financial and economic opportunities. i am pleased that today's hearing will continue exploring the barriers that persons with disability experience inseeking full economic inclusion . employment options ... [inaudible] various research reports, some are worth bearing in mind as we hear from and question our expert witnesses today. nearly one in four american adults live with a disability of some kind. and that number seems to be growing. the bureau of labor statistics estimates 1.2 million more americans identify as having a disability in 2021 comparedto the previous year . as many as 7 million 7 americans are now dealing with long covid and a lot of uncertainty about theirfuture . persons with disabilities are more likely to experience unemployment, lower wages and saving poverty, increased cost-of-living and homelessness compared to those without a disability . as just one metric the unemployment rate for people with disabilities, 10.8 percent. last year it was over twice that of those without at 5.2 percent. persons with disabilities are also less likely to be employed in the financial sector and in fact are disproportionately excluded from traditional banking and as we know the unbanked community it is more at risk of financial fraud. these are areas of concern is the lack of affordable housing is even more acute for those with an accessible and integrated housing. only 3.5 percent of us homes are ground-floor and configured to accommodate the width of the wheelchair. i want to thank the kelsey group for mentioning in their de mission on ground housing model and despite the united states supreme court owns the decision people with disabilities are too often having no choice but to live in. institutional settings rather than integrated into their communities. these are some of the challenges that people with disabilities face is my goal that this hearing will a thoughtful discussion of policy that this committee and this congress should consider to build a more inclusive economy. i returned to one of the core principles i have used to guide this subcommittee's work. that diversity is beneficial not just for individuals but for businesses and the economy as a whole. i have a broad range of experience and perspectives i believe if we have a broad range of perspectives and experiences , that will lead ev to better decisions. people with disabilities have much to offer in this regard and i certainly look forward to the witness testimony and the questions from the committee. thank you . i now recognize the ranking member for today's hearing, my friend and colleague from the great state of ohio, mister anthony gonzalez. five minutes for an opening statement. >> thank you chairwoman. i like the office, is well de decorated. i like the ohio flag in there and thank you to all our witnesses. americans with disabilities face challenges in their daily lives americans without a disability would never think to consider. our hearing is to make sure those with a disability are treated the same under the law and provided the tools to succeed and overcome the challenges associated with theirdisabilities . as will hear leaders throughout the industry in every level of government understand this is a serious challenge and have made up whole solutions. whether it's the creation of new innovative programs to reach out to americans to equip them with still sets to be successful or inclusive hiring practices we are seeing citing new initiatives to create more opportunities for disabled americans. there are still a tremendous amount of work to be done. americans with disabilities is possible that require the private sector and elected officials to work together to find innovative solutions. most notably these challenges include troubleaccessing housing that meets the needs of innocent individuals disabilities . these challenges have only been exacerbated more costly for those with disabilities. we know having limited or unstable access to housing can cause so many downstream effects including job opportunities and even personal safety. additionally americans with disabilities are more likely to experience poverty since and the unbanked are under ' banked as a result of their disability. we must better alalign our workforce inand provide the training pathway to successful careers. i'm also glad to see the focus of this hearing the ec impact of covid-19. while the pandemic has receded in many ways many americans are still reeling from the loss of a local and was struggling to deal with the lasting impact of the disease . i've been pushing the bipartisan and bicameral covid-19 cognitive research act which would direct the nsf to provide research on long-term mental health impacts of the disease. it's important we find answers to why so many americans are suffering from physical and mental effects caused by a virus. it is my hope the legislation will help us better understand the lasting impacts the disease can have on mental health outcomes. in today's hearing i'm interested in hearing how new technology can help individuals better access financial institutions and the private sector can work with elected officials and advocacy groups to protect disabled americans iland the shortfalls in law that inhibit individuals with disabilities. i think the chairwoman for convening this hearing and look forward to today's dialogue and i thank all our witnesses . with that i yield back. >> i now recognize the chairwoman of the full committee and thank her for joining us today. the gentlewoman from california, chairwoman maxine waters. >> make you so much chair of 80.it is unfortunate the financial services and housing market do not adequately serve persons with disabilities. these industries often put profit first and elect to make accommodations even when the law requires it. disabled people are disproportionately at risk of being homeless and living in poverty and indigenous for latinx people are at even greater risk. 1.2 million more americans are identified as having a disability because of covid. i've drafted legislation and encouraged the committee to provide better information about which companies are accommodating the disabled community. these and other reforms are long past due so i thank you so very much miss beatty for holding thishearing and i yield back the balance of my time . >> thank you chairwoman thwaters. today we welcome thetestimony of our distinguished witnesses . we have missed allison cannington, senior manager advocacy and organizing, the kelsey. miss cynthia dibartolo, founder and ceo hybrid financial partners. mister thomas foley, executive director national disability institute. miss vilissa thompson, sensory foundation codirector this ability economic justice collaborative and we have missed carolyn sullivan, executive director north carolina business committee for education office of the governor. the witnesses are reminded that their oral testimony will be limited to five minutes. you should be r,able to see a timer or we will alert you and it will indicate how much time you will have left. i would ask you be mindful of the timer or hearing me vocally share with you your time is up so that we can be respectful of both the witnesses and committee members time. without objection your written statement will be made part of the record. first i'll start with miss cannington. you are recognized for five minutes to give an oral testimony on your presentation. >> care beatty and ranking member gonzalez and members of the diversity andinclusion subcommittee thank you for inviting me to testify today . my name is allie cannington and i'm a white disabled queer jew who lives in california and i've been organizing across the disability rights movement for over a decade. currently i serve as senior manager of advocacy organizing