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COMMUNITY
Campaign TALK BACK!
Latest Update The U.S. Department of Transportation implemented new regulations under the Air Carrier Access Act on May 13, 2009. The new regulations require Psychiatric Service Dog handlers to submit a mental healthcare provider’s letter at least 48 hours in advance of travel that discloses they are mentally ill, explains the handler’s need for a Psychiatric Service Dog, provides evidence of the clinician’s status as a licensed mental health professional, and attests to the fact that the handler is his/her patient. No other service dog handlers are subject to these new rules. In fact, the new regulations state explicitly that airlines are prohibited from requiring documentation from any disabled Service Dog handler, unless the individual has a mental health disability or is otherwise not credible. The Psychiatric Service Dog Society (PSDS) attempted to get these discriminatory regulations rescinded under the Bush administration, but we were not successful. Under the Obama administration, PSDS renewed its efforts to overturn the regulations by submitting a formal petition to DOT asking for rulemaking, a formal procedure through which we might be able to get the regulations rescinded. Our petition for rulemaking is available for your viewing. Just click on the document below. Next, we contacted Mr. Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy at the White House. We asked him to consider the issuance of an executive order that would rescind the discriminatory regulations. (We were aware that this vehicle was used recently by the Obama administration to rescind some undesirable Medicare regulations). Mr. Dale elected instead to convene a conference call among the various stakeholders including a number of DOT officials. The call took place on May 8, 2009, five days before the regulations were scheduled to go into effect. A summary of the conference call is provided below. White House Conference Call 5/8/09 Here is up-shot of what the White House and DOT offered the PSD community: 1. The regulations will go into effect on May 13th, and no effort will be made by the White House or DOT to stop them. 2. DOT agreed to publish a request for public comment on these regulations in the Federal Register in the near future. As soon as the request for public comment is published in the Federal Register we will let you know. It is very important to engage as many PSD supporters as we can on this write-in initiative. Stay tuned for further instructions.
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