NEW JERSEY STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL

During a press conference held this week via Zoom he New Jersey Statewide Independent living
Council (NJSILC) announce its support of two pieces of federal legislation introduced in August,
The Real Emergency Access for Aging and Disability Inclusion for Disasters (REAADI) Act and the
Disaster Relief Medicaid Act (DRMA).

These two historic pieces of disability and disaster legislation that will dismantle barriers faced
by disaster-impacted people with disabilities, older adults, people with access and functional
needs, and other Medicaid-eligible people impacted by disasters. The REAADI Act was introduced in
the House by Rep. James Langevin (D-RI) with Rep. Chris Smith (R, NJ 4th) and Rep. Albio Sires (D,
NJ 8TH).

“Let’s be frank about this,” said Norman A. Smith, chairperson of the NJSILC, speaking during the
news conference. “There is something fundamentally wrong with the planning process when states know
that a vaccine will be distributed at some future date and they do not plan for the access needs of
people with disabilities living in the community. It is fundamentally wrong, a gross violation of
the Americans with Disabilities Act and other civil rights laws, and an obvious devaluation of the
lives of people with disabilities. The REAADI Act will change”

“The Council thanks Representative Chris Smith and. Representative Albio Sires for becoming primary
co-sponsors of The REAADI Act. We are proud to see two New Jersey Congressional leaders taking on
this issue, and we are pleased to see Rep.
Smith demonstrating that this is a bipartisan issue,’ continued Smith.

The NJSILC is a federally-mandated council whose members are appointed by the governor. The
NJSILC’s membership is made of people with disabilities and representation from agencies serving
people with disabilities. Twenty-two years ago the Council joined the NJ Office of Emergency
Management to conduct outreach to people with disabilities. In those 22 years emergency planning
involving people with disabilities has evolved to where the idea is not novel or unusual, according
to Smith, but the implementation and the practice varies greatly around the country because states
choose to ignore the rights of people with disabilities in times of distress.

“We saw this again in the pandemic in many states when people with disabilities were left to die
because of hasty planning in an emergent situation,” said Smith.

The REAADI Act will change this by focusing a bright national spotlight on the issue through
funding research and by expanding a national commission to include people with disabilities, older
adults, experts on disability inclusive emergency management and government and community
stakeholders to provide guidance on disability and aging issues before, during and after disasters.

In addition, the REAADI Act directs the Government Accountability Office to review the spending of
disaster funds by federal agencies and states to ensure funds have been spent in accordance with
the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also requires the Department of
Justice to examine how the civil rights of people with disabilities and older adults are or are not
upheld during and following disasters.

The Disaster Relief Medicaid Act will provide uninterrupted access to Medicaid services when
recipients must evacuate across state lines, which increases health maintenance and community
living, and prevents institutionalization during disasters. This bill creates a grant to help
States develop an emergency response corps to provide home and community-based services. This kind
of corps would have been valuable in the early months of the pandemic to keep people with
disabilities out of institutions.

“Until emergency planners and state officials start including us in their planning, people with
disabilities will continue to needlessly die during and after disasters in far greater numbers than
need be. We need to stop these needless deaths now though this
legislation,” concluded Smith.