AUCD Legislative News In Brief

AUCD Legislative News Special Report

President's FY 2015 Budget Request

Prepared by AUCD Legislative Affairs Staff
March 11, 2013

President Obama released his budget request for the 2015 fiscal year on Tuesday, March 4. The budget adheres to the tight spending levels set by Congress in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. It also includes a $55 billion increase, equally divided between defense and non-defense. According to officials during a budget briefing, this increase comes from "closing tax loopholes and spending reforms."  Overall, the President proposes a $1.069 trillion budget, higher than the $1.014 agreed to for FY14 by Budget Chairmen Murray and Ryan but lower than the $1.086 pre-sequester level. Rather than propose a budget that could be built into a "grand bargain" with Congress, the President has instead presented a budget that is a more clear articulation of his priorities for the nation.  It shows the "hard choices and trade-offs that have to be made," stated one administration official.

While the President is required by law to release a budget each year, this particular budget is expected to have little legislative impact. The House and Senate already agreed to top-line spending levels in last year's Bipartisan Budget Act and Patty Murray (D-WA), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, has announced that she will let that agreement stand instead of creating a new Senate budget resolution this year. Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Paul Ryan (R-WI) has announced that he will write a House budget resolution this year, which is expected to represent conservative budget principles for the coming year.

The President has proposed level funding for AUCD network programs at FY14 levels (including sequester cuts) except for a small increase for the National Institute for Child and Human Development. The table below compares funding for the AUCD network and other programs important to people with disabilities in the past two years to the President's proposal. The numbers are taken directly from the funding request summaries available from the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor. FY14 figures include sequester cuts unless otherwise noted.

*The amount shown for FY14 is the mandatory level for the VR state grants program and does not include the 7.2% sequester reduction

Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Community Living

Developmental Disabilities Programs

Developmental Disabilities Act Programs are all funded at the same level as in FY14: $37 million for University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities; $39 million for Protection and Advocacy Systems; $71 million for State Developmental Disabilities Councils; and $9 million for Projects of National Significance. The $37 million proposal includes sequester cuts and is $2 million less than what UCEDDs received in FY12. The $8.8 million for Projects of National Significance (PNS) includes $1 million targeted for continuing efforts within the Department of Aging to identify and test coordinated transportation systems through the Transportation Research and Demonstration Program. For more details, see page 163 of the ACL Congressional Justification. 

Youth Transition Initiative

The President proposes a new $5 million Youth Transitions Initiative aimed at helping youth with intellectual or developmental disabilities transition into post-secondary education and employment. This initiative will provide grants to replicate and evaluate the outcomes of programs that have shown promising employment results for youth with I/DD and include the collaboration of Medicaid-funded long-term services and supports (LTSS), vocational rehabilitation, Social Security, and education systems. The Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) will lead the initiative, which specifically seeks to:

• Promote innovative utilization of health and LTSS in coordination with education, vocational rehabilitation, and employment services
• Encourage integration of health and LTSS transition planning into secondary and post-secondary education programs
• Provide technical assistance and training to ensure integration of health and LTSS with educational, vocational rehabilitation and employment services
• Establish and implement a coordinated federal evaluation agenda to ensure that outcomes across systems are measured and reported

The Youth Transitions Initiative is part of an HHS-wide effort to improve transitions to adulthood that also includes the Administration for Children and Families' Psychosocial Interventions for Children in the Child Welfare System (see below) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Healthy Transitions Program.

Family Caregiver Support

The proposed budget maintains funding for Family Caregiver Support and Lifespan Respite Care at $146 million and $2 million respectively. HHS estimates that this funding will support 790,000 caregivers with counseling, peer support groups, and training. The budget also proposes a $5 million increase Aging and Disability Resource Centers to continue work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve and expand the No Wrong Door  system.

Health Resources and Services Administration

Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND)

Budget Justification for more information on the funding history)

Other Maternal and Child Health programs, including the MCH block grant and Universal Newborn Screening are also level funded. Authorization for the Family-to-Family Health Information Centers expired at the end of the FY13 and the administration proposes no funding for the centers. However, a legislative proposal to authorize continued funding for this program is pending in Congress.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

CDC's FY15 request of $132.3 million for the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities is level with the FY14 funding and reflects the transfer of the Paralysis Resource Center to the Administration for Community Living in FY14. This includes $70.8 million from the Prevention and Public Health Trust Fund used for the first time this year to bring the center up to the FY14 funding level. This includes $46.4 million for Child Health and Development - including $23 million for autism activities like the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network - and $53.4 million for Health and Development of People with Disabilities. For details see page 180 of the CDC Congressional Justification. 

