--- title: Warren Unveils Plan to Help People with Disabilities description: With a new plan, Sen. Elizabeth Warren says, 'as President, I will work in partnership with the disability community to combat ableism.' canonical: https://time.com/5757722/elizabeth-warren-disability-plan/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-01-02T16:11:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:58.717Z article:section: Politics og:title: Elizabeth Warren Unveils Plan to Help People with Disabilities og:description: 'As President, I will work in partnership with the disability community to combat ableism,' Sen. Warren says og:url: https://time.com/5757722/elizabeth-warren-disability-plan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44457da99b513ba3/698a08468fd2ee20fc360b39/elizabeth-warren-disability-plan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren Campaigns In Cedar Rapids, IA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Elizabeth Warren Unveils Plan to Help People with Disabilities twitter:description: 'As President, I will work in partnership with the disability community to combat ableism,' Sen. Warren says twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44457da99b513ba3/698a08468fd2ee20fc360b39/elizabeth-warren-disability-plan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Elizabeth Warren Unveils Plan to Help People with Disabilities > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020 [Watch (HLS stream): Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EcGVhn6h.m3u8) (1:17)  _Published 2019-01-18. Meet the Democratic Candidates Running for President in 2020_ by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Jan 2, 2020 4:11 PM UTC  Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks to guests during a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Dec. 21, 2019. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks to guests during a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Dec. 21, 2019. Scott Olson—Getty Images by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Jan 2, 2020 4:11 PM UTC This year is an important one for Americans with disabilities: 2020 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 100th anniversary of the country’s vocational rehabilitation program, which helps people with disabilities find and keep jobs. But even as these milestones pass, people with disabilities remain more than twice as likely to [live in poverty](https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/how-poverty-status-related-disability) as nondisabled people, less likely to graduate high school or hold a job, and are [overrepresented in prisons and jails](https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5500) across the country. Massachusetts Sen. [Elizabeth Warren](https://time.com/longform/elizabeth-warren-2020/) on Thursday became the latest Democratic presidential candidate to [release a plan](https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/disability-rights-and-equality) aimed at tackling many of these issues. In a 16-page policy, Warren outlined a series of proposals to reform Social Security benefits, boost employment for people with disabilities, increase funding for education and enhance protections for voting, housing and civil rights. “Though we have made significant progress for the 61 million Americans living with disabilities, we have a lot of ground left to cover,” Warren’s plan says. “People with disabilities are still fighting for economic security, equal opportunity, and inclusion – and they are not fighting alone. As President, I will work in partnership with the disability community to combat ableism.” Several other Democrats, including former South Bend, Indiana Mayor [Pete Buttigieg](https://time.com/5716620/pete-buttigieg-disability-policy-agenda/), former HUD Secretary [Julián Castro](https://time.com/5725759/julian-castro-disability-plan/) (who [dropped out of the 2020 race](https://time.com/5745459/julian-castro-drops-out-2020-presidential-campaign/) Thursday morning) and Sen. [Kamala Harris](https://time.com/5743759/kamala-harris-diversity-democratic-primary/) (who dropped out in December), released disability policies last year, while Warren had previously integrated disability issues into her other campaign proposals. But while [disability rights](https://time.com/5168472/disability-activism-trump/) have not historically been a hot-button topic, [one in four Americans](https://time.com/5622652/disability-voter-turnout-2020/) has a disability and Democrats this cycle are starting to pay more attention. Warren says her administration would create a National Office of Disability Coordination to ensure federal programs work together to support people with disabilities. The plan would end the “shameful” sub-minimum wage that allows employers to pay disabled people below the minimum wage, and increase funding for civil rights enforcement at the EEOC and the Justice Department to combat workplace discrimination. It would also prioritize hiring people with disabilities for federal government jobs, as well as for federal contracts and internship programs. Warren’s plan identifies systemic problems and proposes specific reforms aimed at changing those institutions. Disabled people often have limited incomes, for example, which means they can be at higher risk of identity theft, financial abuse and fraud. To fight against this, Warren proposes creating a new position at her signature Consumer Finance Protection Bureau that would expand the agency’s services for disabled people. Warren has previously released a plan to expand Social Security benefits more broadly, but in this policy she also says she would implement other reforms