WASHINGTON - President Clinton invoked the example of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who steered the country through the Depression and World War II despite being hobbled by polio, as he signed a law letting millions of disabled American retain their government-funded health coverage when they take a job.

Fear of losing Medicare and Medicaid benefits is a major barrier keeping disabled people from seeking employment. Many severely disabled people rely on those federal programs because they cannot otherwise afford expensive, specialized care. Income above a certain level disqualifies people from the federal programs.

"This defies common sense and economic logic," Clinton said Friday at a signing ceremony at the monument to FDR across National Mall from the White House.

Some 9 million disabled adults receive Medicare and Medicaid. It is not known how many of them might make use of the law's provisions.

the law provides $150 million in grants to encourage states to let disabled workers buy into Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor. It also creates a $250 million Medcaid buy-in demonstration for people who are not so severely disabled that they cannot work. It extends, for 4 1/2 years, Medicare coverage for those in the disability insurance system who return to work.

Disability beneficiaries returning to the workforce would get a voucher to purchase health care services - either private or government.

The law also increases to 550,000 the number of disabled people who will receive rehabilitation and training services over the next 10 years.

Clinton, who recently called FDR the most significant person of the 20th century, called attention at the monument to the statue of Roosevelt sitting in a wheelchair that is mostly hidden by a cloak.

"In his time...Roosevelt felt he needed to keep his wheelchair from public view," Clinton said. "most people believed being disabled meant being unable, though he proved them wrong every day."

It is fitting, Clinton said, that the law will be last any president signs this century.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a sponsor of the bill, said it will "swing open the long-closed doors of the workplace for millions of disabled men and women."

The bill had support from both parties in Congress. Many Democrats, including Kennedy, stressed its civil rights implications, while Republicans touted it as a way to end government dependence.

"Millions of Americans are waiting eagerly to unleash their creativity and to pursue the American dream," said Rep. Rick Lazio, R-N.Y., a House sponsor of the bill.

Clinton shared the podium Friday with James Sullivan, paralyzed in a diving accident 20 years ago. Sullivan said he is eager to get a job in telecommunications, but couldn't do so when he risked losing the expensive care that enables him to get out of bed each morning.

I was the same person, with the same goals and desires, I was just in a new body," Sullivan said at the ceremony.