Westerman spars with ADA advocates
Monday’s Coffee with your Congressman at The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce took a contentious turn when U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 4, fielded a question about the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The two-term lawmaker, responding to a question about the Disability Integration Act of 2017, touted benefits businesses would receive from the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017, allowing a grace period before an ADA noncompliance claim can be filed in court.
“Instead of allowing them to be immediately sued, it gives the business an opportunity to fix the problem,” said Westerman, who was one of 213 House Republicans who advanced the bill to the Senate in February on a mostly party-line vote.
“Sometimes businesses buy a business, and they don’t realize there’s noncompliance. It gives them a chance to actually address the problem.”
Brenda Stinebuck, executive director of Spa Area Independent Living Services Inc., told Westerman businesses have had 28 years to adjust to the ADA, which became law in 1990, prompting Westerman to point to the percentage of expenses personnel costs account for at the nonprofit referral and advocacy service.
“I’ve done a little research on y’all’s organization,” he told Stinebuck. “I believe y’all get funded mainly with a federal grant. Don’t you? And your largest expenses are your salaries, and I believe yours is over six figures. Isn’t it?”
Stinebuck responded that her salary didn’t exceed six figures, which Westerman said contradicted information he’d been given.
“That’s not what was in our report that was filed with the federal government, but I appreciate you coming here and bringing up your issue,” he said. “We’ll take a look at that.”
According to the nonprofit’s federal tax reporting form for 2016, salaries and benefits accounted for $392,466 of the organization’s $665,110 in expenses. Government grants made up $674,299 of the $676,345 in 2016 revenue, and Stinebuck’s compensation was reported at $90,000.
Amy Tweedle, the nonprofit’s advocacy coordinator, said Westerman rebuffed her question about the Disability Integration Act. The civil rights legislation would require community-based services to be offered to the disabled who would otherwise qualify for institutional placement, helping those with long-term needs receive services in their home rather than a nursing home or similar facility.
Tweedle gave Westerman an information packet and asked him to review it.
“This is the second time he’s done something like this to us,” Tweedle said after the event. “When we have asked him a question, instead of answering it he just attacks us. He kept us from coming to an event last year because we weren’t supporters.
“We may not be his supporters, but he’s still our congressman. He’s the congressman for the people with disabilities in the 4th District who we represent.”
Stinebuck said a grace period for ADA compliance is unnecessary in light of the law’s longevity and the resources available to businesses.
“The disability community feels that 28 years is enough education for businesses,” she said after the event. “There are technical assistance centers that have volumes of information for businesses free of charge and have had for many years. So to say that businesses just need more time for education is kind of a slap in the face to the disability community.”
Westerman received a Spirit of Enterprise Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at the end of the event.