news

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this important hearing. Every American deserves the opportunity to take a chance on themselves and contribute to society as productive entrepreneurs. This is the fundamental promise of the American Dream: that any person in this country can work hard, take risks, and be hopefully find success.

Yet, Americans with disabilities, like other underprivileged groups, see fewer opportunities to make this dream a reality. In fact, 74 percent of people with disabilities do not participate in our nation’s labor force. But we can find reasons for optimism through the data: Americans with disabilities have a higher self-employment rate than non-disabled Americans. Of America’s over 33 million small businesses, nearly 2 million are owned by people with disabilities. Entrepreneurship is just as important a path to prosperity for Americans with disabilities as it is for other Americans. Meaningful, full-time jobs are also a critical way to empower people with disabilities to succeed and live independent lives.

Still, barriers—physical and intangible—block the way to self-sufficiency and independence for people with disabilities. As we examine the benefits of including Americans with disabilities in the workforce and business community, it is also crucial for us to help them through the gate in the first place. People with disabilities cannot reap the rewards of work if they do not first have access to affordable healthcare. This is why President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, and President Obama’s ACA, to make health care more accessible and affordable, so Americans can focus on working and owning small businesses. In Kentucky alone, the ACA and Medicaid expansion brought health insurance coverage to over 400 thousand Kentuckians, many for the first time. I say this all the time: the ACA is one of the greatest economic development policies ever passed in our state.

But there’s more to do: we need to make it easier for Americans with disabilities to enter the labor force and launch small businesses. We can do this by improving the public programs that serve them and implementing policies that make work and entrepreneurship more accessible—through accommodations and tackling ableism.

Together, we have the capacity to help unleash the potential that Americans with disabilities have always had. We just need the courage to invest in their success. With that, Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record the written statements of the National Disability Institute and the Autism Society of America. I thank all the witnesses for joining us today, and I yield back.