AUCD’s Community Inclusion Team supports the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Network in partnership with the Administration for Community Living.
AUCD’s Maternal and Child Health Engagement supports the Autism CARES Programs, including LEND and DBP Programs.
AUCD’s Public Health Team works to create health promotion and public health efforts that include people with disabilities.
AUCD Emerging Leaders are a part of a community that includes trainees, early career professionals, self-advocates, and family members from AUCD member Centers and Programs.
AUCD's Disability Policy News (DPN) is a weekly newsletter highlighting federal policy issues affecting people with disabilities and their families. DPN features updates in plain language and action steps that people can take to educate policymakers. DPN is published every Friday.
In this edition:
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) Committee held a confirmation hearing to consider the nomination of Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), President Trump’s new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nominee after Kristi Noem was ousted. The committee advanced Senator Mullin’s nomination, and the full Senate will vote on his nomination next—potentially next week. He will need a simple majority to be confirmed.
Congress has been working on passing a funding bill for DHS, which has been shut down for a little over a month. In February, Congress passed appropriations legislation for all other federal agencies except for DHS, so it was funded via a short-term stopgap bill called a continuing resolution (CR). Since then, appropriators have been working on a compromise bill to satisfy both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as President Trump.
The Department of Homeland Security contains many different federal agencies and programs, including CBP, ICE, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services, and many more. Workers under these agencies are often expected to keep working, since they are working in the service of the nation’s security, but they have been missing paychecks due to the government’s lapse in funding. People with disabilities are likely to be affected by slowed security checkpoints overseen by TSA, delayed immigration processing for immigrants with disabilities, delayed FEMA support in areas where there have been natural disasters, and gaps in accessibility and accommodations support across the agency.
President Trump fired Kristi Noem from being the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Then, the President chose Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) to be the next Secretary of DHS. This week, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) Committee had a hearing to talk about whether or not to approve Senator Mullin. The committee voted to move him forward in the process. Next, the full Senate will have to vote to decide if Senator Mullin can be Secretary.
In February, Congress passed appropriations bills. Appropriations means money that is set aside by Congress for a particular use. They separated the DHS bill from the five other bills in the appropriations package and made it a short-term spending bill. That new continuing resolution (short-term spending bill) funded the Department of Homeland Security until February 13. Congress couldn't agree on a funding bill in time for the February 13 deadline, so DHS shut down. This means many people in DHS stopped working and stopped getting paid. There are some people who have to keep working during a shutdown because their jobs are considered very important for the safety of the country.
The Department of Homeland Security includes many different agencies. Here are some of them and how people with disabilities might be affected while these agencies are shut down.
People with disabilities could have a harder time getting the right accommodations when they go to the airport. They might not be able to access different services through FEMA if the agency isn't fully working. Immigrants with disabilities might have to wait longer to meet with an immigration official to get the right paperwork to stay in the U.S.
View past issues of Disability Policy News to learn more about AUCD's policy priorities and how you can engage in policy actions.
