Capitol Correspondence - 02.04.19

ANCOR Renews Support for Bill Incentivizing Hiring of People with Disabilities

Share this page

ANCOR has sent U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) a letter of support for the re-introduction in the 116th Congress of the Disability Employment Incentives Act (DEIA), which would give employers tax incentives to hire people with disabilities. ANCOR sees this bill as a solution to the employment gap people with I/DD face compared to their peers without disabilities. Should this bill become law, it could give providers who offer employment supports additional arguments to convince employers who may not be familiar with working with people with disabilities a reason to give individuals a fair chance. We will keep members informed of opportunities for action.

As written in the letter:

“One of the greatest challenges in providing services to individuals with I/DD is securing enough employers to provide meaningful employment opportunities for the individuals we support. We believe that once employers are encouraged to increase their hiring of people with disabilities, that the retainment will follow as they experience the impressive skillset and professionalism of the disability workforce. Not only do we fully support this bill, but we will be supportive of additional efforts to simplify the tax credit process and ensure employers are optimizing the helpful tax credit incentives.”

Senator Casey first introduced the DEIA in the 115th Congress, when ANCOR signed on as one of the bill’s lead supporters. The bill did not receive a vote before the end of the 115th Congress, so it must start all over again with this new Congress.