at the kelsey pioneer disability forward housing solutions that open doors more affordable homes and opportunities for everyone. we have to hundred 40 portable accessible integrated and inclusive homes in our pipeline and we leave initiatives to support policy conditions that can make inclusive housing the norm. today i will provide an overview of how disabled people the most diverse and largest minority population are disproportionately impacted by our nations housing crisis. housing has failed to be affordable meeting affordable to people of all incomes, especially those who are extremely low income. housing has failed to be accessible meeting housing is designed to meet disability access. housing has failed to be fully integrated meeting housing that does does not segregate but meets people with and without disabilities and inclusive meaning people that are supported communities where people can access programs and support they need to drive in and around where they live . while we do have a federal framework in place including the fair housing act which prohibited discrimination based on race,color, national origin, religion, sex , familial status and abilities, the americans with disabilities act requiring public entities to administer services grants and activities in the most integrated setting and we have the olmstead supreme court decision which confirmed under title 2 of the ada disabled people have the right to community integration . yet we have never invested in a housing infrastructure to make these rights a reality for the ever-growing disabled population. today there are more than 61 million of us, people with disabilities living in the us due to covid-19 initial estimates that by the end of 2021 there were 1.2 million more disabled people. the population has and will continue to rise and the reality is people with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty. four and half million people rely on ssi and you cannot afford any housing in any us market iwith ssi. 50 percent of all housing discrimination is based on disability. highest rates of disability discrimination across any class. at minimum 40 percent of people experiencing homelessness are disabled. one in two people turning to shelters are people with disabilities and less than 12 percent of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities rent or own their own home. segregated housing models prevail and the institutional bias is intact in federal and state governments have never invested in the supply of service ready integrated housing. these crises are disproportionately experienced by black, brown indigenous and immigrants n. the federal government can and must invest in the housing infrastructure so all people with disabilities regardless of their background and levels of support needs can live in their own homes. this committee has the ability to fund mandate and guide the development of neededsolutions . they must be cocreated by disabled people. for example vouchers. mainstream rental assistance which ensures people with disabilities can afford housing and disability inclusive projects are built. accessibility requirements can be increased and coupled with funding incentives that encourage housing to be built and operated beyond the minimum requirements for disability access. stronger guidance can come from the federal government that align various funding sources and meets and throws the housing investments needed to fulfill the immigration mandate of the ada and innovative policies and robust funding to make it more feasible, easier and clearer for housing developers and municipalities to advance inclusive accessibleintegrated and affordable housing . more details on both the need and remedies are included in my written testimony and i look forward to exploring more with this committee on what can be doneto support a truly this ability forward housing future . thank you so much thank you very much miss cannington. miss dibartolo you are recognized for five minutes to give an oral presentation on yourtestimony . >> .they chairman beatty, chairman porter, vice ranking member gonzalez and distinguished congressional members of the subcommittee. thanks for the opportunity to testify. i commend the e members of the subcommittee or your collective progress on disability equality and inclusion us financial institutions and in corporate america more broadly. disability is a undeveloped area and we have an obligation to give a voice to those voiceless individuals. i come before you as an experienced financialanservices professional , founder and ceo of trident financial partners, the nation's only disabled and woman on financial services firm, ceo of rise financial services and only woman broker, chairperson of the financial services coalition under the appointment of reverend jesse jackson and as an individual who is mentally disabled. i hope that my testimony will yield insight on the glaring issues of the sgross inequality facing the disabled. we must address the realities with respect to the acceleration of the intersection reality of disability and other marginalized groups as well as the barriers to economic sustainability and inclusion to mainstream workforce. along with the challenges faced by disabled entrepreneurs in access to ... [inaudible] >> we speak from personal experience. in 2011 i found private financial partners in corporate america for more than 25 years before i served as an attorney and risk management director of some of the largest banks. the height of my career i was diagnosed with head and neck cancer and left severely disabled. i had my tongue reconstructed from parts of my body using arteries, veins and muscles from both my arms and i learned to speak again over the course of several years however my articulation is much more deliberate and intentional . cancer not only took my tongue but it took my entire career. fueled with my passion for working financial services i went to spc to start the nation's first disabled and woman owned financial services firm and quickly discovered access to capital was as a equity was not nonexistent for people with disabilities and the barriers were more acute and difficult to overcome. countless individuals who like myself were disabled entrepreneurs and fell outside the mainstream of what an entrepreneur was defined as by society. bottom line able listen isthe common barrier i face . on my tactical journey with more than 60 individuals of which 80 percent of my workforce were dispersed, african-american, asian indian women and disabled. in 2011 we made history becoming the first woman owned and disabled new york stock exchange member and full broker in the big boards 229 year history. so it's important to recognize firms like tigress compete as any formidable firm in financial services. we just happen to draw from a different and diverse love talent. people with disabilities are truly the missing link in this discussion regarding diversity and diversity of thought. in order to transform the economic system we need to meet the needs of 61 million people with disabilities and the newly disabled individuals who are suffering from long-term covid. we need to pivot from a system which precludes long-term financial stability and in doing so disabled people should be allowed to operate parallel to both disability services system and business system. the gross inequalities i speak of today are not rooted in disabled individuals but rather there in the economic resources, compulsive disorder our society has with stereotyping ableism or blindness to the data and allocation of power. i sentence you. >> thank you very much not only for your testimony but for sharing your story and let me just say ask a cerebral brain stem stroke survivor with months of speech therapy