INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP

The EM established an IWG (within the Department of Education for administrative purposes) consisting of the Secretary of Education, who served as chairman, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, the Commissioner of Social Security, the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other Federal officials designated by the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. In addition to these five Federal agencies, five other agencies participated in the IWG (the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the National Council on Disability). The IWG met regularly between March, 2003, and July, 2003, invited public comment on issues addressed in the EM, and conducted a public forum. The activities the Federal agencies will be undertaking in response to the EM are described at the end of this report.

PUBLIC FORUM AND COMMENT

Through a notice in the Federal Register², the IWG invited public comment on improving access to ATMDs and invited interested parties to testify at a public forum on May 21, 2003, at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC. The IWG received 42 written comments³ and 23 individuals (Appendix C) testified at the public hearing. The written comments and witnesses represented a wide range of interests and made valuable suggestions for improving access to ATMDs for persons with disabilities. A number of witnesses provided suggestions on the issues of coordination, training, and information dissemination. Many of these suggestions are included in the activities that Federal agencies are taking in response to the EM. Witnesses also made valuable suggestions that are outside the scope of the EM, such as reforms to Medicare Part B and the future of the Assistive Technology Act. The latter suggestions will be communicated for consideration by the IWG to the appropriate Federal agencies.

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²FR notice, 68 FR 20384-85, April 25, 2003

³Copies of the written comments are available for review at the U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.