TO: NDSC Members and Affiliated Parent Groups
FROM: Susan Goodman, Director, Governmental Affairs
DATE: October 13, 2006

Exercise Your Right to Vote

With the Congressional elections less than a month away, your vote can make a difference in the lives of individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities. Elected officials at all levels make decisions that affect the lives of all people, including people with disabilities. Your elected officials are accountable to the voters who elect them. If your elected officials have not voted favorably on issues you care about, one the best ways to express yourself is to Vote!

The Internet is a rich source of information on your elected officials. For example, the website www.congress.org offers a section entitled Election 2006: Candidates and Information. By merely entering your zip code you can find out who is running for office in your state and district, how your elected representatives voted on particular bills, what legislation he or she has co-sponsored and where the "hot races" are happening and a lot of other information. You may be able to register to vote on-line and you may be able to cast an absentee ballot on-line.

In the last Newsline, we printed several questions you may wish to ask candidates to help determine where they stand on disability-related issues. You may also find these questions at http://www.ndsccenter.org/gov/archives/091406.php, click on Questions for Candidates on the right hand side of the screen.

Congress in Recess

Congress will remain in recess until the week of November 18, 2006. With all eyes and ears focused on the Congressional races, it is unclear what bills will be acted on when Congress returns. The FY 2007 appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education is still not finished. This means that these Departments are operating under the FY 2006 budget until the appropriations bills pass and become law.