your articulation was amazing. we thank you again. mister foley, you are now recognized for five minutes to give an oral presentation on your testimony. mister foley, i will give you a one minute alert if that will be helpful to you and we won't take away from your time when i interrupt. >> thank you ma'am, that would be great. thank you chairwoman the and ranking member gonzalez and other distinguished members of the committee. i appreciate the opportunity to be here today. on executive director of the national disability institute for 17 years we've worked exclusively on issues of financial economicsinclusion . but i'm also here today as a person who is blind and on ssdi. i'll never forget as a freshman in college a friend of mine telling me about this $2000 sf and i thought she was getting. i had no idea what what people didn't want me to say. i've seen rulesand expectations of everyone else . i have a family, retirement savings and i want to buy a house. i wanted a golden retriever. i wanted the american dream but that $2000 asset would have meant changed since i was a freshman in college and thatwas a while ago . assets discourage savings, working and hope. we support the ssi savings penalty elimination act as the first step to changing the disability narrative. >> i was lucky as in high school i was able r,to make a financial educationclass and it changed my life . however that is the exception rather than the rule for most people with disabilities. even standard financial education for people with disabilities or standard financial education leaves a critical disability issue that people need to know about. things like asset limits, able accounts. digital accessibility considerations. and the $17,000 a year and extra costs related to disabilities that most people with disabilities incur every year. people with disabilities are simply not often seen or financially served. we see the predictable result of this in many ways. rates of retention for people is three times higher than the general population and two percent versus 4.5 percent. even higher rates are observed when we look at the intersection of race ethnicity and disability. access to bank credit follows a similar pattern. people with disabilities are 1.7 times more likely to be refused credit when they ask for it. when we look at net worth average household net worth again in 2019 fdic average household net worth is about $84,000. households with a disabled householder are about $14,400 and households with black and disabled householder is $1282 . not surprising many people turn to self-employment. there is additional flexibility opportunity for many people. unfortunately little disability self-employment data is captured by many surveys through the federal reserve system or consensus. without data disability is invisible and it becomes much more difficult to develop targeted programs to reach this important group of people . the national disability institute we support disability lending disclosures s of section 1071 of the dodd frank act adding the ada definition of disability to the equal credit opportunity act and ensuring athat disability becomes a measurable activity for the investment act. banks, financial institutions and eethe industry need to do more permitted actions to improve disability in the communities they serve. there is a need to develop trust particularly at the intersection of race in the city and disability. there are proactive. >> mister foley you have about 30 seconds left. >> and provide affordable accessible services and tools to people with disabilities. members of the committee, i've started this testimony with my american dream. i got back dream, bought a house, even a golden retriever. i'm not particularly special. people do not need to change, systems do and with your help today we can begin to change the system and increase economic opportunities for all people with disabilities. thank you for the opportunity . >> thank you so much for your testimony is foley. and now miss thompson, you are recognized for five minutes to give an oral presentation on your testimony. >> thank you chairwoman beatty, ranking member wagner andmembers of the subcommittee for the opportunity to testify today . my name is this thompson about a fellow at the surgery foundation . it's vital not only to understand the economic challenges faced by disabled americans but to apply an intersectional lens to make sure policies and reforms meant to address a barrier are effective in doing so for all disabled people not just the most privileged so for my testimony i will bring this issue to life by testimony testifying on demands of black disabled young adults. it is with this background i will share three main points and refer the committee to my written testimony for further details. the first who exactly is part of this community? the community comprised of 600 people or one in four adults? this number is climbing due to the pandemic. the community has the f highest lens and will make up one of every four disabled people. this can be a significant factor to economic insecurity and a factor in whether or not a person thrives in a country where productivity to contribute to the labor force are prioritized more than who they are as a person. this brings me to my second point which is the economic disabled people face. there are several factors that undermine the economic security . with my limited time, the first is the loss of services support for young adulthood. young adulthood should be an exciting time as teachers begin to get their first job. they understand their concerns for independence are tied to their disability with the support that they relied on. i have more of this in my li testimony but wanted to highlight the reality and two, affordable accessible housing for disabled adult adults who rent or buy for the first time. conditions of the market are steadily discouraging. the five percent of federally funded affordable housing required to be accessible for those with a disability . three added cost of living with a disability better known as text, living with a disability is costly. disabled people play an extraordinary rate for services that are needed to make their lives easier and accessible. households for disabled adults need 28 percent more income to achieve the same standard of living is nondisabled households. for, barriers to employment as they enter a workforce that has never fully considered disabled workers. people as skilled or challenged workers. the gap of race or people working four times were paid 6 to 8 percent on average for every dollar paid to white nondisabled workers so this institution is able to find a full-time work to connect and expect to be paid less and her white peers and a final point when it comes to barriers. updated social o security disability programs, i will go into great detail about social security since it is not within the committee's jurisdiction but there are outdated rules and programs that need to be addressed. one is asset limits, they haven't been updated since 1989. we strongly asked that we make stakeholders turned to my last and final point for this testimony which is the economic power of the community if changes are made. removing barriers to economic security for disabled people will not only reduce property and hardship, it will allow significant power of this committee achieve economic justice for disabled people will require across the entire economic agenda. several of the bills under review by this committee would take important steps to remove barriers to economic security and independence for llpeople like keisha and finally i want to be perfectly clear ththat what happens to disabled people is not hypothetical. in fact i myself have faced many of the disparities i highlighted. i was a young black disabled adult with roadblocks to impede my success. this data is not abstract, it is personal as it is for millions of disabled people . systemic and it's societal realities indoor but might be ignored when we discuss the economic barriers that impact our ability to not just provide but thrive. >> thank you very much miss thompson for your testimony and for sharing teachers story. our next witness will be missed sullivan and you are now recognized for five minutes to give an oral presentation on your testimony. >> good afternoon chairwoman waters, chairwoman beatty, ranking member winderand members of the diversity and inclusive of the subcommittee . i'm the executive director of the north carolina business community for education. the business led education and workforce nonprofit office of the governor and i was honored to be have been invited by congressman mchenry to talk about the program that addresses the barriers to employment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. my organization focuses on workspace learning and we believe the experiences are critical for students and young adults yet many programs such as internships and apprenticeships do not include individuals with disability and this is true for those that have an education to do the job but they face barriers and keeping that job. the number of kids 18-year-olds transitioning from high school to adulthood is expected to increase to one in 44 by 2028. yet compared to other developmental disabilities, young adults with autism have the lowest participation in paid employment. there is an urgent need to develop programs for competitive employment for autistic adults. the interview process and group dynamics have high-level answer to medication skills that individuals with autism find difficult and many employers who want to hire artisticteam members don't know how to support them . in 2018 we designed a paid internship on-the-job training program working with the north carolina division of rehabilitation and other partners to identify supports to align systems linking north carolina with innovative linkage makes the connection between employers, higher education and government services to provide opportunities for early career autistic professionals and a talented source of workers or north carolina. there fycurrently are 71 individuals who have completed or are currently working internships. more than 90 .percent of participants who have completed the program are now in full-time positions averaging above the median starting wage in thestate . many in jobs that take substantially higher wages. and prior to participation in the program all were either underemployed or underemployed. we're fortunate north carolina is the leader in supporting individuals with autism thanks to the unc he autism center which started 50 years ago and in the autism society of north carolina. we have service providers with expertise in autism in the workplace. they provide our job coaching and the services they are paid through rehab. the team works with the employer to identify positions and increase internships who have the interests and skills needed. the intern and employer are started during the interview process and manager during orientation and throbbing internship . think about accommodations and help with wraparound services like transportation. at its core lincoln is focused on systems change. we work to help develop online training for employers me to train every team member on how to support their coworkers with autism but true conclusion is not just getting that first job. it's also helping team members advanced in their career. last year one of our interns now served on the linkit collaborative. governor cooper announced the resources for employees on the spectrum initiative to provide eligible employees with up to five hours of career coaching. we hope this is a model for other colleagues. we work with 31 large and small employers across numerous sectors including the financial services industry . investments and credits with strong partners. we are working to expand into state government into five different departments. the staggering unemployment rate for autistic adults is not just a barrier to financial stability but honest opportunity for employers to find great employees. as the mother of the child on the spectrum i'm proud to work in a state that supports valued individuals with autism. i encourage all public and private employers to develop programs like linkit and we are happy to serve as a resource. thank you for the opportunity and i look forward to your questions. kn>> thank you for your testimony and also for highlighting autism. i wanted to let you know we have actively participated and i was the keynote speaker for the 16th annual tools for transformation of autism so again g, thank you for highlighting that. i now recognize myself for five minutes of questions. the first question on workforcechallenges , miss dibartolo. the bureau of labor statistics reports people have chosen and we've heard this from many of you, entrepreneurs largely as a result of barriers to the traditional unemployed, unemployment. as the family of the first and only disabled female owned new york stock exchange financial services firm can you give us one thing this entity should be doing differently? we need you to unmute please. >> as the founder of the first and only disabled woman on business i can state the barriers are massive. i was on with a law degree specialized and i struggled to find a path to capital. once i was labeled a disabled entrepreneur. imagine if it was difficult for me given my experience in education how could any disabled entrepreneur navigate this incredible slope and in the beginning i could not secure a single investor. i was told i was unthinkable. i discovered debt and equity were nonexistent. for people with disabilities the barrier to entrepreneurship are acute and are difficult to overcome. to benefits, ss startup capital, credit. >> i'm going to stop you there and take that one thing as access to capital only because i havethree or four more questions i'm going to try to get you but thank you . in 1999 the supreme court ruled unjustified segregation of people with disabilities isillegal according to title 2 . now, it requires states, local and state jurisdictions to eliminate unnecessary segregation including in institutional facilities to ensure that they retain services and the most integrated setting ntpossible. do state and local governments currently track what share of their housing stock is accessible and whether stock is integrated? this committee believes in transparency and accountability ? >> thank you so much for that question chairwoman. yes. the short answer is number and a majority, number i want to highlight due to a major lawsuit against the city of los angeles , la has developed systems to track which housing is accessible and affordable but there's still really really inconsistency across the board in terms of tracking civil units as well as integrated units. >> i'm going to say thank you because you just given us the reason we can look at the federal level. mister foley reports financial service acts and websites are not available for people withdisabilities . i wonder if you're familiar with this capture and all text and overreliance on the mouse to navigate the website . i miss it every time when they tell me to find the bridge but for those who are visually impaired,, we keep financial service providers accountable? we've gone across the sea street and will hear beeps for those visually impaired. any insight you can giveus in 30 seconds ? >> financial service providers need to build accessibility in the beginning omand make it part of a regular inreview process. use people