Gore unveils $2.7 billion package to bolster rights for disabled

WASHINGTON - Vice President Al Gore unveiled a $2.7 billion package designed to bolster programs for the disabled by opening the workplace and improving home-care programs.

''There are millions of Americans who are held back, not because they have a disability, but because that disability is misunderstood,'' said Gore, in a speech to about 800 activists at the National Council on Independent Living meeting. ''They are not recognized for the abilities they have.''

Aides said the package aims specifically at opening the workplace to the disabled, citing statistics showing that up to 75 percent of those with serious disabilities are unemployed or underemployed.

''That's wrong and together we're going to change it,'' said Gore. Gore's proposals drew loud cheers from advocates representing the nation's 54 million disabled.

New spending in the measure would be spread over 10 years, and while aides conceded the package was relatively small they argued it represented a new commitment to the disabled.

Under the proposal, Gore would create a ''Fund for Independence'' designed to improve home- and community-based services which help the disabled enter the workplace.

He also would increase funding for independent living programs to $75 million, up from the current $40 million.

Gore also is calling for a $1,000 tax credit for expenses incurred to return to work, yet another step designed to increase the number of disabled people who hold jobs.

Another piece of the program would double the $35 million currently spend on research into new assistive technologies. In an effort to assure that the disabled have their rights protected, the package also would spend $50 million increasing enforcement of laws banning discrimination against the disabled.

The measure also includes incentives for states to expand coverage of home care expenses under the Medicaid program.

While the package is modest, aides said it builds on earlier proposals Gore has offered that largely benefit the disabled.

Those include increases in special education funding, and expansion of the Medicare program to cover the soaring cost of prescription drugs.

In December, President Clinton signed legislation allowing more people with disabilities to keep their health insurance when they go to work and making it easier for them to get rehabilitation services.

The timing of Gore's announcement Tuesday was carefully planned. A weeklong series of events begins Wednesday, the 10th anniversary of the signing into law of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

That measure is a broad ban on discrimination against those with disabilities, and many advocates are gathering in Washington for the celebratory events.

These advocates, while relatively small in number, are passionate about their cause and can be a political force.