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

The proposed budget for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development includes a $2.7 million increase for a total request of $1.8 billion. This includes $112.2 million in intellectual and developmental disabilities extramural research, a $58,000 increase over FY14. A new collaborative effort with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute will establish a translational research consortium to investigate the relationship between congenital heart disease and neurodevelopmental disabilities. For more details see page 19 of NICHD Congressional Justification. 

Administration on Children and Families

Psychosocial Interventions for Children in the Child Welfare System

The budget proposes a new five-year demonstration project between ACF and CMS to provide evidence-based psychosocial interventions to children and youth in the foster care system to reduce the over-prescription of psychotropic medications and to improve outcomes for these youth. Over five years, this program would include $250 million from ACF and $500 million from CMS. The funding would build capacity in the child welfare workforce, provide reliable screening and assessment tools, enhance coordination between child welfare and Medicaid, and provide training for foster and adoptive parents, guardians, and judges. This is part of an HHS-wide effort to improve transitions to adulthood that also includes the Administration for Community Living's Youth Transitions Initiative (see above) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Healthy Transitions Program.

Child Abuse Prevention

Apart from the new ACF-CMS initiative (see above), most child welfare programs remain funded at FY14 levels. Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act state grants and the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention funds are all proposed at FY14 levels which are slightly lower than FY11.

Department of Education

Preschool

Preschool Grants

The budget proposes level funding for the preschool formula grants that assist states in making preschool available to children with disabilities. The $353.2 million request would provide $471 per child to the estimated 750,000 children with disabilities ages 3-5.

Universal Preschool

As stated in the last two State of the Union addresses, the President continues to support universal early childhood education. In this budget, the President requests $1.3 billion to launch a $75 billion 10-year investment in the Preschool for All program, which would support state efforts to provide high-quality preschool for all 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families. The program would provide grants to states as an incentive for states to provide universal high-quality preschool, which must include high staff qualifications & professional development, low student-teacher ratios, full day programs, evidence-based and developmentally appropriate curricula, and ongoing evaluation. States that already provide universal preschool could use the funds to provide full-day kindergarten or preschool for 3-year-olds.  This investment would be paid for by a proposal to increase the tobacco tax.

Special Education

Part B

The budget requests $11.6 billion for Part B Special Education Grants to States, a $100 million increase over FY14 funding. This is a $1,758 per-child expenditure for an estimated 6.6 million children with disabilities, representing a Federal contribution of about 16.6% of the national average per-pupil expenditure. The request includes $100 million for Results Driven Accountability Incentive grants, which would provide competitive grants to state to implement State Systemic Implementation Plans to identify and implement evidence-based reforms and build capacity to improve long-term outcomes for students with disabilities. The request also includes $15 million for technical assistance for state IDEA data collection requirements.

Part C

Grants for Infants and Families - which helps state implement statewide early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities - receives a $3.3 million increase in the proposed budget.

Part D

Part D national programs, including Parent Training & Information Centers, Personnel Development and Preparation, and technology & media programs are all proposed at level funding from FY14. Technical Assistance & Dissemination  and Special Olympics Education programs are also level-funded, but their funding is separated out for the first time in this budget. The $7.58 million for Special Olympics includes increased funds for Project UNIFY, a school-based program to develop team work skills and increase social acceptance of students with intellectual disabilities.

Higher Education

Post-Secondary Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities

This budget again proposes the elimination of the Model Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities into Higher Education (TPSID). In its place, the president is requesting increased funding for the First in the World fund under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. The budget notes that the administration proposes shifting funding from "small categorical, narrowly focused programs like TPSID" to larger strategies like the First in the World, and that "the program is not designed to support evidence-based practices or to build evidence of program effectiveness." For more details, see page 102 of the DOE Higher Education Congressional Justification. AUCD will continue to advocate for continued funding for this important program.

Institute for Education Sciences

Special Education Research

The Research in Special Education, administered by the National Center for Special Education Research, would receive level funding at $54 million, while the Special Education Studies and Evaluations would receive a $2.6 million increase for a total of $13.4 million. The increase would support an oversample of special education students in the Middle Grades Longitudinal Study, an evaluation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, and a study of post high school outcomes for youth with disabilities. While the $54 million for Research in Special Education is the same as FY14, is it significantly lower than the FY10 appropriation of over $71 million.

Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research

Vocational Rehabilitation

The President's $3.3 billion request for Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants includes a $33 million increase that is largely offset by the proposal to eliminate the Supported Employment State Grants and fold supported employment activities into existing VR systems. According to the budget request, "State VR agencies recognize supported employment as an integral part of the VR State Grants program and a viable employment option for individuals with the most significant disabilities and a separate funding stream is no longer needed." Note: The $33 million increase is compared to the FY14 mandatory level which does not include the 7.2% sequester cut. For more information see page 71 of the DOE FY15 Budget Summary.