with disabilities to test the products to make sure it works for them and make, it to people compensation and ability to move forward. >> hopefully i can get this question in. congresswoman madeleine bean was unable to join us as a bill called the private loan disability discharge and i wanted to bring this up because student loans continue to act as an impediment to building wealth so one of the things we're looking for dealing with discharging cprivate education loans or to the cosponsors in case of a permanent disability or the borrowers of debt. which will support that and that's a yes, sir no from everyone. let's start with you mister foley. >> yes. >> miss dibartolo. >> absolutely. >> miss cannington. >>absolutely . >> miss sullivan. >> yes. >> and ms. thompson. >> atyes. >> unfortunately my time is up. i will now recognize the distinguished ranking member congressman gonzales for five minutes of questions. >> thank you chairwoman beatty and thank you to our witnesses for your testimony. i want to start with you. i've always had a particular admiration for successful entrepreneurs and your story in particular is just so powerful and the passion with which you tell it is inspiring in so many ways so i want to commend you and thank you for being here but also just for having such incredible tenacity. i want to dive a little deeper on that access to capital because i think whatever you're talking about the marginalized communities no matter what community it is there's access to capital point is just enormously critical. maybe the most important. i think there's folks in this world who can snap their fingers and acquire capital at almost 0 waste and on unbelievable terms and there's others who struggle to get even one percent so i want to hear more from you. how specifically did you overcome next? how did you get your first dollars in the door whetherit was on the debt or equity side and what were those barriers ? >> truthfully, my own resilience is what got me there. disabled people have unbelievable amount of resilience . we bounce back higher. i liquidated my own assets, literally liquidated everything i could. and that on myself. because i was determined to build a firm that could stand as an example on wall street that disabled individuals are part of the diversity and inclusion initiative that we are undertaking and they bring value not just within an organization but within thecommunity . then as my company became more successful, the same people who told me know early on only anunthinkable ceo . to my face came knocking at the door after i had some degree of success asking if they could invest i had to go quite a long time figuring this out on my own. i'm going to humbly say that was one point where i almost had to sell my own engagement to make payroll . >> in canada. it's fair to say that traditional banking community they wanted nothing to do with your you and your company and you had to literally sell almost every asset you have just to get off theground . >> i can measure some degree of success. >> i'm sure it felt good to see those same people come back and knock on your door and beg you to take their capitalat some point . just an incredible story, thank you for sharing that. miss sullivan i want to switch to you and commend you for the incredible work you're doingin north carolina . again it's exciting to see. when you're talking to employers, what are the biggest barriers you face about potentially bringing on individuals with autism and how do you and equipment employers with the skills to be successful in hiring an individual with autism or spectrum disorder? >> when we first talked to employers we talk about linkit as a talent acquisition strategy for them . the great number of folks that are missing because they don't have ways to support individuals who are neuro- divers and what linkit does is it aligns systems. we talk with employers to get them interested. they identify a managerwho wants to be involved in the program . we define this as an internship program to have, is not a hiring e program. the work-based learning program but every single one of our interns get hired and what we do is we work with them all through the process. many individuals with thautism have a hard time with interviews for example because you're not askingwhat you know , you're askingother things that are germane to the job . on boarding is difficult and as i said the social cues and the workplace are hard. so we have job approaches with staff but what we found is the support ramps up at the beginning andit does wayne after a while .once they get this situated into their job they do very well. >> my time is up, thank you chairwoman beatty and i feel bad. >> the gentlewoman from massachusetts, miss presley who is also vice chair of the subcommittee on consumer protection and financial institutions is now recognized for five minutes. >> madam chair you for your intentional and inclusive leadership. it's a very important hearing . the status quo has failed the disability community. as suggested our disabled neighbors lead to a second class standard of living. we heard many compelling figures which do underscore the complexity of navigating this fraud system particularly for our neighbors and loved ones with disability community . but policy ultimately is about people. it's not a document on the shelf. it's a reality. policy dictates quite literally who lives and dies and can drive. so i want to talk about one of my constituents from cambridge who we will call mister james . and mister jane developed long covid and conservative estimates put that 8 million he develops long covid as a result of the pandemic. he experienced symptoms like chronic fatigue, constant dysfunction and ndthen he begins to struggle athis current job . miss thompson, how have individuals like mister james with long covid struggled to remain in the workforce and whatbarriers do they face as a a result of long-term symptoms ? what might mister james be experiencing ? >> thank you congresswoman presley. in july 2021 the biden administration released gu guidance package that may be under the ada and it requires the employersto make reasonable asaccommodations . however the standard has not been a smooth transition for those with long covid because they won't have certain adjustments or because some individuals may not be able to continue their positions. there are accommodations that can be worked in allowing people to awork from home. i just work styles and dress code, and be able to deliver the standards in what works in the shop. storage areas, temporary shelter responsibilities. we've even seen employment release and their employers make these processes much smoother. >> thank you. now let's say mister james can no longer work and turns to ourdisability safety net . in morder to make ends meet by applying for ssi, supplemental security income. yes no would mister james be receiving enough from ssi to make ends meet in a district like mine or to live above the federal poverty line, yes, sir no. >> no. >> with ssi allow mister james to haveemergency savings, say more than $2000 ? >> not with the elcurrent limi . >> to be clear mister james develops long covid. his symptoms render him unable to work. he falls below the poverty line due to asset caps that prohibit him from saving even a modest amount for emergencies let alone to run a safe and healthy home because ben is ssi benefits would be penalized . i agree with what mister foley said earlier. people don't need to change, thesystems do. and if mister james disability requires them to move into a wheelchair , to move to a wheelchair, what are the challenges mister james will face in trying to find an accessible in today's housing market in my district? >> .. affordability and accessible housing and being out of reach, roughly half the people in u the country are forced to turn to homeless shelters to keep a roof over their head. >> as you said earlier we need to legislate in a way that intersectional and there will be a change until he recognized humants rights every policy is a disability policy and won't change until we legislate healing the disability community deserves. i would to requestst submit to e record today for center american progress title removing hospitals for disabled workers which would strengthen u.s. labor market and to those at the top of this, a black woman with a bald head of the top. thank you. >> without objection and thank you so much. the gentleman from texas, mr. rose is recognized for five minutes.