Disability Policy News In Brief

Autism CARES becomes Law!  

On Monday, September 30^th, the Autism CARES Act of 2019 was signed by the President and became law! It is because of your advocacy and education that we increased the number of cosponsors and educated many members of Congress. The impact of your advocacy:

• Cosponsored by 173 members in the House

o   127 Democrats

o   46 Republicans

• Cosponsored by 43 in the Senate

o   24 Democrats

o   18 Republicans

o   1 independent

This is HUGE growth over cosponsor levels for 2014 reauthorization (House had 86 and the Senate had 18).

Action Steps:

• Continue to educate your members of Congress to thank them for CARES. Share about how this law touches your work and life. The more your Congressional Delegation knows about the work you do, the stronger the chances of funding support during appropriations.
• Learn more about the changes in the law by reading our summary report.

Congressional Recess

Members of Congress are in their home districts until October 15^th. Think about hosting a community event and inviting your members of Congress or invite them to visit your programs or centers.

Action Steps:

• Reach out to both the district office and DC office with your request and ask to be connected with a scheduler to set up a meeting.
• Learn more about a Recess from Liz and use our plain language guide.

Employment

Happy National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)! Join AUCD in highlighting the employment work across the network and educate others about the value of a workforce inclusive of workers with disabilities. The disability community in DC will be engaged this month with Congress through briefings, but it is also a chance for you to contact your members of Congress.

Action Steps:

• Use our friends from APSE's resource to share your research, stories and more on competitive integrated employment.
• Use APSE's Employment data map to share with your members of Congress state factsheets on the importance of the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act. 
• Use our friends from NDRN's video resources to share real life stories of individuals with disabilities who are successfully employed in the community.
• Now is a great time to highlight employment success stories on social media. Tag AUCD and APSE so we can amplify the work in your state:
  • Sample tweet:  October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month #NDEAM! @(Member of Congress) your state is working to advance competitive integrated employment by _____. Support the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act today! #RealWorkRealPay #RightTalentRightNow @AUCDNews @NationalAPSE

Medicaid

AUCD signed on to a letter from the disability community to Congressional Leadership encouraging a long-term extension of Money Follows the Person and Spousal Impoverishment Protections. The EMPOWER Care Act (HR 1342, S 548) would reauthorize the federal MFP demonstration and Spousal Impoverishment Protections for five years.

Action Step:

• State-level sign-ons are accepted for this letter. If your center would like to sign on, please complete the following survey by close of business on Thursday, October 10^th. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X85VZKD

Public Charge

The proposed changes to the public charge rule have been released in the Federal Register. The new regulations expand the definition of "public charge" to include non-cash benefits - such as nutrition assistance, housing vouchers and subsidized medical insurance. Members of the disability community including AUCD have filed amicus briefs in WA, CA, NY, and Cook County, IL. Amicus briefs are legal documents filed in court cases by non-litigants with a strong interest in the subject matter. The briefs advise the court of relevant, additional information or arguments that the court might wish to consider which can have significant impact on judicial decision-making.

Action Steps:

• You can read the Amicus Briefs filed here.
• Our friends at Rooted in Rights have created video resources that illustrate how this change would impact families that include people with disabilities.
• You can view our comments here and learn more about what a public charge is here.  Learn more about the potential impact of the new rule here.

Presidential Proclamation

President Trump signed a proclamation on October 4, 2019, enacting a policy wherein the government will only accept immigrant visa petitions made abroad if the applicants demonstrate that they will have the ability to secure health insurance within a month of their arrival in the U.S. If that's not possible, then petitioners would need to prove they have the financial resources to pay "reasonably foreseeable medical costs" - a standard not defined in the order. The new requirement is set to go into effect November 3.

Emergency Preparedness

The Government Accountability Office recenty released a report on FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and the difficulties of supporting disaster-impacted disabled individuals.

Action Steps:

• Read the report here.
• Read AUCD's white paper on Inclusive Emergency Management Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

Congressional Openings

There are three districts that have/will have vacancies:

• Rep. Sean Duffy of the 7^th District (R-WI) announced his plans to resign from Congress by September 23.
• Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) is resigning at the end of 2019
•  Rep. Chris Collins of the 27^th District (R-NY) resigned effectively immediately.

Action Steps:

• Centers in WI, GA and NY have an opportunity to engage with candidates during the upcoming elections on disability issues.

Campaign 2020

Next week, another round of the Democratic debates will be held in Westerville, Ohio, on Tuesday, October 15^th. In honor of NDEAM, below is a chart of those who will be debating and their public stances on employment issues.

Action Steps:

• Your voice is needed to ensure that disability employment policy is part of the campaign.

• For candidates who are currently in office, share and elevate their position on employment legislation as noted in the chart. Tip: You can and should ask them to support bills of importance.

• Check out the campaign website of each candidate (links provided); use the sites to submit questions about disability policy. For example, "How will you be ensuring that your campaign employs people with disabilities and if elected, actions who will take to increase the employment rate of people with disabilities?

Share your policy story!

Share your policy story today! The AUCD policy team seeks to share policy ideas in innovative and accessible ways. AUCD will soon be launching a policy blog - AUCD Policy Talk. As someone interested in disability policy, we ask you to consider writing and submitting a blog post. Maybe you have a personal story impacted by a policy. Perhaps there is a local, state or federal level policy that your center is engaged in. The possibilities are endless!

Action Steps:

• Read our blog submission guidelines and further details.

• If you have any questions, you can contact [email protected] or [email protected].

Tuesdays with Liz: The ADA, Marca Bristo, and The Wheelchair Rule with Senator Duckworth

Senator Tammy Duckworth, veteran and ADA advocate, talked with Liz about The Wheelchair Rule, which was passed into law in December 2018.

This episode is in memory of Marca Bristo.

• To read more about The Wheelchair Rule, visit https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-new-rule-requiring-airlines-to-finally-report-number-of-lost-bags-and-broken-wheelchairs-will-help-ensure-travelers-are-treated-with-dignity_respect.
• To see how the Wheelchair Rule is working, visit https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/air-travel-consumer-reports.
• To read more about Senator Duckworth honoring Marca Bristo, visit https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senate-passes-duckworth-durbin-resolution-honoring-life-and-achievements-of-disability-rights-advocate-marca-bristo.