Former U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin of Rhode Island, who was the first quadriplegic person to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, testified Tuesday against a bill meant to speed the repair of wheelchairs in Connecticut.
Langevin, who noted how he serves on the board of directors of Numotion — which bills itself as a leading manufacturer of mobility products and services — said his concerns are based on practicality.
“The service and repair problem is real,” Langevin said, referring to Connecicut wheelchair users’ frustration about lengthy lag times in repairs. But he said a bill based on the recommendations by the Connecticut Wheelchair Repair Task Force could have unintended consequences.
Among other things, the bill under consideration by Connecticut lawmakers would require wheelchair repairs to be made by wheelchair providers within 10 days of a request, provided that any needed insurance has been verified.
The issue has attracted broad interest, as seen by how more than 150 people signed up to testify for a midday Tuesday hearing in the Connecticut General Assembly’s Human Services Committee.
Testifying remotely, Langevin asked for what he called a comprehensive solution, “or it risks making the situation worse for consumers … This legislation, though certainly well-intentioned, doesn’t really effectively build off all of the areas of common ground found via the months of the working group discussions [of the task force].”
Langevin said a 10-day turnaround time for wheelchair repairs “is not what I would call common ground.”
He called that unworkable, in part because of the time sometimes needed to get medical documentation and also due to a shortage of suppliers who repair wheelchairs.
Connecticut Sen. Matt Lesser responded by saying Langevin’s concerns “may be a consensus for your company, but it wouldn’t be a consensus for all the parties we heard from … In terms of getting everyone on the same page, you may like some recommendations, but there’s no particular recommendation that I think had the support of all the parties.”
Asked by Lesser how things would improve without penalties for non-compliance on the time for wheelchair repairs, Langevin said his concern is “a heavy-handed approach and imposing penalties with an unrealistic time frame.”
Langevin said lawmakers’ efforts would be better focused on trying to train more people to perform wheelchair repairs.
Langevin was left paralyzed at 16 years old during an accidental shooting at the Warwick police station.
The Warwick Democrat was first elected to Congress in Rhode Island’s 2nd District in 2000. He announced ahead of the 2022 election that he would not seek re-election and was succeeded by U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner. Langevin serves as distinguished chair of the Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies at his alma mater, Rhode Island College.