>> >> tennessee that we help out in texas so i'll take credit for that. [laughter] thank youk chairwoman and thank you vice chairman -- >> thank you mr. rose, i believe i did not say tennessee so congressman rose fromne tenness. >> -- from your vast experience, you know that. your story is not unlike many starting entrepreneurs when they are trying to find capitol and i'm sure you face unique ouchallenges so i'm very inspird by your story. the challenges you face both as a starting entrepreneur and the disability you are working with make me inc. about the concerns i have when we are burdening business and industry with new regulations so i'm interested in hearing from you because of your decades ofs experience on wall street. are there rules and regulations that are tailored to allow firms like yours to flourish? >> thank you, congressman. there are changes that can be made and adopted to ensure we not only foster entrepreneurs and disabled businesses but that we become more inclusive of a disabled workforce and it starts from disclosure of data both in the public and private sector a mandatory reporting, this one thing we know is with us not yet measured doesn't manage and there is a myriad of data that's cut in different ways in a nonuniform way not allowing us either in the public or private sector to leverage the data this late. so that we can make the ch. one of those things we learned is that disabilities, most of them, are invisible disabilities. how often have i heard somebody say, you don't look disabled to me. that is because the majority of disabilities contended with today or invisible. -- are invisible. guess what? so is the data. that is something we need to change, and change very quickly, if we are to change trajectory of the course of disabled entrepreneurs, to allow disabled individuals to be included in the workforce, and actually have prosperous, thriving careers. >> thank you. and your answer, i think, leads >> thank you and your answer leads me to my comment, millions of adults with disability often find themselves in a difficult predicament and they are entitled to see reasonable accommodation from their employer but many refrain from disclosing their disabled status so i have a question, if you discuss white individuals may not disclose their disability when applying forhe jobs. >> many share they are worried about being discriminated against so there is that barrier. they are worried they will be treated differently or not have the same opportunity as neuro-typical workers. our program is set up so that disclosure is there. we leverage rehab services, so the participant has to have a diagnosis of autism. we find that for our interns and the companies we work with, this is helpful, because then they know how to accommodate and set up the intern for success, and that is helpful. i will also say that many of our participants, especially our early interns who now have full-time jobs, have really become advocates for the program and for neuro-diversity in the workplace. >> thank you. i see my time is about to expire. i yield back. rep. beatty: if the gentleman from tennessee would like an additional 20 seconds for my interruption, i will give it to him. >> that is alright. i don't think i have time to ask a question that would not be answered. thank you, though. rep. beatty: you are quite welcome. the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. lynch, who is also the chair of the task force on financial technology, is now recognized for five minutes. rep. lynch: thank you very much, madam chair, and i appreciate the subject matter of this hearing. i think we all struggled with this in our districts, and i do particularly so. mr. foley, i have a situation where i have some major housing developments, over 1000 units in my district, where we are starting to knock them down and rebuild them in a new and different way. and yet it doesn't seem like there is an existing policy within our public housing authorities that prioritizes the ability of handicapped individuals to live in comfort and also have access to job training opportunities. we are trying this now, but it feels like a one off, you know? we are trying to do that. we are bringing in some job training firms to come in, some nonprofits to try to work with our seniors, but to be honest with you for a very long time i have had calls from handicapped individuals who, you know, begged me to try to get them into first floor units so they can have some level of mobility. you would think that it would not take an act of congress for -- of congress or an act of a member of congress to try to get a public housing authority to make that small accommodation. i know you are a champion of the cause of handicapped individuals, and i wonder if you are seeing this gap between what should be a real priority for our housing authorities to sort of linkup that job training opportunity with these individual handicapped households. is that something you see across the board and is it improving at all? mr. foley: thank you, representative. first of all i commend you for putting this program in place. obviously we have heard today about the lack of access to affordable, accessible housing. so, we definitely have seen this issue across the country. you know, a lack of housing plus a lack of employment opportunities, plus a lack of employment programs. you multiply three fractions, you get a smaller number. i think what you are describing provides an opportunity, you know, almost a pilot to show what could be done, because we know in the end that people with disabilities want to work, can work, and once they do work make excellent employees and providing accessible, affordable, safe housing provides that groundwork, that foundation to be able to look at employment in a new way. rep. lynch: thank you. one of my local priority projects from the last appropriations bill is 40 units of housing for people who are disabled by virtue of drug addiction. and i have found that in my district the needs of that population are far different than someone who has a disability in terms of their mobility, you know? they have to be on the first floor or handicap ramp. and it has been a real struggle to try and make sure that we create housing for people with drug addiction, but also make sure that the services are plugged in. you know, we are trying to help women coming out of prison who might have custody of children. i wonder if you are seeing any programs in other states that might be an example of that that we can borrow from? mr. foley: you know, again i applaud the effort to reach so many different types of people in the disability community. the old joke is you have met one person with a disability, you have met one person with a disability. you know, i'm not the strongest expert on some of the programs, particularly on substance abuse. so i yield my time if someone else could help out with that question. rep. lynch: well i think my time is just about expired. i do appreciate it. thank you, madam chair. this is a very important