Action Alerts

Ongoing:

• None.

Major Events Last Week

U. S. Congress

The House was off all week and the Senate worked only two days due to a brief Veterans Day recess. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced that the House could be in session during Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks to work on health care and FY 2010 appropriations.

Major Events Ahead

U.S. Congress

Both houses of Congress return to work. The Senate is still waiting for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimates for the many options related to the development of the Senate's health care reform bill. The CBO estimate is expected this week. Once the Senate bill has been prepared, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will have to work to secure the necessary 60 votes to pass a motion to proceed on the bill and avoid a filibuster. With Thanksgiving looming next week, it is unclear when votes will occur. After a vote to proceed is adopted, the Senate will face the potential for multiple weeks of debate and amendments on the bill.

The Senate and House are also expected to work on several Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations bills.

Medicare Physician Reimbursements

The House is expected to work on legislation that will alter Medicare reimbursement to doctors. Without the enactment of this bill, Medicare fees to physicians will be reduced by 21%. Such a move could impact the health care reform debate.

Civil Rights

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will conduct hearings for several nominees to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The nominees are: Jacqueline Berrien, Chair; Chai Feldblum, Commissioner; Victoria Lipnic, Commissioner; David Lopez, General Counsel. Chai Feldblum is a law professor at Georgetown University with a strong disability rights background. She played a leading role in the drafting of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and in the passage of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

Announcements

Emergency Preparedness Framework

The Long-term Disaster Recovery Working Group, chaired by the Secretaries of the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Homeland Security, is seeking public input into a National Disaster Recovery Framework. The Working Group has posted 16 specific questions on it website, such as "How can the nonprofit and private sectors be better integrated into recovery?" This is an opportunity for grassroots advocacy organizations to give input about the needs of people with disabilities as communities work to recover from disasters. To provide comments, see:
http://www.disasterrecoveryworkinggroup.gov/questionnaire/

Technology/Augmentative Communication Devices

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is requesting comments from the augmentative communication devices community on a possible broadband-based telephone assistance service for device users and other people with speech disabilities. Comments can be filed at: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/hotdocket/list. However, since many device users have disabilities which prevent them from filing comments on regulations that affect them, Dr. Bob Segalman is offering assistance in filing comments. Please contact Dr. Segalman at drsts@comcast.net.

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