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118th Congress Updates
On January 3rd, the 118th session of Congress began and the proposed calendars for when the Senate and House of Representatives are in session are available.
The Republicans have control over the House of Representatives, and Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23) is the Speaker of the House, and Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) is the Minority Leader. Shortly after the election of the Speaker, Republicans released the important House Rules Package, which provides the procedures and rules that the House of Representatives will operate by this session.
The Democrats will continue to control the Senate, and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is the Majority Leader, and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is the Minority Leader. The Senate continues to operate with the Senate Rules package.
There have been some announced changes to committee leadership in both chambers that will impact employment, healthcare, education, and other policies impacting persons with disabilities in the 118th session. The Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and the Ranking Member is Senator Cassidy (R-LA). In the House of Representatives, the Chair of the Education and Workforce Committee is Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5) and the Ranking Member is Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA-3). The Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee is Representative Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA-5) and the Ranking Member is Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6).
Plain Language
On January 3rd, the 118th Congress started its session. All the new members elected from the November elections have started their new jobs. The House of Representatives is led by Republicans, and the Senate is led by Democrats. Some of the committees have decided who will lead them.
Budget and Appropriations
In December, President Joe Biden signed and Congress passed an omnibus appropriations package to finalize funding for federal programs for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. The funding bill included $1 million dollar increases for both the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities programs, as well as many other disability-related programs (to learn more, read the previous edition of DPN).
As the new session of Congress begins, the budget and appropriations process for FY 2024 begins. On January 10th, House Republican Leadership revealed a plan to cap FY 2024 discretionary spending at the FY 2022 level. On January 19th, Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) sent letters to all the cabinet secretaries asking about what the impact of decreased funds would be on their programs. Representative DeLauro asked for specific examples and requested responses by February 3rd.
On January 19th, Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, sent a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23) informing him that “specific extraordinary measures” would be put in place to continue to fund several federal obligations. As on January 19th, the US government reached their statutory limit on the outstanding debt as set by the increase to the debt ceiling that was passed in the 117th Congress. In the letter, Secretary Yellen urges Congress to act quickly to protect the “full faith and credit of the United States”.
Plain Language
Last year, President Joe Biden and Congress gave our University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities programs $1 million increases. They also passed several other disability-related laws, including the ABLE Age Adjustment Act, the Assistive Technology Act, and helped people to transition to community living through the Money Follows the Person program.
The new Congress began on January 3rd, and so did the process to give money to different federal programs. Since the House of Republicans is controlled by the Republicans, and the Senate is controlled by Democrats, there are different opinions on how much money we should spent next year.
Action Steps
Read the letters from Rep. DeLauro. Read the letter from Secretary Yellen.
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Releases Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) has released their annual report for Fiscal Year 2022. NCBDDD has continued to work to provide data and protect the health of people with disabilities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the breakout of monkeypox cases last year. NCBDDD has also worked to identify and address systematic barriers to health equity. Read the report for more on the work that NCBDDD has done over the past year.
Plain Language
The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) came out with a report on their work from 2022. NCBDDD has worked to protect the health of people with disabilities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue this work this year.
Action Steps
Read the report from NCBDDD.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seeking Input on Medicare Advantage Rules
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, is seeking input on the 2024 Medicare Advantage proposed rule. The “proposed rule would revise the Medicare Advantage (Part C), Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D), Medicare cost plan, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) regulations to implement changes related to Star Ratings, medication therapy management, marketing and communications, health equity, provider directories, coverage criteria, prior authorization, passive enrollment, network adequacy, identification of overpayments, formulary changes, and other programmatic areas.” Read more about the proposed rule and make comments. Comments are due by February 13th at 5:00 pm.
Plain Language
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) are looking for comments on a new rule that would make it easier to people on Medicare to get healthcare.
Action Steps
Read more and submit comments to CMS.
U.S. Department of Education Awards $63 Million to Community Schools Across the Country
On January 18th, the U.S Department of Education announced $63 million in new five-year grants for Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS). The grants will support 42 local educational agencies, non-profits, or other organizations working to expand existing community schools or establish new programs in Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Puerto Rico. “Community schools meet the unique needs of the neighborhoods they serve by leveraging local non-profit, private sector, and agency partnerships to bring services into school buildings. This includes services such as high-quality tutoring, health, mental health and nutrition services, and high-quality early learning programs, among others, for students and the community.”
Plain Language
The U.S. Department of Education has given $63 million dollar to several schools across the country to help them improve the education of students.
Action Steps
Read the press release from the U.S. Department of Education.
U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy Releases December Employment Labor Force Statistics
Every month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy releases employment labor force statistics, which show the employment rates for people with disabilities versus people without disabilities. In December 2022, working-aged (16-64) people with disabilities had a labor force participation rate of 39% and an unemployment rate of 5.4%. For people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate was 76.9% and the unemployment rate was 3.2%.
Plain Language
Every month, the Office of Disability Employment Policy releases employment labor force statistics, which tell us more about how many people with disabilities have jobs. In December 2022, people with disabilities had fewer jobs that people without disabilities.
Action Steps
Read more about the Disability Employment Statistics from ODEP.
Interagency Committee on Disability Research Virtual State of the Science Conference to be Held February 9-10
The Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) is holding their State of the Science Conference from February 9th-10th. The purpose of the conference is to discuss the current state of pressing topics in disability statistics while developing collaborative relationships across stakeholder groups. Register for the conference.
Plain Language
The Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) is holding a conference about data and persons with disabilities from February 9th-10th.
Action Steps
Register for the State of the Science Conference.
Policy related “How To” materials can be found on our website here. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the resources!
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