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Remarks to the Michigan State Bar Association in Detroit

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Remarks to the Michigan State Bar Association in Detroit Administration of William J. Clinton, 2000 / Sept. 21 2157 my Administration's overall efforts to pro- cluding an estimate of costs, to en- mote employment opportunities for persons courage coverage of medically nec- with disabilities. essary assistive technologies that also I direct the Task Force to conduct a study support employment of persons with on the role of Medicare and Medicaid in cov- disabilities. ering assistive technologies that encourage This memorandum does not create any employment of individuals with disabilities. right or benefit, substantive or procedural, The study should: enforceable by a party at law against the (a) examine current Medicare and Med- United States, its officers or employees, or icaid coverage of assistive technology any other persons. devices and the cost of providing such coverage. Assess the current coverage William J. Clinton criteria under Medicare and Med- icaid with comparisons to the private insurance market. Review and evalu- Remarks to the Michigan State Bar ate other past and on-going research Association in Detroit, Michigan on Medicare and Medicaid coverage September 21, 2000 of assistive technologies; (b) seek input from the disability commu- Thank you very much, ladies and gentle- nity to identify the types of medically men, and thank you for that warm welcome. necessary assistive technologies that Thank you, President Butzbaugh, for that in- facilitate independent living and em- troduction, even though you almost took my ployment. Develop criteria for identi- speech off with you. [Laughter] fying such devices; And I also want to thank your incoming (c) determine whether provision of as- bar vice president, Reginald Turner, because sistive technologies may substitute for he was a White House fellow, and I know other Medicare and Medicaid health he's chairing your Access to Justice Task care services such as personal care Force now. And I was glad he was out there. services and, if so, provide an estimate Thank you. And I want to acknowledge the of the potential savings; presence here of your attorney general, Jen- (d) analyze Medicare and Medicaid med- nifer Granholm, and the president of the ical necessity guidelines to determine Legal Services Corporation, John McKay, whether they can support employ- and Judge Harold Hood, the first State bar ment while continuing to meet the commission chair on gender, race, and ethnic health care focus of the Medicare and bias issues. That's very important. I thank Medicaid programs. As we move to- you. ward an increased employment of I'd also like to say that my longtime friend persons with disabilities, there is a Mayor Archer was here and had to leave, but need to study the intersection of the his wife, Trudy Archer, is here. And I thank concepts of disability, medical neces- you, Trudy, for staying around. You've heard sity, and employment; me speak a lot before, and you didn't have (e) determine an appropriate delineation to do that. I thank you. of responsibility for coverage of assist- When the mayor heard I was going to be ive technologies between publicly fi- in Michigan today, he told me you were here, nanced health care and employers by and you were interested in these access-to- evaluating employers' responsibilities justice issues. And he told me that I was com- under the Americans with Disabilities ing to the bar association. [Laughter] We've Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation been friends, as I said, a very, very long time. Act, and the Assistive Technology Act; He and Hillary used to work together in the and ABA, back when he was a judge and before (f) make recommendations for adminis- I was President, on the participation of trative and legislative changes to the women and minorities in the bar. So I've Medicare and Medicaid programs, in- known Dennis for many years, and we share 2158 Sept. 21 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 2000 a common interest in a lot of the things that Again this year the Congress is proposing you're concerned about now. to flatline or cut the budget that I have asked I would like to begin by congratulating to be increased by $36 million. So if any of those who were honored for 50 years of serv- you know anybody in Congress and you can ice in the legal profession. A tremendous get me another vote or two, I'd appreciate amount has been done in the last half century it. to increase access to justice, from the estab- Now seriously, this is not some sort of ab- lishment of our modern civil rights laws to stract concept or, as some Members of Con- the creation of Legal Services Corporation, gress, I think, honestly believe, just sort of to the acceptance of public interest practice, a luxury our democracy can do without. It to the growing numbers of women and mi- is tens of thousands of Americans who seek norities in the profession. And Michigan law- a lawyer and can't consult with one because yers clearly have been on the forefront of they don't have the money for it. Hard- those efforts. I already mentioned the role working people in rural communities or inner Mayor Archer played in the ABA when he cities, many of whom have never even seen was on the Supreme Court. a lawyer. It is a profound failing in our system I'd like to mention two of those honored of justice when we don't provide legal serv- tonight: Leonard Grossman has given a life- ices but we continue to maintain we are all time service for civil liberties; and Judge equal before the law. Damon Keith, who I had the honor to know Obviously, you think lawyers make a dif- before I was President, for his life of service ference, or you wouldn't be one. And I ask in civil rights. you again, thisÐfor most of our history, since Tonight I would like to talk about a couple legal services came into being, this has not of issues that I think are profoundly impor- been a partisan issue. And I would hope it tant to the question of access to justice and would not be again. Our country will have the future of one of its cornerstones, the a $211 billion surplus this year. We can afford Legal Services Corporation. $36 million more for legal services. We're all here because we believe equal But I'd also like to talk about the respon- justice is the birthright of every American, sibilities of the profession, because the Gov- but there remains a crying need for the work ernment can't do all of this alone. Since an- of the Legal Services Corporation to make tiquity, lawyers have been expected to give that principle a reality for all citizens, includ- of their time and talent pro bono. It is essen- ing that little baby. I don't mind having ba- tial for our democracy and the future of this bies cry in my speech. [Laughter] The only profession that everyone who needs a lawyer thing I hate about babies crying is, it reminds can get one and that everyone who might me how old I am. [Laughter] one day need a lawyer trusts the system will The Legal Services Corporation has been work in that event for him or her. important to my family for a long time. In Over the last decade our strong economy the 1970's, when President Carter was in of- has actually increased pressure, as you know, fice, he appointed Hillary to the Legal Serv- to bill more hours and cut back on pro bono ices Corporation Board, and she served as work. Surveys tell us that lawyers at the Na- its youngest chair. And in all these years we tion's highest grossing firms are now aver- have cared a great deal about it. Every budg- aging just 36 hours a year in pro bono work. et I have submitted as President has re- That is down dramatically from the 56 hours quested more funding for legal services, but averaged in 1992 and well below the 50 hours every budget passed by CongressÐthat's the recommended by the ABA. good news, but every budget I have passed I know this bar association has been a lead- by Congress has drastically slashed my re- er in responding to these pressures and quest, and funding has declined by 25 per- meeting the desperate needs for counsel. cent since 1996, when plainly, the number You created one of the largest and best State of people in our country who need access bar access programs in the entire Nation. to legal services and who can't afford them And I thank you for that. I hope you will has substantially increased. continue to advocate this position with others Administration of William J. Clinton, 2000 / Sept. 21 2159 in other States who run law firms or work The judges that I have appointed have got- with young lawyers. Pro bono work is good ten more top ABA ratings than those of any experience and good for the standing of the President in 40 years. And independent anal- profession in the community. It is also vital yses have demonstrated that they have not for our democracy. been in their decisionmaking particularly I can't help saying, in light of all the pub- ideologically driven, unlike the judges that licity that the death penalty cases have re- previous Presidents have appointed. ceived lately, this issue is more important Now nevertheless, even making allowances than ever. The Governor of Illinois declared for the fact that in election years there's nor- a moratorium on executions in Illinois be- mally a slowdown if the President is of one cause there were so many questions about party and the Senate is of another, if you whether innocent people had been con- look at the whole record, the Senate majority victed.
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