Legislative News InBrief
February 26, 2007
Vol. VII, Issue 9
Following a week-long recess, members of Congress return to a busy week. Over the break, AUCD sent letters to all newly elected members in the Senate and House, introducing them to the network, its mission, and work. There is a list of all new members of Congress by state on the AUCD Action Center.
Appropriations
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health
and Human Services will hold hearings all week on proposed FY 2008
appropriations for programs under its jurisdiction. HHS Secretary Michael O.
Leavitt is scheduled to testify before the committee on Tuesday and Health
Resources Administration Secretary Elizabeth Duke is scheduled to testify on
Wednesday. Several Administrators from various National Institutes of Health
are scheduled to testify on Thursday.
FY 2008 Budget
AUCD signed onto a letter to all members of Congress
urging them to increase funding for public health through the Function
550/discretionary budget allocation in Fiscal Year 2008 by an amount that will
restore funding cuts to public health programs enacted in FY 2006, and restore
lost purchasing power. It is out of this budget section that funding for
University Centers and many other programs of importance to the disability
community are funded. It is estimated that an additional $4 billion, 7.8
percent, will be needed in FY 2008 to meet that goal and reverse the erosion of
support for the continuum of biomedical, behavioral and health services
research, community-based disease prevention and health promotion, basic and
targeted services for the medically uninsured and those with disabilities,
health professions education, and robust regulation of the nation's food and
drug supply. The letter is posted on AUCD's
website.
Child Abuse
Prevention
AUCD signed onto a National Child Abuse Coalition letter
urging Budget Committee chairmen to provide increased funding for child welfare
services programs in the Fiscal Year 2008 budget resolution. The letter brings
attention to the perennially underfunded state grants, community-based
prevention grants, and research grants supported by the Child Abuse Prevention
and Treatment Act (CAPTA), the preventive services funded by the Title IV-B
child welfare services and the program for Promoting Safe and Stable Families,
and the Title XX Social Services Block Grant. The President's budget would
essentially freeze funding for child abuse and neglect prevention, child
protection and child welfare services. The letter also points out that this
year, the federal child welfare budget is paying out over $7 billion for
out-of-home placements while only $900 million in federal funds going for
prevention and intervention services to children and their families. For every
federal dollar spent on foster care and adoption subsidies, we spend less than
thirteen cents in federal child welfare funding on preventing and treating child
abuse and neglect. The full letter will be posted on the Legislative Affairs
section of the website soon.
SCHIP
AUCD signed on to a letter that will be sent to the
Senate Finance Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee urging that
the Committees support adequate mental health coverage for children in SCHIP
during reauthorization of the program. At the National Governors Association
winter meeting last weekend there was bi-partisan support for additional federal
funding for SCHIP above the President's budget request. The Alliance for Healthcare
Reform held the second of three briefing on SCHIP today, with opening remarks by
Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and Hatch (R-UT). Access a webcast of the
briefing and download resources.
Family and
Medical Leave Act
Chairman Kennedy (D-MA) plans to introduce legislation
in the HELP committee next month that would require employers with 15 or more
workers to provide seven days of paid sick leave annually for full-time workers,
prorated for part-time workers. The proposal will likely draw criticism from
Republicans concerned about costs for small businesses. The proposal will also
likely trigger debate concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act, which
requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave
annually for serious medical conditions or the birth or adoption of a child.
Families with relatives with disabilities can use the FMLA to take unpaid
leave. However, many have likely not used the FMLA because the leave is
unpaid. Senator Dodd (D-CT) would like to expand the law. In previous years,
Dodd has proposed a pilot grant program under which states would experiment with
ways to help employers offer six weeks of partial or fully paid leave for
workers. Under Dodd's proposal, states could use wage insurance programs or
state unemployment compensation to help fund the paid leave. Kennedy's paid
sick leave proposal also comes on the heels of a Labor Department request for
information from businesses about family leave. Many disability and women's
groups are concerned that the Labor Department's action is a precursor to
scaling back the act.
Committee on Accessibility of Capital
Hill and Meetings
Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member for the
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, acting on complaints
he has heard from the community regarding inaccessible hearing rooms and offices
on Capital Hill, materials provided in inaccessible formats, and individuals not
being provided with the time necessary to convey a message during hearings and
meetings, has charged his staff with convening a committee of disability
community members and experts in accessibility to address these issues. AUCD
Disability Policy Fellow, David
Morrissey, has joined this committee led by Aaron Bishop,
Senator Enzi's professional staff for Disability Policy.
Disability Policy
Seminar
Over 500 people have registered for the upcoming
Disability Policy Seminar (March 4-6), making this one of the largest Seminars
ever. The Seminar is co-sponsored by AUCD along with The Arc, UCP, NACDD, and
AAIDD.
While the deadline for online registration has passed, onsite registration is still possible. Download registration information, the Program At-A-Glance, participant list, and fact sheets. A final program for the Seminar will be posted later this week.
If you are planning to attend, reading the fact sheets prior to arrival can help make the Seminar less overwhelming. The fact sheets are great resources for others who are not able to attend as well as members of Congress during your visits.
Please coordinate with others attending from your state and schedule Hill visits prior to arrival.
The AUCD Legislative Affairs Committee will meet during the Policy Seminar at 12:00 pm on Sunday, March 4, in Congressional C&D.
AUCD also has organized an panel on Autism scheduled for Sunday at 4:15 pm. The panel of congressional staff and other experts will discuss the Combating Autism Act and needs additional legislation.