hearing. i want to thank our witnesses for trying to help the committee with its work. thank you. rep. beatty: thank you, mr. lynch. the gentleman from south carolina, mr. timmons, is now recognized for five minutes. rep. beatty: mr. gonzales, should i move on? rep. gonzalez: i was about to say, i don't see mr. timmons, so feel free to move on. rep. beatty: we will come back if he enters the screen. the gentlewoman from michigan, miss tlaib, is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you for holding this important hearing. as everyone testified, housing is foundational to many of our neighbors, but for many of our neighbors living with disabilities. i represent michigan's 13 congressional district, which is one of the most polluted zip codes in the entire country. it is sandwiched between one of the largest freeways and the only oil petroleum refinery in the state. the toxic air many of my residents breathe contribute to the cancer and asthma in the state. over the past three decades, low income americans have become increasingly concentrated in poor neighborhoods like 4217. we know individuals with disabilities experience greater levels of poverty and lowers o -- and lower levels of wealth compared to those without disabilities. requiring an average of additional $17,000 per year to obtain the same standard of living for many of us. meanwhile, individuals with disabilities are underemployed and underpaid, as many have testified. that means the devastating impacts of our housing affordability crisis are falling even heavier on those living with disabilities. for me, environmental justice is disability justice and economic justice is disability justice. when it comes to purchasing a home, many individuals with's abilities -- with disabilities are under banked or credit-invisible. what policy recommendations -- i know folks talked about homes, so forth. really, anything we could be doing to improve access to credit and opportunities to purchase a home and build wealth? >> thank you so much for this question, congresswoman. so, i want to start and say that rather than just look at income or credit of the individual, can a mortgage company look at an individual's story? for example, an individual may be someone who had a full-time job and had an accident, and now they are on ssdi. does the mortgage company understand the person's story? ssdi is a stable income source. whether the person has a settlement agreement or other sources of down payment assistance. if the mortgage company is solely focused on employment income, getting a loan will be hard for a disproportionate amount of people with disabilities, who have other sources of income, although severely low, that may be sufficient to help contribute to a mortgage. if an individual needs home modifications, there might be a separate grant or deferred payment loan, making loan from the company more affordable. i especially want to lift up the income and the importance of companies to understand the and come and asset situation of many people with disabilities. but also that there is an opportunity for more people to use their housing choice vouchers for homeownership. it is rare that this happens, but hud can incentivize public housing authorities to choose to include homeownership as an option in more areas. there are also homeownership models like limited equity co-opts that provide homeownership for low income people, including people with disabilities. and hud should be doing more to promote these models. and fannie mae and freddie mac should be finding ways to incentivize things and other lenders to finance these. rep. tlaib: that is so important. much of our housing stock in my district is, you know, the value is less than $100,000 and requires a lot of repairs to be brought up. one of the things that i know the chairwoman is a big supporter of is introduced a small dollar mortgage bill. you know, to really try to push our federal government to play a bigger role, because much of the traditional banks are not, because it is not profitable, not loaning to homes that are worth less than $100,000. so, question to you. again, many of our families are facing barriers to obtaining a small-dollar mortgage, let alone additional financing to repair it and make it accessible. do you have any recommendations? it sounds like you are getting there, where we need to move toward that direction, but one of the things i want to look at is how do we get our government to push and allow us -- that is why they were created -- to push the small dollar mortgages out for those with disabilities? >> let me say, thank you. the programs i mentioned before need more investment, more organization, and hud has taken leadership on increasing homeownership. let disability -- but disability equity must be embedded within those solutions, and we need disabled people at the helm of hud and other critical agencies to help make that happen. thank you. rep. tlaib: thank you so much. i yield. rep. beatty: thank you. next i recognize the gentlewoman from texas, miss garcia, who is the vice chair of this subcommittee on diversity and inclusion. you are now recognized for five minutes. rep. garcia: thank you, madam chair. let me first thank you for having this hearing. i just explained that it is incredibly heartening to see you have had the foresight and done this piece of diversity and inclusion, because i think when the average person thinks of diversity and inclusion i think a lot of our witnesses are correct. they are forgotten or an afterthought. thank you so much for doing this and thank you to all the witnesses, and some of you for sharing your stories. madam chair, i was a legal aid lawyer, the first job i ever had after law school. i represented the coalition for barrier-free living. this was in the 1980's. this is 2022 and we are still talking about the same issues. while it has been great to listen to it, it just -- i just cannot believe so many things we are talking about are some of the things we talked about when i was a legal aide. madam chair, the only case i argue before the fifth circuit was an ssi asset case. unfortunately i lost. the witnesses have told you that nothing has changed. so it is going to take a lot of work to make sure that we can make some significant change, but i think what is important is that we have the opportunity to help so many people. now with covid long-haulers i think it is particularly difficult, because i know, ms. thompson, you were talking with representative presley, i think the bigger issue is getting on disability. i mean, i know the president acted with guidance to say that, yes, disability for covid long-haulers has to be a recognized disability, but tell me, how are we doing? because from what i read them early on long-haulers were having a hard time making their cases because disability has to be for the long term, for 12 months. so how are we doing? short answer, because i only have five minutes. >> the short answer is we are not doing well at all with long-haulers and people in general who have been seeking benefits for quite some time. that gap in who is able to apply and when they are able to receive benefits is very wide due to the systemic roadblocks in applying and getting an answer for folks in need. for some people, it comes too late. rep. garcia: mr. foley, about accommodations. are we finding employers are making reasonable accommodations for the fatigue, headaches, and all of those symptoms that come with the long-haulers? mr. foley: in some cases we are, but we have also heard many stories about autism employers not being particularly accommodating to short or long covid. rep. garcia: right. friday when i was flying in from d.c. an article caught my eye, madam chair, and i ask your -- ask for unanimous consent to enter