I have recently returned from one of what I hope will be many trips to Washington, D.C. I am on the board of directors of the ARC of Washington State. What is the ARC? We are Advocates for the Rights of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities.

Being that this is a election year, my colleagues and I are very concerned about the following issues: 1) Medicare; 2) special education; 3) HUD; 4) long-term community support services; 5) transportation; 6) employment; 7) Social Security reform and assistive technology. President Bush wants to cut more money from these programs.

In Washington, D.C., I met with Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and Reps. Rick Larsen and Jennifer Dunn about these programs. I have cerebral palsy, and as a boy growing up in Hawaii, we didn’t have as many opportunities as developmentally disabled people have today. Still, I am afraid that if President Bush cuts more from these programs, people with developmental disabilities will have no place to go.

Whatever happened to the American Dream – where people have the right to live independently? And why are we taking care of other countries instead of ours? People with developmental disabilities have the right to be what they want to be and live were they want to live. So I challenge you: Before you cast your vote, think about people with developmental disabilities. They need us and we need them. Now, that’s the American dream.

Everett