November 7, 2024
Statement from the Alliance for Expanding America’s Workforce in response to the release of the National Council on Disability’s “National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, 2024”
The Alliance for Expanding America’s Workforce is an independent, nonprofit, social impact organization whose mission is to expand competitive integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities, especially through improvements to policy and practice in federal government procurement and hiring.
On October 31, the National Council on Disability reaffirmed its 2020 recommendation to dismantle the AbilityOne Program. The Alliance is disappointed by and disagrees with NCD’s recommendation because modernizing the program – not eliminating it – is the best way to resolve existing policy issues. We applaud the AbilityOne Commission and SourceAmerica for standing up for the 36,000 disabled Americans employed on AbilityOne contracts.
The unfortunate truth in 2024 is that Americans with disabilities are less than half as likely to be employed as their nondisabled peers. The AbilityOne Program remains one of the largest sources of employment for people with disabilities in the country. Federal contracts in this program provide good jobs with competitive wages, benefits, opportunities for advancement, and individualized accommodations for the individuals working on them. Eliminating the AbilityOne Program would not increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Because NCD’s proposal dates back four years, it is rooted in outdated and incomplete information that does not account for policy changes from the intervening years – improvements NCD itself acknowledges. There is no evidence to suggest that the old recommendation would produce the desired results today, but its adoption would certainly upend the daily lives of the individuals employed on AbilityOne contracts, forcing them – as a best-case scenario – to change jobs and try not to lose essential supports in the process.
The Alliance recognizes that the AbilityOne Program is not without flaws, but throwing the program away is not the answer. Instead, we advocate for Congress to update the law and realign it with modern disability policy. The Alliance invites NCD to discuss this effort, as part of a broader strategy to promote positive employment outcomes for the disabled community both in and out of the AbilityOne Program.
Bartholomew N. Devon
Executive Director
Alliance for Expanding America’s Workforce