AUCD’s Community Inclusion Team supports the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Network in partnership with the Administration for Community Living.
AUCD’s Maternal and Child Health Engagement supports the Autism CARES Programs, including LEND and DBP Programs.
AUCD’s Public Health Team works to create health promotion and public health efforts that include people with disabilities.
AUCD Emerging Leaders are a part of a community that includes trainees, early career professionals, self-advocates, and family members from AUCD member Centers and Programs.
AUCD's Disability Policy News (DPN) is a weekly newsletter highlighting federal policy issues affecting people with disabilities and their families. DPN features updates in plain language and action steps that people can take to educate policymakers. DPN is published every Friday.
In this edition:
The federal government is still shut down. Congress needs to pass either a full-year appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2026 or a continuing resolution (CR) to continue to fund the government at current spending levels for a shorter amount of time. Democrats want a deal on the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, while Republicans want to open the government first.
The government shutdown has entered its fourth week. On October 28, the Senate voted for the thirteenth time on the Republican CR, which would fund the government through November 21 at similar funding levels as the previous year (FY25). It did not have enough votes to pass. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) refuses to call the House back in session as part of his attempt to pressure the Senate to pass the Republican CR and reopen the government. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said that Congress needs to end the government shutdown before he will advance any other long-term spending bills.
On October 27, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) called for an immediate end to the shutdown and passage of a “clean” continuing resolution. A clean CR refers to a continuing resolution that funds the government at the same spending levels as the previous fiscal year with no major amendments or riders. The President of AFGE called for Congress to “ensure back pay for every single employee who has served or been forced to stay home through no fault of their own.” Last week, the Senate voted against a bill to pay the federal workers who are considered “essential” and have been working during the shutdown because Democrats wanted to advance a bill to pay all federal workers, not just those working during the shutdown. Read more in last week’s issue of Disability Policy News.
On October 28, a federal judge indefinitely extended her order that the Administration stop carrying out layoffs during the government shutdown. She granted a preliminary injunction blocking reductions in force (RIFs) at most federal government agencies.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is running out of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November as a result of the shutdown. SNAP has a contingency fund, but the Trump Administration has concluded that it cannot legally tap into that fund right now and released a memo making their case for not using the fund or moving money from other USDA funds. More than two dozen Democratic attorneys general and governors are suing the Administration over this.
The government shutdown is affecting Americans in many different ways. For some organizations and programs that receive government funding, the lack of transparency about who has been RIF’d within the federal government has led to broad confusion and made it harder to get answers about how these RIFs might affect program beneficiaries. With fewer people at government agencies, there are fewer points of contact for grantees, people who receive benefits, community health providers, and more. Benefits themselves have begun to be affected, as evidenced by SNAP. Running out of SNAP funding could affect more than 40 million low-income people, including 4 million people with disabilities. November 1 will be the first time in SNAP’s history that its beneficiaries will go without funding. There are reports that services and therapies provided by the government have been paused, affecting military families with autistic kids.
The federal government has been shut down for four weeks because Congress has not agreed on a funding bill. Democrats want to include health care subsidies in the deal, while Republicans want to reopen the government first. The subsidies are something that help keep health care affordable for people and they are going to expire soon, that will make healthcare cost a lot more money for everyday people. The Senate failed again to pass a short-term funding plan, and the House has not returned to session. A federal workers’ union is calling for an immediate end to the shutdown and back pay for all employees. A judge has blocked federal layoffs, and the USDA warns that funding for SNAP food assistance may run out in November.
View past issues of Disability Policy News to learn more about AUCD's policy priorities and how you can engage in policy actions.
