Tweet - "LIVE: I'm chairing a Senate HELP Committee hearing on employment opportunities and challenges for people with disabilities. We must do everything we can to include everyone we can in our country's future as we build back from the COVID-19 pandemic."

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"LIVE: I'm chairing a Senate HELP Committee hearing on employment opportunities and challenges for people with disabilities.

We must do everything we can to include everyone we can in our country's future as we build back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This pandemic has been hard on workers, and while we've made great progress in our economic recovery, we're far from done. Workers are still facing too many challenges to get the training, education, & support they need--& for workers with disabilities, they've been even greater.

People with disabilities are at even higher risk of severe COVID-19 and are over-represented in essential jobs that put them at higher risk of exposure. Workers with disabilities are grappling with lost wages, job loss, and long-term unemployment.

But they're still facing other longstanding barriers to joining the workforce, participating in their communities, & obtaining economic self-sufficiency. Barriers like:

Ableism
False expectations
Discrimination
Inaccessible workplaces
Pay discrimination
& much more

These barriers add up to a devastating effect. The poverty rate for people with disabilities is a whopping 26%--that's just not okay. These problems are bad for people with disabilities--but also for everyone. We should be embracing inclusive practices and improving accessibility.

This pandemic has shown how innovative practices can boost accessibility in our workforce programs and in businesses across the country. This is progress we should be building on--instead of returning to a "normal" that didn't work for so many people in the first place."

@PattyMurray

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