Huntington Man With Down Syndrome To Testify Before Congress

The Huntington businessman with Down syndrome who gifted George H.W. Bush socks he wore to Barbara Bush's funeral will be heading to our nation's Capitol on Wednesday to testify before Congress.

John Cronin, 22, will discuss his business, John's Crazy Socks, to the U.S. House Committee on Small Business.

John and his father Mark Cronin run a business called John's Crazy Socks where they donate 5 percent of their earnings to the Special Olympics. The business has become so successful that they now operate from a 6,400 square foot facility in Melville and employ 33 people, including 15 people with differing abilities.

Since December 2016, John’s Crazy Socks has shipped over 98,000 orders and earned $3.7 million in revenue.

At the hearing, titled “Ready, Willing, and Able to Work: How Small Businesses Empower People with Developmental Disabilities,” John and his father will discuss how employing individuals with disabilities has helped their business become so successful.

“Employers complain that they cannot find enough good workers, yet nearly 80 percent of the disabled are unemployed. We have this vast untapped pool of labor – a great national resource – that is ready, able and willing to work," Mark Cronin said. "We want people to see the benefits of hiring workers of all abilities. We hire people of differing abilities not out of altruism, but because it is good business.”

John will also address laws that make people with disabilities choose between work and benefits, which encourages these individuals not to work. He supports the NDSS Campaign to end what is called "Law Syndrome."

“Down syndrome never holds me back, out of date laws do and that’s Law Syndrome," John said.

Mark said, “People with disabilities are often dependent on their Medicaid coverage, yet if they work too many hours, they lose their Medicaid benefits. People should not be forced to choose between work and benefits.”

Image via Mark Cronin