Legislative News InBrief
February 20, 2007
Vol. VII, Issue 8
Congressional
Schedule
Following a Saturday session debating a nonbinding
resolution on the Iraq war, Congress recessed for
President's Day. Members will be at home this week and return Monday, February
26. This week is a good week to meet with your members at their home offices to
discuss budget and appropriations and other issues important to people with
disabilities and their families.
FY 2007 Continuing
Resolution
On February 14, the Senate passed the FY 2007 Continuing
Resolution (CR) by a vote of 81-15. The bill provides funding for programs
covered by the nine unfinished fiscal 2007 appropriations bills. The final CR
includes the Labor, Health and Human Services spending bill that provides funds
for University
Centers and most other
disability-related program. After the Republican leaders in the 109th Congress
left the 2007 spending bills unfinished, the new Democratic majority decided to
package the nine bills together and use the FY 06 as a baseline for funding with
a number of exceptions. The CR which previously passed the House on January 31
contains slight increases over FY06 levels in some major programs, including No
Child Left Behind (+$125 million), IDEA State Grant (+$200 million), Head Start
(+$104 million), NIH (+$619.5 million) and transit programs (+$470 million).
All other programs were held at FY 2006 levels. Passage of the CR will
unfortunately result in a slight decrease in funding per UCEDD. AUCD will press
for increased funding in the FY 2008 appropriations
process.
Lifespan Respite Care
Act
Advocacy for the Lifespan Respite Care Act moved forward
last week, led by the National Respite Coalition and its partners, including the
AUCD network. Senators Clinton (D-NY) and Warner (R-VA) sent a letter to budget
leaders urging them to include $40 million for the Lifespan Respite Care Act in
the FY 08 budget resolution. Twenty-one Senators joined Clinton and Warner in
signing the letter. UCEDDs in several states assisted with this effort by
contacting their members. The next step will be a similar letter to
appropriations committees. Also, last week AUCD joined other advocates in
presenting an award to Rep. Langevin (D-RI) for his leadership in moving the
Lifespan Respite Care Act through Congress.
Head
Start
On February 15, the Senate HELP Committee passed S.556
by voice vote to reauthorize the Head Start and early childhood development
program. The bill would authorize Head Start funding at $7.3 billion in FY
2008, $7.5 billion in 2009, and "such sums as necessary" through FY 2012. The
income eligibility would be raised from 100% to 130% of poverty, allowing an
estimated 56,000 children to benefit from the program. The House passed a
reauthorization measure in 2005, but the bill languished in the Senate due to
Democratic opposition concerning a provision allowing faith-based organization
to hire staff based on the group's religious beliefs.
Mental Health
Parity
On February 15, the Senate HELP Committee passed S. 558,
which would require insurers that offer mental health coverage as part of their
packages to provide equal benefits for physical and mental illness. The bill
does not require all insurers to provide mental health coverage, but it does bar
insurers that cover mental illnesses from imposing limits on care not applied to
physical illnesses. The bill was the signature issue of the late Democratic
Senator Paul Wellstone (1991-2002) and sponsored by Senator Domenici (R-NM).
The House passed a less ambitious mental health parity law in 2003.
No Child Left
Behind
The No Child Left Behind Commission released a report on
Tuesday, February 13, containing recommendations for reauthorization. The NCLB
Commission was organized approximately a year ago and co-chaired by former HHS
Secretary Tommy Thompson and former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes. It consisted
of 15 members, including Judy Heumann, World Bank Advisor and Disability &
Development, and Ed Sontag, Acting Deputy Director of CDC's National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities. The Commission is independent, bi-partisan, and funded through
the Aspen Institute and other sources. Of particular importance to students
with disabilities, the Commission recommended against the Administration's
proposed 2 percent policy (allowing students with disabilities to be assessed
against "modified achievement standards."). Based on research and testimony
heard, the Commission recommended maintaining this level at 1 percent. Another
major recommendation included the adoption of new requirements for Highly
Qualified Effective Teachers (HQET), which would use student achievement data
over three years to measure teacher effectiveness. Download the full report
and webcast of the briefing. The Senate HELP and House Education and Workforce Committees are expected to
begin to take action this year on reauthorization. AUCD will continue to
monitor this activity and in coming weeks solicit interest in forming a
workgroup across the network to review materials and assist AUCD legislative
staff to provide input into reauthorization of NCLB.
Bi-Partisan Outreach on Healthcare
A bi-partisan group of Senators led by Senator Wyden
(D-OR) sent a letter to the President last week in an attempt to reach common
group to move forward on Health issues this Congress. The letter included the
following points: 1) ensuring that all Americans would have affordable, quality,
private health coverage, while protecting current government programs; 2)
modernizing federal tax rules for health coverage to avoid the tendency in the
current rules to "favor the most affluent, while promoting inefficiency"; 3)
creating more opportunities and incentives for states to design their own health
solutions; 4) a switch in emphasis from the current focus on sick care to the
creation of "a culture of wellness through prevention strategies"; 5)
encouraging more cost-effective chronic and compassionate end-of-life care; and
6) improving access to information on price and quality of health services. In
addition to Wyden, the group consists of Senators Bennett (R-UT), Cantwell
(D-WA), Conrad (D-ND), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Kohl (D-WI), Lott (R-MI),
Salazar (D-CO), and Thune (R-SD).
Report on Hurricane Katrina and
People with Disabilities
A new research report was released entitled, "Assessing
the Impact of Katrina on Persons with Disabilities." The study funded by NIDRR
explored how persons with disabilities prepared for, reacted to, and recovered
from the devastating impact of the storm in portions of the Gulf Coast most
affected. In addition, this work sought to understand the roles and
relationships that Centers for Independent Living (CILs) played in all phases of
the disaster, with a special emphasis on their relationship to the emergency
management system.
Disability Policy
Seminar
Over 500 people have already registered for the upcoming
Disability Policy Seminar, co-sponsored by AUCD along with The Arc, UCP, NACDD,
and AAIDD on March 4-6.
Please coordinate with others attending from your state and schedule visits with your members of congress prior to arrival. The AUCD Legislative Affairs Committee will meet during the Policy Seminar at Noon on Sunday in Congressional C&D.
Download registration information, the Program At-A-Glance, participant list, and fact sheets.