The budget proposes level funding for demonstration and training activities, with $4 million of the $5.8 million request supporting new five-year demonstration grants to assist state VR agencies, in collaboration with their state and local partners, to improve employment outcomes for youth with disabilities in transition from secondary school.

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

The request for the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research includes a $4 million increase for research activities in employment. At least $86 million of the $108 million overall request would go to support continuation costs of grants made in previous years.

Assistive Technology

The $31 million request for assistive technology programs includes $25.7 million for state AT grants, $4.3 million for Protection and Advocacy for AT, and $1 million for technical assistance required under the AT Act's National Activities authority. The proposed $2 million decrease reflects the elimination of an alternative financing program that was eliminated when Congress reauthorized the AT Act but was included again in the FY14 appropriations act. States are required to conduct state financing activities under their AT grants, so the Department of Education requested no funds for the federal program. For more information see page 39 of the DOE FY15 Budget Summary.

Department of Labor

Office of Disability Employment Policy

The Office of Disability Employment Policy has a small $100,000 increase. The FY15 budget request for ODEP includes $9 million dedicated to the Disability Employment Initiative. This amount will be matched by the Employment and Training Administration to enhance the capacity of American Job Centers to serve people with disabilities.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Housing for Persons with Disabilities

The Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities program supports low-income people with disabilities to live independently by providing affordable rental housing that is integrated in local communities. The $160 million request includes $135 for Project Rental Assistance Contract and Project Assistance Contract renewals, as well as $25 million for new project rental assistance awards.

Social Security Administration

Research and Demonstration

The President proposes $53 million - a $6 increase over FY14 - as part of the SSI appropriation to support extramural research. These projects include disability & retirement policy research, Ticket to Work, financial literacy education, and evaluations of proposed or newly enacted legislation.

In addition to the extramural research request, the budget also includes a legislative proposal to reauthorize demonstration authority in the Disability Insurance (DI) program and provide $400 million in mandatory funding for early intervention demonstrations focused on DI.

Benefit Changes

Unlike last year, this budget does not include a proposal to change cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security beneficiaries but does include a reduction in benefits for those concurrently collecting both disability insurance and unemployment insurance. Last year, the President included a proposal that would change the calculation of inflation and result in lower cost-of-living adjustments for beneficiaries. While this "chained" CPI is popular among economists and included in many deficit-reduction packages, it is opposed by disability and other groups who argue that monthly benefits are already too low and should not be further cut.

This year, the President has proposed offsetting the concurrent receipt of Disability Insurance and Unemployment Compensation Benefits. The proposal would reduce an individual's monthly DI benefit in any month in which that person also receives unemployment benefits. This proposal would have the greatest impact on people with disabilities who receive DI but continue to work at low levels, earning eligibility for unemployment insurance.

Related Agencies

Corporation for National and Community Service

The FY15 budget requests no funds for Disability Inclusion Grants. Instead, CNCS plans to use 2% of the accounts required by statute (AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, Innovation, and National Service Trust) to support people with disabilities serving in CNCS programs.

Tax Policy

Earned Income Tax Credit

The President proposes expanding and strengthening the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-income childless workers, including non-custodial parents. His budget doubles the maximum credit for childless workers to about $1,000 and increases the income limit to qualify for the credit from less than $15,000 to $18,000. In addition, the President proposes to make the EITC available for young workers age 21 and over (currently it is only available to workers age 25-65) and older workers up to age 67, consistent with the rising Social Security full retirement age. The proposed changes would have a significant impact on low-income workers who do not currently have access to the EITC.

Conclusion

The President has proposed a budget that provides level funding for most of the AUCD network and other programs important to people with disabilities. However, it also includes new proposals that could engage the AUCD network and improve the lives of people with disabilities such as the new initiatives for transitioning youth, children in the foster care system, and  demonstration authority for the Social Security Disability Insurance program. The budget places emphasis on restoring some of the sequester cuts and proposes an overall funding level that is higher than the current fiscal year but lower than FY15 would have been with no sequester. While legislative action based on this budget is unlikely, it remains an important articulation of administration priorities.

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have begun hearings on the President's Budget. This will be followed by the appropriations subcommittee marking up separate funding bills based on the funding levels provided in the Ryan-Murray budget agreement.  AUCD will continue to advocate for the highest funding levels for AUCD network programs and other federal programs that provide supports and services for people with developmental and other disabilities.

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=164