Release No. 0362.97
Remarks


                               OF
                          SECRETARY GLICKMAN
          NAT'L DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH
                 USDA PATIO - OCTOBER 16, 1997

     Thank you, Terry [Thir, Departmental Disability Program Manager,
Office of Civil Rights], for that introduction and for organizing this event
today. Didn't she and her staff do a great job? 

     I'd like to welcome John Lancaster [Executive Director of the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities] to USDA and
thank him for the work he is doing administration-wide on behalf of people's
with disabilities. I'd also like to recognize Lloyd Wright, Director of
USDA's Office of Civil Rights.

     I also want to thank Mel Padgett [President, Association for Persons
with Disabilities in Agriculture] and all the folks at the Association for
Persons with Disabilities in Agriculture for their work on behalf of both
USDA's employees and customers with disabilities. 

You've challenged me and helped make  the people's department' stronger. 

     You know, before I became Secretary of Agriculture, I was a member of
Congress from Kansas. In my 18 years there, one of my proudest moments was
back in 1990 when I cast a  yes' vote on behalf of the Americans with
Disabilities Act. We made history that day. We recognized that denying full
participation to Americans with disabilities would only disable America and
the ideals it stood for.  Access and equal opportunity became the law of the
land. 

     Our challenge today is to live these ideals -- not because the law
makes us, not simply out of the goodness of our hearts, but recognizing that
for America to reach its full potential, we must tap into the ability of
every American.

     National Disability Employment Awareness Month is a time the nation
sets aside to honor contributions that Americans with disabilities have made
throughout our nation's history. I guess I could walk down the mall and pay
my respects to FDR, but looking around this room, I know that I don't have
to go anywhere to say thank you to some fine public servants. 

     In my two and a half years, I've met some amazing and inspirational
people who are blazing trails for persons with disabilities and serving
their country in every aspect of the work we do here -- trade, production
agriculture, research, conservation, human nutrition, civil rights. 

     If there is one thing that strikes me about our employees with
disabilities it is their sheer ability. This was best summed up for me by an
employee at one of our civil rights listening sessions. Speaking in sign
language, she told me,  deaf people can do anything. They just can't hear.'

                                
                                
     I heard her loud and clear. I want my legacy to be a USDA that treats
every customer and employee fairly and equitably, with dignity and respect. 

     I know that can't happen until we remove all the barriers to public
service and customer service for persons with disabilities.   

     I'm proud that USDA today is the leading federal employer of persons
with disabilities. I'm proud that last summer we had 17 very able college
interns that happened to have disabilities. 
I'm even more proud that 7 of them are now permanent employees. I'm proud
that last year my office donated $10,000 to buy portable assistive listening
devices for employees with hearing impairments. 

     I'm also proud of  AgriAbility,' USDA's program to assist farmers and
ranchers with disabilities.  We've helped 9,000 people so far, including
Phil Porterfield, a Wisconsin hog farmer who in 1994 lost his leg in a
farming accident. He might have lost his livelihood, too, if it weren't for
 AgriAbility.' The program paid to have a step added to his tractor and to
modify controls on his machinery so he could use his hands instead of his
feet.  Other alterations made it easier for Phil to feed his animals. Today,
Phil's farm is thriving.

     But as proud as I am of what we've done, I know that we can do much,
much more. That's why I recently re-established the Secretary's Advisory
Committee for Employees with Disabilities. And, I want to give a special
thanks to the folks on the Disability Action Team for helping make that
happen.

     I'm committed to creating a more supportive work environment here, and
I want to see all of USDA 100% committed to full access for persons with
disabilities -- whether we're talking about jobs, programs, services or
buildings. We should accept nothing less.

     You know, all of this reminds me of a line from the movie  Jerry
Maguire.'   Tom Cruise's character turns to his only client and says,  Help
me, help you.' That's what I hear our employees with disabilities saying: We
have something to offer. Just let us do the job.

     I know it's true. I've seen the good it can do, and I'm committed to
working with all of you to create more opportunities here at USDA to help
ensure that our nation's bridge to the future is accessible to all
Americans. 

Thank you.

                                 
                                #

NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet.
Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov