Hi NACDD Leaders!
I’ve just finished my first Partners In Policymaking training with the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities! Thank you Heidi, John, Dr. Penni, Kara and Rownita for an amazing day with self-advocates. Here are my unofficial notes
from the week, which I just typed up while listening to Heidi rock the house on how to build coalitions to impact state policy making. Go Heidi!
Tax Reform
On Thursday the House released its draft of tax reform. The legislation will be taken up in the House Committee on Ways and Means starting November 6. Its prospects are
uncertain with Republican deficit hawkes and moderates already showing uncertainty that might sink the bill. But we are taking this bill very seriously and are deeply concerned about the plan’s significant increase in in the deficit, leading to enormous
pressure to cut domestic programs already targeted by the Administration and congressional leadership including – SNAP, Medicaid and other health care, low-income tax credits, child care, Head Start, housing, education, job training, SSI, environmental and
consumer protection – all threatened with cuts now or in the years to come.
CCD released a
statement that the House bill “would gut Federal revenue requiring huge cuts in Medicaid, Medicare and other programs people with disabilities rely on to live independently in the community to give huge tax cuts to millionaires and corporations. Although
neither the tax bill nor the budget resolution requires these cuts, deep cuts to these programs will result either now to meet reconciliation deficit targets contained in the concurrent budget resolution or in the future due to increased pressure to rein in
the debt and deficit created by the inadequate level of revenue these tax cuts would create.” Please share the statement with your networks. Click
here or
https://www.c-c-d.org/fichiers/CCD-Fiscal-Policy-Task-Force-Statement-on-House-Tax-Bill-11-3-final.pdf
If you are interest in the tax bill in general, you can view a webinar on Wednesday, November 8, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m., Central; 11:00 a.m. Mountain; 10:00 a.m. Pacific)
Register
here. Presenters include: Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Frank Clemente, Americans for Tax Fairness; Deborah Weinstein, Coalition on Human Needs; Jim Weill, FRAC (Moderator).
House passes CHIP and CHC funding with problematic offsets; Senate passage questionable
Today, the House passed a CHIP and CHC funding bill on a party-line, paid for by harmful offsets. Children’s and health advocates now prepare to urge for a bipartisan effort fund these important programs in the Senate. CHIP “expired” on
Sept. 30, but most states have enough money to continue it past 2017. Still, 11 states, including Colorado, California, Utah, Ohio and Pennsylvania expect to exhaust their funding by the end of the year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another 21
states anticipate running out of money by the end of March 2018.
The House bill extends the program for five years, and continues funding of community health centers for two years. It also includes $1 billion for Medicaid programs in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, hard hit by recent hurricanes.
The bill became controversial after Republicans added provisions that would cut funding from the law’s Prevention and Public Health Fund, which among other things helps fight the opioid epidemic, and making it easier to kick people off Obamacare plans for
non-payment of premiums. You can read more about the House bill
here.
Hurricane Relief
The Senate and House held oversight hearings on the federal response to hurricane season. You can watch the video and read the testimony of government officials at the Senate hearing
here
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/2017-hurricane-season-oversight-of-the-federal-response
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 mandate the integration and inclusion of people with disabilities and others with access and
functional needs into all emergency management efforts. Unfortunately, none of the testimony mentioned the specific concerns of the disability community.
As we know, the DD Councils in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands reported that the response plan lacked coordination between the federal government and DD Councils and there was a severe lack of communication and coordination
to meet the needs of persons with disabilities. The good news is that NACDD is working with committee staff to submit questions for the record for FEMA and other agencies.
NACDD at AIDD/ACL Conference on Data
Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Administration on Disabilities, and Administration for Community Living held a two day working session on the difficulties identifying and tracking persons with disabilities
for purposes of federal policy. Estimates of the number of persons with a disability differ among agencies and organizations because of different definitions and methodology. The agencies are working with NACDD and other groups to identify current sources
of reliable data on disability and overcome various obstacles to accurate data collection. The efforts are ongoing and NACDD continues to be a part of the efforts to improve data which will help policymakers understand the needs of the disability community.
ABLE Webinar November 9, 2:00pm-3:30pm ET
There are now nearly 15,000 individuals with disabilities nationwide who have opened ABLE accounts! These special tax advantaged savings/investment accounts allow qualified individuals with disabilities the opportunity to save for disability
related expenses without jeopardizing their eligibility for many public benefits. CMS recently released guidance regarding how ABLE accounts (and ABLE funds) may impact Medicaid eligibility and the scope of supports and services provided through the Medicaid
program. This webinar aims to provide ABLE related stakeholders with a brief analysis and summary of the CMS guidance and will include a Q&A with a number of ABLE related experts representing both the disability community and the individuals responsible for
administering ABLE programs.
The webinar will take place Thursday, November 9th (2:00-3:30pm Eastern). Moderator Chris Rodriguez, Director, ABLE National Resource Center, will also be joined by a guest panel including:
In order to prepare for the webinar, we encourage you to watch this short informative video by clicking HERE. Click HERE to
register.
Erin Prangley
Director, Public Policy
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
1825 K Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20006
202.506.5813 Ext. 104 (Phone)
202.506.5846 (Fax)