Volume 14, Issue 24
June 22, 2009
Action Alerts
Action Alerts are messages for you to send to elected officials and need your immediate response. Click on the link(s) above to take action on current DPC action alerts.
Major Events Last Week
Health Care Reform
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee spent three days marking up its Affordable Health Choices Act, a comprehensive proposal to reform the nation's health care system. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) is chairing the Committee during Chairman Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) absence. Minority members of the Committee are expected to offer between 400-500 amendments during the mark-up.
The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), postponed the release and mark-up of its health reform proposal when it learned the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the proposal would cost $1.6 trillion over ten years. Chairman Baucus is continuing bi-partisan discussions with other Committee Members to decrease the proposal's cost to under $1 trillion over ten years. It is unclear whether the proposal will be released before the Fourth of July recess.
In the House, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, released their coordinated Tri-Committee discussion draft health reform proposal.
Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations
After days of jockeying (multiple amendments and roll call votes, rules changes) on the House floor, the House of Representatives passed two of the twelve FY 2010 appropriations bills-Commerce, Justice and Science and the Legislative Branch. Other appropriation bills could receive final action in the Senate and the House this week. Neither appropriations bill of relevance to United Cerebral Palsy and The Arc has been addressed by their respective subcommittees - Labor, health and Human services and Education and Transportation and Housing.
Education
DPC staff participated in a Department of Education Forum where leaders in education policy are expected to be brought together on a monthly basis to discuss key concerns. Education Secretary Arne Duncan kicked off the event by reviewing latest developments in the education aspects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). He focused on the upcoming competition for the nearly $5 billion "Race to the Top" funding that his office will oversee. Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Carmel Martin provided information on the pending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind. The Administration hopes the Congress will complete action on this bill before the 111th Congress adjourns late in 2010. Assessments for students with disabilities are a key component of the reauthorization. The Fiscal Year 2010 education appropriations bill was also discussed.
Transportation
Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, released an outline of a major overhaul of the federal highway and transit authorization program. His proposal would dramatically increase spending from the current $286.5 billion to $450 billion over the next six years. Many programs are consolidated or eliminated. The disability related programs would be consolidated into a new "Coordinated Access and Mobility Program". The details of how the newly consolidated programs would work have not been released.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the Administration will seek an 18-month reauthorization of the Act and give Congress additional time to develop the legislation. One critical issue is that the authority to spend money for the highway trust fund expires on September 30. Congress will likely need to act to replenish the fund as declines in driving have reduced the gasoline-tax revenue for the fund.
ADA Amendments Act/Employment
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a draft of the proposed ADA Amendments Act of 2008 regulations for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other Federal agencies to review. Once the internal review is complete, the proposed regulations will be published in the Federal Register for review and comment. The DPC will monitor and report when this process is open for public comment.
Accountability and Transparency
DPC staff participated in a full day meeting on numerous groups to discuss equity measures and other tactics to press the federal government to share comprehensive data on the implementation of the ARRA. Subgroups met to focus on key outcome measures and data needs in the areas of education, housing, transportation and energy. This group will continue to review the various data and information coming from the federal government on ARRA expenditures.
House Education and Labor Committee
The House Republican Steering Committee elected John Kline (R-MN) to be the new Ranking Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee. The post was vacated when Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) was named to the top Republican seat on the Armed Services Committee. Rep. Kline is serving his fourth term in Congress and will have the least seniority of any ranking committee member in the House.
Hate Crimes
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) stated he was "committed" to a Senate vote on hate crimes legislation before the August recess. On April 28, Reid introduced legislation (S 909) on behalf of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA). The next day, the House voted 249-175, mainly along party lines, to pass its own version of the bill (HR 1913), sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI). Under both versions of the measure, federal hate crime law would be expanded to cover offenses based on a victim's gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, or on a disability. Since 2000, bill supporters have attached the measure to the House or Senate version of the annual defense authorization bill, hoping it could be enacted as part of a must-pass measure. But each time, the provision has been stripped in conference.
