WASHINGTON — As U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., ranking member of the Special Committee on Aging, begins his third term he plans to continue addressing chronic issues that people with disabilities face including economic security, accessible education and affordable health care.

“In order to keep America’s promise to empower the 61 million Americans with disabilities, we must address the barriers they face to education, employment, housing and health care,” Casey said. “Although we have made progress, there are still far too many people who aren’t able to fully realize the American dream because of outdated laws and social stigmas. I will continue to use input from the disability community to develop common-sense policies.”

Tuesday, Casey kicked-off his agenda on disability policy with the introduction of two bills to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. According to a June 2019 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 20 percent of people with disabilities, of working age, are employed.

The Disability Employment Incentive Act would increase three existing tax credits for employers who hire and retain employees with disabilities and make workplaces more accessible.

The Transformation to Competitive Employment Act would provide grants to transition subminimum wage programs into competitive integrated employment, with support services, which would protect jobs and increase employment services available to people with disabilities.