Action Alerts

Ongoing: None.

Major Events Last Week

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education

By voice vote, the House Appropriations Committee adopted the FY 2010 Appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education on Friday. The bill contains funding for entitlement programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and SSI. The bill also funds discretionary programs within the three departments. The House bill appropriates $163 billion for discretionary programs such as IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation, Family Support and Maternal and Child Health. Total spending is pegged at almost $2 billion over the Obama Administration's budget request for these three departments. The full House is expected to vote on this bill this week. No action has yet occurred on a Senate bill.

Departments of Transportation and HUD

The House Appropriations Committee also completed action on its version of the FY 2010 appropriations for the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. The House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies bill. It includes a $100 billion increase for the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program, bringing the program's funding to $350 billion. The bill also includes a $198 million increase for tenant-based assistance under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program bringing total funding to $18.242 billion. None of the funding is specifically targeted to non-elderly persons with disabilities. The legislation provides just over $10 billion for existing transit programs, a $101 million increase - roughly 1 percent- over last year's level and consistent with President Obama's budget request for FY 2010.

Health Care Reform

By a party line vote of 13-10 the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed the Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) continued to negotiate with Committee Republicans to reach a bi-partisan agreement.

On July 14, the House Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor Committees introduced the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200). Two days later all three Committees began to mark-up the bill. The Ways and Means Committee passed the bill by a vote of 23-18, with 3 Democrats and all Republicans voting no. The Education and Labor Committee passed the bill by a vote of 26-22 with 3 Democrats and all Republicans voting no. The Energy and Commerce Committee, which has primary jurisdiction over most of the bill, did not complete its mark-up. A number of Committee Democrats have expressed serious reservations about the bill, particularly its high cost.

In testimony before the Senate Budget Committee, Douglas Elmendorf, Director of the independent Congressional Budget Office, warned that all reform legislation introduced to date would not curb the growth of future health care spending. He said that the House bill, due to its increase in Medicare provider payments to avert significant cuts to health care providers, would add $239 billion to the federal deficit over ten years. The White House immediately reiterated that the President would only accept a bill that is deficit neutral.

President Obama sent a proposal to Congress to require MedPac, an independent advisory commission, to make all decisions on Medicare provider payments. Under the proposal every MedPac recommendation would be subject to only an up or down vote by the Congress and enactment or veto by the President. Neither the Congress nor the President would be able to modify MedPac's recommendations.

Card Check Legislation

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) continues to lead a few Senate negotiators who are trying to forge a compromise regarding unionization. The "card check" provision is a bill (Employee Free Choice Act) sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) that would make it easier to organize unions by allowing a majority of workers to sign cards rather than have secret elections. Despite several months of negotiation, a compromise has yet to be reached. The continued absence of Senators Kennedy and Byrd (D-WV) due to illness makes it more difficult for the bill's supporters to find the 60 votes likely needed for passage.

Employment

Last Thursday, the Senate Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee held the first hearing in this Congress on the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). WIA authorizes the workforce development program and Title IV is the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Officials from the Departments of Labor and Education provided testimony as well as other employment community stakeholders. William Kiernan, Director, Institute for Community Inclusion, testified about ways to improve access and services for people with disabilities.

Also, on Thursday the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a confirmation hearing on Christine Griffin. Mrs. Griffin recently ended her term as a commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and has received a Presidential nomination as the Deputy Director of the Office of Personnel Management. She has been a strong advocate regarding employing people with disabilities and in her testimony reflected her continued commitment to increase federal employment opportunities for people with disabilities. See:
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?
FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=
70e196ed-d8e2-42e4-b46e-29253e3711ac

Major Events Ahead

FY 2010 Appropriations

On Thursday, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on its FY 2010 Transportation, HUD and Related agencies appropriations bill.

Health Care

The Senate Finance Committee will continue to negotiate in an effort to develop a bi-partisan health reform bill that is deficit neutral.

Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee continues its mark-up of the America's Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200). The Committee is expected to vote on the bill by the end of the week.

Housing

Today, the House of Representatives will vote, under suspension of the rules, on the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1675). This legislation will make significant reforms to the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program.

Hate Crimes

S. 909, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA), has been included in S. 1390, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. Under this 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. Several controversial amendments will be proposed to S.1390 by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and John Thune (R-SD) now threatening the passage HPCA. Senator Sessions' amendments seek to allow the death penalty in certain cases involving hate crimes and gives the Attorney General the ability to set the criteria that determines if a hate crime has been committed. Senator Thune's amendment would allow state-to-state reciprocity for concealed weapon permits. The Senate is scheduled to vote on these amendments, frequently referred as "poison pills", today.

Rights

July 26^th marks the 19^th Anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Signed into law in 1990 with broad bipartisan support, the ADA has done much to guarantee the civil rights protections to people with disabilities. There will be a Washington, DC based celebration this Wednesday on Capitol Hill. See: http://www.aapd.com/Development/2009ADAEvent.html

Announcements

Disability Policy Collaboration

Staff of the Disability Policy Collaboration made presentations on national policy at the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities at the University of Delaware and at a meeting of the Indiana Disability Council via webcast.

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