into the record. amazon is accused of discrimination against disabled and pregnant workers in new york. the key point was that they are allegedly forcing pregnant workers and workers with disabilities to take unpaid leave of absence rather than providing them with reasonable accommodations, according to the complaint. is that common or are they the lone ranger? mr. foley? mr. foley: you know, that is pretty common. i suspect that every witness on this testimony today can point to a handful of stories that we have worked with or seen or heard about such discrimination. rep. garcia: ms. thompson, can you add to that? ms. thompson: it is definitely not uncommon. what we are seeing when it comes to covid long-haulers is that they are experiencing the same issues as folks have experienced this entire time of the lack of everything when it comes to accommodations, getting approval, and so forth. so, what covid long-haulers are really bringing forth is the complicated issues of getting people the services they need and deserve. rep. garcia: thank you. an organization that defends the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities has made it clear that housing is a right for all, including persons with disabilities. i of course agree. i have a bill i have introduced this congress that would require the gao to study the barriers to housing, even in housing assistance programs such as the public housing and housing choice voucher programs. i urged this committee to look at that, because obviously when we look to barriers we can find ways to make it easier for people with disabilities who may seek assistance from this program. madam, chair, i see my time is up. i may have a couple of questions i will submit for the record in writing within the required days. thank you and i yield back. rep. beatty: without objection your article is entered into the record. the gentleman from massachusetts is now recognized. he is also the vice chair of the full committee. i now recognize you for five minutes. >> thank you for yet another really substantive and helpful hearing. i want to let you know that i also failed these captchas every single time. so, i'm with you. miss sullivan, my first question is for you. it is about hidden workers. as you stated in your testimony, the high unemployment rate among st the autistic community is not just a barrier to financial stability for them, a missed opportunity for employers to find a great source of talent. i strongly agree with you and it looks like the private sector is starting to catch up with that reality. a harvard study looked at the untapped talent of workers, including with physical disabilities and neuro-diversity, and offered recommendations for them in the talent pipeline. one is a refreshing job description, one is shifting from negative to affirmative filters in applicant tracking system or marketing system. another is adopting a customer experience mindset in how they design recruitment and onboarding processes. how can congress partner with the private sector at a time when it feels there is an inflection because of how tight point the labor market is, because of this academic research highlighting the missed opportunities, it seems like there is an inflection point in the private sector. how can congress partner with them to implement the recommendations made? ms. sullivan: thanks for the question, and that was a great report harvard did. i think what is interesting is other studies done, especially about autistic workers, when a manager works with a job coach to help manage somebody with a disability, they always end up with higher scores in managing neuro-typicals. a lot of times we don't learn how to be a manager. when you participate in programs, we are teaching the manager how to manage, which invariably makes them better managers for everybody. the thing about the job description as well, especially people on the spectrum feel that need to have every single box checked on a job description. that is why we go in and take a three-page job description and boil it down to about five things. women also have been having the same sort of issue with, why are you putting these things on a job description that don't really have anything to do with the job? that is fair. from a legislative standpoint i'm not sure, because our success has been, you know, we are -- it is a very individualized experience for our employers. i think voc rehab could get more funding for things like outreach. we are just able to do it because i have, you know, just because of the way partnerships happen in north carolina. that is the barrier, certainly, for them in reaching out to more employers. rep. auchincloss: i would encourage you if in your follow-on work that there are areas where you see -- and all of our witnesses -- when you see congress can be a partner to the private sector and updating the recruitment, that you please call my office, because we are interested in this issue. second question is for anybody who wants to weigh in. mr. foley, maybe i will start with you. i represent a district with a lot of different public transit options, although they have been under invested in. one in particular in my hometown of newton, massachusetts is a series of commuter rail stations, three of them, none of which are accessible for persons with disabilities. all of which have significant housing stock being built near them. and we are working very hard to partner federal, state, and local to make the investment to upgrade them to be ada compliant. can you weigh in on the impact that non-ada compliant transportation nodes have on the disability community's access to job services and opportunity? mr. foley: absolutely, and think -- thank you for the question. so, i have been quoting a study recently that highlights 79% of people who are visually impaired talk about transportation being their number one barrier to employment. obviously if you can't get to a place of business you are not going to be able to, you know, get that job, even with some of us being able to work from home now. access to affordable transportation is probably the number one-ranked issue with regard to employment for many people with disabilities across the disability spectrum. rep. auchincloss: mr. foley, i apologize, i'm going to have to cut you off because i'm running out of time, if you want to add anything else, we will take it for the record. i would echo, analogize to what you said about transportation. managers who learn how to manage neuro-atypical individuals become better managers. when we make transportation options more accessible for everybody, we make them better transportation options for all of the united states, period. i would extend that to how we design our cities. the lesson applies across -- rep. beatty: i'm sorry, the gentleman's time is up. thank you so much for your testimony. i ask unanimous consent to enter into the records a letter from the group disability in, supporting the disability disclosure act of 2022. without objection, so ordered. i also ask unanimous consent to enter into the records a statement supporting bill hr 4695, the inclusive home design act. without objection, so ordered. i would like to thank all of our witnesses for their testimony today. very enlightening. without objection, all members will have five legislative days in which to submit additional written questions for the witnesses to the chair, which will be forwarded to the witnesses for their response. i ask our witnesses to please respond as promptly as you are able. without objection, all members have five legislative days in which to submit extraneous material to the chair for inclusion in the record. i remind members that written questions and materials for the
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