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 bi-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 other Monday while Congress is in session.
Congressional Republicans are in the process of passing a budget resolution that will begin the reconciliation process. The Senate is looking to pass two bills while the House is looking to pass one bill. Budget reconciliation is a congressional procedure that makes it easier to pass legislation related to taxes and spending, provided that legislation follows specific rules. Using reconciliation allows lawmakers to avoid the filibuster in the Senate. It is used when the same party controls the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency.
On Tuesday, February 11, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington released a budget resolution which included at least $4.5 trillion in tax cuts while slashing spending by at least $1.5 trillion over the coming decade. The Budget Committee passed it by a party-line 21-16 vote, sending it to the full House of Representatives to vote on when they return from recess. Reconciliation instructions in the bill require the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut at least $880 billion in spending, meaning lawmakers would likely need to enact deep cuts into Medicaid and other healthcare programs. If passed by the House of Representatives, the next step is for committees named in the budget resolution to write their sections of the budget, per the reconciliation instructions they have received. These sections must align with the dollar amounts set in the resolution.
On Friday, February 7, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham released a budget resolution that would enact border security, defense, and energy policy, with an $150 billion increase in defense spending and $175 billion increase in border security funding. The Senate’s budget resolution “would tee up consideration on the first part of its twin-track plan” as Senate Republicans aim to put tax cuts in a second, more expansive bill, later in the year. The budget resolution instructs the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to cut at least $1 billion each. Senator Graham framed the resolution as a backup plan if House Republicans do not move quickly on their budget proposal. On Wednesday, February 12, the Senate Budget Committee marked up and passed the budget resolution 11-10 out of committee.
AUCD and other organizations are working to protect Medicaid including how to prevent cuts to the program and other programs for people with disabilities. AUCD is participating in coalition meetings with partners to meet with key offices.
In this new session of
Congress, which started at the beginning of January, people are talking about
how to pass bills that affect how the government spends money. They have
different ideas of how they want to do this and how they want to spend money.
The people who want to pass these bills want to make the government spend less
money, so they are working on how to do that.
The Senate and the House
of Representatives have two committees that focus on the government’s
budget. Committees are groups of lawmakers who work on a certain issue or
topic.
Some lawmakers are talking about taking money away from Medicaid. AUCD and other organizations will work to protect Medicaid.
|
You can reach your
Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and
educate them on the importance of protecting the Medicaid program and
increasing funding for programs for people with disabilities in FY 2025. |
View past issues of Disability Policy News to learn more about AUCD's policy priorities and how you can engage in policy actions.
