AUCD Legislative News InBrief

June 30, 2008

Congressional Schedule

Congress is on recess this week for the Independence Day holiday.  This is a good time to talk to your congressional delegation about disability issues, either by making an appointment in their home offices, or when you see them at 4th of July events.  It is critical that you discuss the need for Congress to provide much needed increases for disability programs within the Departments of Labor, HHS, and Education and to complete the appropriations process before adjourning.  For information and talking points, please see AUCD's online action center www.aucd.org.

 

Appropriations

The Senate Appropriations Committee last Thursday approved a $154 billion FY09 spending bill for programs under the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education (L-HHS-ED). The bill was marked up and passed unanimously by the Subcommittee on Tuesday.  The bill was approved on a vote of 26-3 with three Republicans voting against - Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO).  The House Subcommittee approved its$157 billion L-HHS-ED appropriations bill on Tuesday, but was prevented from being finalized by the full Committee Thursday due to partisan squabbling.  Hopefully, the House Committee will be able to take up the bill quickly after the July 4 recess.

 

While we do not have all the details about the contents of these bills, we have gotten information about some of our network programs.  Both the House and Senate bills provide an additional $2 million increase for the LEND programs over the FY 08 level.  The Senate provides $2 million additional funding for the UCEDD programs, but the House bill unfortunately level funds the University Centers. The Centers for Disease Control Birth Defects Center is boosted by $6 million in both bills.  NICHD also receives an increase in both bills: $44.3 million increase in the House and $36.1 million in the Senate.  Below is a table comparing the funding levels of the House and Senate bills for some of our programs.

 

 

FY 09 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bills compared

 

Program	FY08 Final	President's FY 09 Budget	House Subcommittee	Difference over FY 08	Senate Committee	Difference over FY 08
UCEDDs	36.9	36.9	36.9	0.0	38.9	+2.0
DD Councils	72.5	72.5	74.1	+1.7	74.5	+2.0
P&As	39.0	39.0	40.0	+1.0	40.0	+1.0
PNS/Family Support	14.2	14.2	14.2	0.0	14.2	0.0
MCH Block Grant	666.0	666.0	675.0	+8.8	664.0	-2.0
Autism and related DD	36.4	36.4	42.0*	+5.6	42.0*	+5.6
CDC Center on Birth Defects/DD	127.3	126.7	133.7	+6.4	133.9	+6.6
NIH	29,230.0	29,230.0	30,379.0	+1,150.0	30,254.5	+1,025.0
NICHD	1,254.7	1,255.7	1,299.0	+44.3	1,290.8	+36.1
Nat. Children's Study	110.9	0.0	192.3	+81.4	192.3	+81.4
Lifespan Respite Care Act	0.0	0.0	5.0	+5.0	0.0	0.0

 

* this amount includes a $2 million increase specifically for the LEND program

 

It is still unclear whether the House and Senate leaders will take the time to consider these bills before the full House and Senate adjourn for the year since the President has threatened to veto any bill that does not adhere to his overall spending level.  In that case, a continuing resolution will be enacted to continue funding levels for programs, most likely at the FY 08 levels, until the bill can be enacted.

 

More details about funding for all of the programs monitored by AUCD will be shared as soon as they become available. AUCD will continue to monitor this situation and do everything we can to urge the Congress and Administration to move this bill to enactment in a timely matter. 

 

War Supplemental Appropriations/Medicaid

The President signed the emergency war supplemental bill into law today.  The bill passed by a vote of 92-6 in the Senate before members left for the July 4 recess.  The final supplemental provides $162 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, increased education benefits for veterans, an additional 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits, and funding for flood-ravaged communities in the Midwest.  The supplemental also includes language to block the implementation of six of the seven proposed regulations for Medicaid.  The Medicaid regulation that was not included concerns reimbursements for outpatient hospital services.  In the context of the seven regulations, this regulation had a lower financial impact.  This is a major victory for the disability community.  Pressure from the disability community significantly contributed to the blockage of implementation of regulations on Medicaid school-based services, rehabilitation services and case management services.  AUCD and network members took action throughout the process.  The regulations would have conservatively shifted approximately $15 billion to states, many of whom are currently experiencing budget shortfalls.  Implementation of these regulations would have directly and indirectly had a devastating impact on services for individuals with disabilities.                      

