Joe Sempolinski

Representative Joe Sempolinski is looking back at the highlights of his four-month tenure in Congress.

Sempolinski has represented the 23rd Congressional District following a special election in August. He replaced Tom Reed who had resigned.

He said passing the 21st Century Assistive Technology Act was his proudest accomplishment, “This law is going to have a profound effect on those with disabilities. It’s going to make a difference in their lives. And helping Americans with disabilities is the cornerstone of my time in office.”

He said he also was proud of helping nearly 300 constituent calls from the district.

One item that Sempolinski supported that did not get completed was the passage of the “Words Matter Act” to replace the “r” word in the U.S. Code with more respectful terminology to identify those with developmental disabilities.

He said he has spoken with House members who are returning next term about getting that bill reintroduced, including incoming Representative Nick Langworthy, “Talking about bipartisanship, on that bill you have Conservative Republicans, you have Liberal Democrats, and that is some place again where you’re dealing with community, in this case, the developmentally disabled, that people of all ideological descriptions want to be part of supporting.”

Sempolinski said he anticipates that the bill will get passed in the new session given the level of bipartisan support it has.

Joe Sempolinski

Representative Joe Sempolinski is co-sponsoring the bipartisan “Words Matter Act” as part of Down’s Syndrome Awareness Month.

Sempolinski said the legislation would eliminate the use of the “R” word in U.S. code, “You know there’s a very rude word that starts with the letter ‘R’ that’s sometimes used for those with developmental disabilities and that word is still in a variety of places in the United States code. There’s no place for that in 2022. So this would replace that out-of-date terminology to more respectful terminology that focuses on the dignity of folks who have developmental disabilities.”

Sempolinski said when a law is passed it goes into the U.S. Code as it was written at the time, “And so any law that might impact the disability community, whether it’s in health care or education or accommodation or anything, it was written in an era when that word was used, it would still potentially be there. And obviously, this is something the cost will be minimal. You just go through and literally change that particular word to something like ‘developmental disability.'”

He added that the bill is supported by the Global Down’s Syndrome Foundation and the Special Olympics.

Sempolinski’s oldest daughter has Down’s Syndrome.