The Nation : U.S. Stand on Disabled Hit

The Reagan Administration is taking a hard-hearted approach to disability reform and is still trying to circumvent appeals court rulings, lawmakers and advocates for the disabled told a House subcommittee. Top officials from New York and Massachusetts accused the Health and Human Services Department of proposing rules that flout a new law barring aid cutoffs in most cases unless a person’s medical condition has improved. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said he wished the department showed “one-third as much compassion for the disabled as the Pentagon shows for ashtrays and toilet seats.”