 

ADA Amendment Act

Wednesday, June 25 the House passed a major civil rights bill that would overturn several Supreme Court decisions issued in the last decade and restore the bill to its original intent. The ADA Amendments Act (H.R. 3195) passed 402 to 17 (234 Democrats, 199 Republicans) and sent a strong message that discrimination against individuals with disabilities will not be tolerated. Supporters of the bill immediately shifted their attention to the Senate, which is expected to pass a similar bipartisan measure. The White House said that although President Bush "supports the overall intent" of the House bill, he was concerned that it "could unduly expand" coverage and significantly increase litigation.  AUCD continues to support the ADA Amendment Act and work with the disability community to successfully pass this important legislation. 

 

Employment

On June 11 Senator Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) and Randolph-Sheppard Modernization Act 2008.  In a press release, Senator Enzi stated that during an investigation in 2005 the programs under the Randolph-Sheppard Act and the JWOD Act were, "failing to produce many jobs, have not been updated in decades, and are vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse, sometimes resulting in worker exploitation". The Randolph-Sheppard Act, enacted in 1936, grants persons who are legally blind training, support and contracting priority to fulfill certain government food service contracts. JWOD, enacted in 1938, requires the federal government to purchases certain commodities from organizations with at least 75 percent of its direct laborers who are blind. The JWOD and Randolph-Sheppard Modernization Act 2008 expands both programs by creating more flexibility to provide meaningful job training and skill development as well as increasing the monitoring process to ensure workers are no longer exploited. The bill has been referred to the HELP Committee and currently has no other co-sponsors. For more information visit the AUCD public policy web page.

 

Child Abuse Prevention

The Senate HELP Children and Families Subcommittee held a hearing on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) reauthorization, chaired by Sen. Dodd (D-CT).  Sen. Dodd specifically asked questions about what to do about the higher rate of victimization of children with disabilities and the implementation of the Part C referrals. Witnesses included:

Dr. Cheryl Boyce, Chief, Child Abuse and Neglect Program, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, MD;  Tanya Long, Parent, Columbus, OH;  Karen Foley-Schain, Executive Director, Connecticut Children's Trust Fund, Hartford, CT;  Karen Kaplan, Director of Child Protection Reform, American Humane Association, Denver, CO.  The hearing webcast is online: http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2008_06_26/2008_06_26.html

 

Medicare

Last Tuesday the House passed a Medicare bill, H.R. 6331, to primarily address a scheduled 10.6% decrease in physician reimbursement set to take effect on July 1.  The bill passed by a veto-proof majority and contained many other positive provisions for individuals with disabilities.  Among these provisions is an 18 month delay of a controversial competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment that could severely limit access for individuals with disabilities.  The bill also extends the exceptions process for caps on therapies for 18 months and increases reimbursements for mental health services.  The Senate attempted to take up the House bill before leaving for the July 4 recess but was unable to obtain enough votes so will need to continue work after returning from recess.                

 

Higher Education Act

The House passed the seventh short term extension of the Higher Education Act.  The extension expires July 31, 2008.  House and Senate Committee leaders continue negotiations on the differences between the two bills and are hopeful that agreement can be reached before the August recess.

 

Ohio Presidential Forum

Sponsors are working hard to get ready for the upcoming Presidential Forum on Disability Issues that will take place on July 26.  The Presidential candidates have been formally invited, but additional grassroots pressure is needed to communicate the importance of their attendance at the event and seek commitments.  Registration to attend the event in person was opened to the public and is quickly filing.  To register go to the following link: http://www.govoter.org/presidential_forum/index.aspx

 

For copies of this and previous issues of Legislative News In Brief please visit the Public Policy Page of the AUCD website: http://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=27