Democrat Josh Turek, who’s running for the U.S. Senate, says passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act is an example of how bipartisanship can work. The bill passed congress with by an overwhelming margin and was signed into law 36 years ago by Republican President George H.W. Bush.
“One of the beautiful things about the American with Disabilities Act is not one nickel went to any disabled American,” Turek said. “All it did was provided an equality of opportunity for all of us to be successful.”
Turek, a former professional wheelchair basketball player, was born with spina bidida and is the first permanently disabled member of the Iowa legislature. Turek said if elected he’ll push to ensure disabled Americans who depend on Medicaid’s in-home services to get to work don’t lose that coverage due to income and asset limits.
“The only way that you can ultimately have a truly meaningful life, independence is through employment,” Turek said. “They can have a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, law degree, doctorate — because they need help just to be out of bed through a caregiver, they’re forced to be on Medicaid.”
Former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat who led Senate debate of the ADA, has endorsed Turek and joined Turek at an event in Des Moines Friday night focused on the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Turek faces Republican Congressman Ashley Hinson and Libertarian Thomas Laehn, the Greene County Attorney, in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race.