to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) such as getting rid of the “benefit cliff” that currently means recipients who earn more than a [certain amount](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/sga.html) per month [lose their entire benefit](https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/replace-cash-cliff-disability-insurance-beneficiaries/). She would also make changes to Supplemental Security Income, including getting rid of asset limits and eliminating penalties that make it difficult for some people with disabilities to get married and keep their benefits. These changes are similar to what Castro proposed last year and have been priorities for many disability activists as they seek to get presidential candidates to prioritize disability issues on the campaign trail. When Castro [dropped out](https://time.com/5745459/julian-castro-drops-out-2020-presidential-campaign/) of the 2020 presidential race on Thursday, Warren was [quick to thank him](https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1212743167373664256) for proposing “bold and progressive plans.” Warren’s staff consulted with a range of experts when putting her plan together, including former Sen. Tom Harkin, one of the original sponsors of the ADA, as well as the Center for American Progress’s Rebecca Cokley and founder of the Women’s March Disability Caucus Mia Ives-Rublee, who is now on Warren’s staff. The Massachusetts Senator mentioned a number of disability rights activists in her plan and credited their work, emphasizing that she wanted to build on the significant victories they have achieved in the past, something [she often does](https://twitter.com/CharlotteAlter/status/1212054108372447242) when introducing new policies or making big speeches. Warren’s plan also includes her version of Medicare for All, which will cover direct support and home health services that can be important to some people with disabilities. Warren also says she will improve Medicaid’s coverage of long-term supports and services to ensure people can live in their communities instead of prioritizing institutions. When it comes to education, Warren, like many of her fellow Democratic candidates, wants to fully fund the federal government’s share of the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) Act. “As a former public school special education teacher, I understand how much those dollars matter in the classroom,” she says in the plan. She also highlights that she has already committed to expanding funding for early intervention services and promises to ensure that all participating child care centers in her universal child care plan are ADA accessible. Warren also says she wants to make sure people with disabilities have access to quality higher education experiences and says she will enforce laws against discrimination and implement delayed Department of Education regulations to ensure that students of color with disabilities are treated fairly. Criminal justice reform is another major focus of Warren’s policy, as people with disabilities face disproportionate rates of incarceration and are at [higher risk](https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/15103130/CriminalJusticeDisability-report.pdf) of violence by law enforcement. Her plan states that she would establish a federal standard for use-of-force and increase funding for law enforcement training. Warren would also work to decriminalize homelessness, improve response to mental health crises and end policies like cash bail that can all impact people with disabilities. Warren’s plan also promises to protect the rights of people with disabilities in prison and mandate better data collection on how prisons treat disabled inmates. Warren also says she would prioritize disabled people when it comes to affordable housing, making transportation more accessible and preparing for climate change-related disasters. After a strong autumn, the Senator has recently dipped in the polls and slowed in fundraising in comparison to her top rivals, but disability [voter turnout surged](https://time.com/5622652/disability-voter-turnout-2020/) in 2018 and disabled voters could be an increasingly important bloc in 2020. ## Transcript Democrats are lining up to run against Donald Trump. [ MUSIC ] With the 2020 election still a ways away, an unusually large number of candidates have announced they are running or hinted strongly that they will. Here's a look at some of the major names who have joined the race so far. [ MUSIC ] As a law professor, Warren helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Before joining the Senate in 2012. She's long advocated for tougher rules on banks and corporations and pocketbook issues like student loan reform. A former member of the House from upstate New York, Gillibrand has moved to the left since taking Hillary Clinton's old Senate seat in 2009. In announcing her run, she cited her experience as a young mom. A former state legislator and US representative, Brown has represented Ohio in the Senate since 2006. He will be pushing a brand of Midwestern liberalism that mixes Trump's skepticism of trade agreements with Warren's concerns about Wall Street. An Iraq veteran and former state lawmaker, Gabbard was the first Hindu elected to Congress. But her past opposition to gay marriage and interactions with Syrian dictator Bashar al- Assad make her a long shot in the Democratic primary. [ MUSIC ] The former mayor of San Antonio and Housing and Urban Development secretary, Castro has an unusual resume for a presidential candidate. But he believes his arguments on hot- button issues like immigration can help him break out. 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