Major Events Today
Rights/Olmstead
Today is the 10th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W., which established that the unnecessary segregation of individuals with disabilities in institutions may constitute discrimination based on disability. The court ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act may require states to provide community-based services rather than institutional placements for individuals with disabilities. President Obama today celebrated this anniversary and launched "The Year of Community Living," a new effort to assist Americans with disabilities. Specifically, the President has directed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to work together to identify ways to improve access to housing, community supports, and independent living arrangements. As part of this effort, later today, Secretaries Sebelius and Donovan will announce several new initiatives including details about increased numbers of Section 8 vouchers and enhanced interagency coordination to address this critical civil rights issue. "I am proud to launch this initiative to reaffirm my Administration's commitment to vigorous enforcement of civil rights for Americans with disabilities and to ensuring the fullest inclusion of all people in the life of our nation," stated the President.
Supreme Court/Education
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6 to 3 decision announced today, sided with the parents of a child with a learning disability who placed the child in a private school without ever seeking special education services from the local school system. The Court ruled that the local school system must pay the tuition for the private school (in this case $5,200 a month) if the public school doesn't have appropriate services, whether or not the child previously received special education services through the public school. This ruling could have major implications for both school systems and parents. School systems may be more wary of denying a free appropriate special education (FAPE) while parents may move more quickly to place students in private schools if they decide that the school system cannot provide FAPE for their child. Additional private school placements financed by the school systems could prove onerous to already strapped education budgets.
Home and Community Based-Services
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Section 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services waivers. Today's notice requests comments on giving states the option to combine or eliminate the existing three permitted waiver targeting groups and on the most effective means to define home and community. Comments must be received by 5:00 pm on August 21. The notice can be viewed at:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-14559.pdf
Long Term Services and Supports
Rep. Danny Davis (R-IL), the lead sponsor of the Community Choice Act in the House of Representatives, is seeking support for a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Minority Members of the three House Committees developing the health reform package to include in the bill the core of the Community Choice Act (CCA), or an option or demonstration program reflecting the key elements of CCA. The three committees are: Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor. The full CCA would mandate that states offer Medicaid community-based attendant services to people who would otherwise be eligible for institutional care. A demonstration program or an optional program would allow the key elements of CCA to begin to be used in some states.
National Service
President Obama announced the start of the "United We Serve" initiative today. This initiative calls on all Americans to volunteer for service between today and the National Day of Service Remembrance on September 11th. The President asks that everyone consider focusing their volunteer efforts on four key areas in their community: education, health, community renewal and energy/environment. Individuals can find opportunities for local volunteer projects and organizations can post their volunteer project needs at:
http://www.serve.gov
Major Events Ahead
U. S. Congress
This is the last week the Congress is in session before starting a week long Independent Day recess. Health care reform and some FY 2010 appropriations bills are expected to dominate this week's Congressional agenda.
Health Care Reform
The Senate HELP Committee continues its mark-up of its Affordable Health Choices Act proposal. Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) anticipated that the mark-up may go through the week-end.
The three House Committees with jurisdiction over health reform will hold hearings on their Tri-Committee discussion draft proposal released last week:
- On Tuesday, the full Education and Labor Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), will hold hearings.
- On Wednesday, the full Ways and Means Committee and the full Energy and Commerce Committee will hold hearings.
- On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing will continue.
Transportation
The House Highways and Transit Subcommittee has scheduled a mark up on Wednesday of the Surface Transportation Authorization Act. This is the first step in moving forward with a six-year reauthorization of the federal highway and transit programs. Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) seems eager to act on the bill despite the Administration proposing a different strategy and the Senate moving at a much slower pace.
Announcements
None.
Please note that you can view previous issues of the Capitol Insider, at UCP.org anytime by choosing "Capitol Insider" under "Public Policy."
Read previous Capitol Insider issues now.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at acosta@thedpc.org.
Sincerely,
Annie Acosta
Director of Communications and Grassroots
Disability Policy Collaboration
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. 
Tell-a-friend!
This message was sent to your email address. Visit your profile management or subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop receiving Capitol Insider- Weekly Policy News from Washington, DC, a publication of the Disability Policy Collaboration between United Cerebral Palsy and the Arc of the United States, click to unsubscribe (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line).
