President's Budget FY16: Expanding Opportunities for People with Disabilities
February 2, 2015
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President Obama has just released his Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request to the Congress. The budget includes many funding requests to expand opportunities for people with disabilities, including throughout the AUCD Network.
The President's budget requests:
- A $1 million increase for UCEDDs, a request of $39 million
- A $3 million increase for the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a request of $1.3 billion
- Level funding for the Autism and other DD line item that includes LEND funding at the Health Resources and Services Administration, a request of $47 million
- Level funding for CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, a request of $132 million
- Level funding for the DD Councils and Protection & Advocacy programs
The President's budget also proposes higher funding levels for IDEA's early intervention and pre-school programs; increased funding for supported employment; new funding for innovations in Social Security to promote employment and reduce reliance on the public program; additional support for research and development through NIH.
The budget also reverses sequestration cuts through a combination of revenue increases, cuts to tax expenditures, and cuts to programs similar to those proposes in last year's budget proposal.
This is the first step in the budget and appropriations process. The next step is for the House and Senate to propose an overall budget resolution followed by passage of the 12 annual appropriations bills. The President's budget, however, provides a blueprint for the Congress to start with and debate. It also helps AUCD and others to advocate for budget priorities that promote economic self-sufficiency and community living for people with disabilities.
AUCD will be analyzing the full budget and providing more details through next Monday's weekly newsletter, In Brief.
