contain costs through payment changes to providers, tort reform and other measures.
Work with states to create a federally-supported Guaranteed Access Plan for people who are denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
Opposes mandatory coverage.
Obama
Stated goal: Affordable and high-quality universal coverage through a mix of private and expanded public insurance.
Highlights of plan:
Require all children to have health insurance.
Require employers to offer employee health benefits or contribute to the cost of the new public program.
Create a new public plan.
Expand Medicaid and SCHIP.
Create the National Health Insurance Exchange through which small businesses and individuals without access to other public programs or employer-based coverage could enroll in the new public plan or in approved private plans.
Prohibit insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
Ensure that people with disabilities who lose their Medicare or Medicaid eligibility by taking a job, but still cannot afford coverage, will be provided a subsidy in order to purchase coverage.
Mental health provisions are included in health care plan.
McCain
2008 Medicare Bill - did not vote
Cloture for 2008 Medicare Bill - did not vote
2008 amendment to halt cuts - did not vote
Obama
2008 Medicare Bill - did not vote
Cloture for 2008 Medicare Bill - supported
2008 amendment to halt cuts – supported
McCain
Proposes designing a health care reimbursement system for taking care of the whole patient, whether it's a physical or mental health problem.
Supports mental health parity.
Opposes the MOTHERS Act (a bill that calls for mental health screening and treatment of pregnant women and women who have recently given birth).
Opposed the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.
Obama
Mental health provisions included in his health care plan.
Supports mental health parity (co-sponsor).
Co-sponsor of the MOTHERS Act (a bill that calls for mental health screening and treatment of pregnant women and women who have recently given birth).
Supported the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.
Supports mandatory mental health screenings of all military personnel and will work to improve mental health care for veterans at every stage of military service.
Supports and would expand the Nurse-Family Partnership to all low-income, first-time mothers. (The Nurse-Family Partnership provides home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers and their families. Its purpose is to identify issues for early detection and treatment of mental health problems.)
Supports providing opportunities for homes and jobs for individuals living with mental illness.
Supports ending inappropriate incarceration of individuals with mental illness.
McCain
No disability-specific information available
Obama
Will authorize a comprehensive study of students with disabilities and transition to work and higher education.
Will create an American Opportunity Tax Credit that will ensure the first $4,000 of college is free for those eligible and will cover two-thirds of the cost of tuition at the average public college or university.
Prescription drugs
McCain
Voted to allow the federal government to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for discounts on prescription drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Voted to allow importation of less expensive prescription drugs.
Obama
Voted to allow the federal government to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies for discounts on prescription drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Voted to allow importation of less expensive prescription drugs.
McCain
Will fight to save the future of Social Security. Believes that obligations to the retirees of today and the future can be achieved without raising taxes.
Supports supplementing the current Social Security system with personal accounts.
Obama
Will ensure that the Social Security Administration has the funding it needs to hire judges and staff.
Will invest in technology to expedite final decisions and more effectively process its caseloads.
Will work to strengthen Social Security and prevent privatization while protecting middle class families from tax increases or benefit cuts.
McCain
Believes parents should be empowered with school choice to send their children to the school that can best educate their children.
Will pursue reforms that address the underlying cultural problems in the education system.
Obama
Will support fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) and will ensure effective implementation and enforcement of IDEA.
Will support special education for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
McCain
Will work toward equal treatment of veterans with disabilities within the retirement system.
Will give veterans the ability to use their VA benefits to pay for timely high quality care from providers in the best locations.
Believes the VA should concentrate on treating soldiers with serious injuries and not on routine health care.
Obama
Will improve mental health care at every stage of military service.
Will expand the number of centers, such as for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Will invest in specialty care for traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, vision impairment, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, aging, women's health and other specialized rehabilitative care.
McCain
No information available.
Obama
Supports fully funding the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
Will assure better enforcement of federal disability rights laws (HAVA, Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, Americans with Disabilities Act) in regard to voter rights.
Opposes voter ID laws.
