Take Action Now   It’s Time for the Senate to Act! Tell Congress to Include the Disability Community in COVID-19 Relief Bills   #WeAreEssential

Major Recent Events   Biden Defeats Trump, Democrats Retain House Majority, Senate Majority Undetermined   On November 3, the United States held elections for President, 35 Senators, and all members of the House of Representatives.   According to all major networks, former Vice President Joe Biden is the projected or apparent winner with at least 290 electoral votes, compared to incumbent President Donald Trump’s 232. A minimum of 270 electoral votes is required to win. Additionally, most networks have called Georgia’s 16 electoral votes for Vice President Biden.   All major networks project that Democrats will retain control of the House of Representatives with a smaller majority than they have in the current Congress. Senate Republicans will control at least 50 seats while Senate Democrats will control at least 48 (including 2 Independents in their caucus). Control of both of Georgia’s Senate seats will be determined by a run-off election on January 5, because Georgia law requires candidates to receive more than 50% of the vote in order to win. Republicans need only win one of the two seats to retain their majority. Democrats must win both seats to create a tie. If both parties control 50 seats, Democrats will become the majority party by virtue of the Vice President’s tie-breaking vote.   Most newly elected members of Congress will take office on January 3. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take office on January 20. See The Arc’s Statement. Senate Appropriations Committee Releases Draft FY 2021 Appropriations Bills   On November 10, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its draft appropriations bills for fiscal year (FY) 2021. Most of The Arc’s priority programs receive level funding. However, some programs receive significant increases, including Lifespan Respite Care Act (16%), Special Olympics Education Programs (12%), and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (16.9%). The House and Senate will need to reconcile the considerable differences in their spending bills to avoid another continuing resolution. Funding levels for The Arc’s priority programs can be found here.

The Arc is fighting for the human and civil rights of people with I/DD and their right to live and be included in their communities. Our success depends on support from advocates like you. Donate today!

For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.

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Every day, Medicaid supports millions of people with disabilities to live independently in their community.

However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to significantly weaken an existing rule that makes sure that Medicaid reimbursement rates are enough to allow people to access services and supports that they need.

Background: If reimbursement rates are below costs, providers will not want to participate or will not be able to provide high quality services. This means that people will not be served or will be put on waiting lists. Inadequate reimbursement rates can also mean low wages and high turnover rates for direct support professionals (DSPs). The work of DSPs is invaluable to the disability community and the service system that relies on their abilities to keep people out of institutions. You can learn more about the proposed rule here.

Submit your comments now!

We must tell CMS that it should expand and improve – not weaken – the current rule, so that no one will have to go without services and supports. CMS needs to hear from individuals with disabilities, parents, family members, advocates, and service providers that this is a critical issue!

There is still time to send a message to CMS. They will be accepting comments until September 13. That means we only have two days to send in as many comments as possible to stop the rule from being implemented and ask CMS to strengthen the existing rule.

Fill in your information here and you will be brought to a page with draft comments that you can personalize and submit directly to CMS.

Thank you for your advocacy!

Family Life Education for Students with DD House Bill 1693 will come before the House Education Committee early next week and we need support! Currently, many students with IDD to do not have access to Family Life Education (FLE) that is age and developmentally-appropriate. HB 1693 would direct the Department of Education to update the guidance for schools on best practices in providing FLE to students with developmental disabilities.  Further, to ensure all students have access to this vital education, this bill pairs FLE with the student’s IEP to ensure it is addressed in the ways best for each individual student.   >>Please CALL or EMAIL your Delegate by Monday, January 21st.<<   Let them know that you SUPPORT HB 1693 for Appropriate Family Life Education for students of varying abilities.  (If you’re a constituent in Delegate Rodman’s district please also THANK her for championing this issue for us!)   Find your Delegate by clicking the button below!

Find Your Delegate

Visit our website to view all Legislative Priorities Thank you for your advocacy!!

ABLE accounts are helping people with disabilities across the country save money without jeopardizing their benefits, but there are more than 6 million people with disabilities who are not eligible to take advantage of this important savings tool because they acquired a disability after age 25. At the same time, the pool of potential ABLE account holders should be expanded to strengthen the market for state ABLE programs.

The Arc, along with nearly 160 other organizations from across the country, believes that ABLE should be expanded to include more people with disabilities, and has signed onto a letter urging Congress to pass this bill this session.

Beyond the fairness/equity argument for increasing the age of onset, it has now become a financial imperative to pass the ABLE Age Adjustment Act. There are currently thirty-nine states with ABLE programs, yet data collected by the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) shows that the number of ABLE accounts being opened is much lower than anticipated. The long-term sustainability, availability, and affordability of some ABLE programs for individuals with disabilities are in doubt without this expansion of eligibility (NAST Sustainability Report).

TAKE ACTION

Urge your Senators and Representative to support people with disabilities and their families by cosponsoring the bipartisan ABLE Age Adjustment Act (S. 817/ HR 1874).

Please take a few minutes to call or email your legislators to ask them to support the ABLE Age Adjustment Act (S.817/HR 1874), which would amend Section 529A(e) of the Internal Revenue Code to increase the eligibility for Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts for onset of disability from prior to age 26 to prior to age 46. Together we can advocate to #ExpandABLE and pass the #ABLEAgeAdjustment Act.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For more information about ABLE accounts, please visit the ABLE National Resource Center at www.ablenrc.org.