Palin Details Policy to Help Disabled Children

-- In her first policy speech of her campaign, Sarah Palin detailed how a McCain-Palin administration would help children with disabilities. Citing her personal experiences with her six month old son, Trig who has Down Syndrome and her 13 year old nephew, Karcher afflicted with Autism she said that enacting policy to help people with special needs is "especially close to my heart."

She mentioned the many families that bring their disabled children to her rallies and whom she meets with on the rope lines, "We have a bond there. We know that children with special needs inspire a special love. You bring your sons and daughters with you, because you are proud of them, as I am of my son."

She pledged that under their administration, parents of children with special needs would be able to send their children to the public or private school of their choice, "This process should be uncomplicated, quick, and effective -- because early education can make all the difference and no barriers of bureaucracy should stand in the way of serving children with special needs."

The McCain administration would direct the Department of Education to implement their policy and make federal funds full portable, "We'll make explicit that when state funds are portable, that federal funds are fully portable. And we're going to make sure parents have choices and children receive the education that they desire and that they deserve for their children."

She also promised to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is estimated at 26 billion dollars annually compared to the current level of 10.9 billion dollars, according to their plan. Their policy states that they will use a "phased-in increase of 3 billion annually in order to reach the full funding in five years."

Palin pledged to strengthen the National Institutes of Health and said more funding for the NIH will help parents with early identification of a disability, "For many parents of children with disabilities, the most valuable thing of all is information. Early identification of a cognitive or other disorder, especially autism, can make a life-changing difference." Palin said, "We're going to work on long-term cures, and in the short-term, we're going to work on giving these families better information."

Another element of their far-reaching plan is to improve services to students with disabilities in high school and community colleges by modernizing the Vocational Rehabilitation Act.

The GOP Vice-Presidential candidate explained the long-term financial planning parents with disabled children are forced to do, "A common practice among these families is to establish financial trust to start taking care of this aspect. These are known as special needs trusts, covering years of medical and other costs. And for parents, they bring invaluable comfort and security."

The speech was not without politics and after addressing financial planning she quickly went after the top of the Democratic ticket and said that Obama would endanger these trusts that families have set up for their children.

"Understandably then many families with special needs children or dependent adults, they're concerned about in this race our opponent in this election who plans to raise taxes on precisely these kinds of financial arrangements. They fear that Sen. Obama's tax increase will have serious and harmful consequences and they're right because the burden that his plan would pose upon these families is just one more example of how many plans can be disrupted and how many futures can be placed at risk and how many people can suffer when the power to tax is misused." Palin said, "Our opponent has an ideological commitment to higher taxes, and though he seems to make adjustments daily in his tax plan pronouncements, his commitment to increase taxes remains the same.

Barack Obama has consistently said that he would not raise taxes on any one making less than 250,000 dollars a year - 95 percent of Americans.

She said that her ticket will "lower taxes and promote growth and a healthier economy."

"And we'll protect the savings and the earnings of American families and we'll allow more of that investment and the prioritization via our own families to make the difference here, Palin said."

After accusing Obama of wanting to raise taxes and jeopardize the financial planning of these families, she reminded the crowd of a visit she made to the Michael T. George Center outside of Cleveland, a home for adults with Down Syndrome and other disabilities. During her remarks then, less than two weeks ago, she was clear that the issue of helping people with special needs should be non-partisan.

"A country where every life matters and every child is cherished and adult is cherished also. I believe this is an area where partisanship needs to just fly out the window." Palin said, "Who cares what party you are in when you are dealing with issues that truly affect the lives of those who maybe have more challenges than the rest of us. No partisanship at all in these types of issues, please." source>>>

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