June 2000 The Arc Government Report

Published semi-monthly by The Arc, a national organization on mental retardation.
Governmental Affairs Office; ph 202-785-3388; GAOinfo@thearc.org;
http://www.thearc.org/

In spite of the less than favorable environment, The Arc will continue to push for its legislative goals. Involvement of The Arc network at every level is integral to achieving our goals.

Both the House and Senate have acted on bills to provide FY 2001 funds for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. These appropriations bills fund many of the programs important to people with mental retardation and their families.

The Senate L-HHS-ED Appropriations Subcommittee passed their version of the bill on May 10 with the full committee passing it on the following day (May 11). The House L-HHS-ED Appropriations Subcommittee passed a bill on May 10 and the full committee approved the bill on May 24.

Much of the work being done, however, is just procedure since the president has already threatened to veto the L-HHS-ED and other appropriations bills as written. In a May 11 statement, he said that both bills fail to “improve our nation's schools, advance the health and well being of our citizens, and train and protect our workers... The Senate bill provides more acceptable funding levels for many key programs, but does so by bankrupting the Social Services Block Grant, shifting money from children's health insurance, and making other cuts.”

Once all 13 appropriations bills are completed, White House officials will have to sit down and negotiate with Republican leaders and come to agreement on how funds will be spent.

The current status of the L-HHS-ED appropriations is not favorable for people with mental retardation and their families. With an actual surplus in the national budget it was hoped that more resources would be spent on programs for which there is the greatest need, such as disability programs that support people with mental retardation in the community. Following is a summary of how programs important to people with mental retardation fare in L-HHS-ED bills wending their way through Congress. A full table comparing current spending levels with the president’s request and House and Senate Committee approved appropriations follows.

In the Department of Labor, both the House and Senate have completely terminated funding for the School to Work program. This program provided funds to help students transitioning from school into jobs. Few students with mental retardation were served by this program. However, its termination, along with other cuts to job training programs, will drastically reduce job training opportunities. The Republican majority rationalizes deep cuts to job training programs by citing the overall nationwide low jobless rate. This is in spite of the fact that 75 percent of people with disabilities who want to work continue to be unemployed.

Both the House and Senate provide $20 million needed to support the new work incentives grants as part of the implementation of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act. However, only the Senate provides the $13 million requested by Labor Secretary Herman for the New Office of Disability Policy, Evaluation and Technical Assistance (ODPET) within the Dept. of Labor. This office was announced along with the President’s budget request in February (see February 22 Government Report). The mission of this agency is to promote employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The House bill would actually cut funds from the department’s disability initiative (-$1.4 million).

The two programs that take the biggest hits are the Title XX Social Services Block Grant and the State Children’s Health Program (CHIP).

The CHIP program is cut in the Senate by taking back $1.9 billion of fiscal year 1998 funds that the states have not yet spent. This is a problem because states do have plans for spending these funds. This cut is made to pay for other programs in the L-HHS-ED appropriations bill.

The Social Services Block Grant is cut by the Senate Committee by $1.1 billion, down to $600 million (a 66 percent cut). This program was funded at $1.7 billion in FY 2000, which is also the figure the House subcommittee provides. The reason given by the subcommittee chairman (Sen. Arlen Specter, R-PA) for this drastic cut is that states are getting tobacco funds that could be used. However, there is no assurance that the tobacco funds would be used for the same purposes as the Social Services Block Grant. President Clinton issued a statement threatening to veto the L-HHS-ED appropriations bill if it comes to him with those cuts. The Arc distributed an Action Alert to state chapters with members on the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Arc also sent a letter to President Clinton thanking him for taking a stand against these unwarranted cuts. A copy of this letter is located on The Arc home page.

The Maternal and Child Health Block Grant is basically level-funded with the House providing a slight $5 million increase, less than a cost of living increase.

Most of the Developmental Disabilities Act programs (DD Councils, UAPs, P&As and PNS) are level-funded. However, the House Appropriations Committee would increase funds for Protection and Advocacy by $3 million; and the Senate Committee would increase funding for University Affiliated Programs by $2 million. The Family Support program would receive $5 million, the same as FY 2000.

One program that would receive an increase is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act . The IDEA state grants are given increases by both the House and the Senate. The House bill would increase IDEA by $500 million while the Senate would increase the state grants by $1.29 billion. Other IDEA discretionary programs that stand to get a slight increase are the Part C early intervention program, increased by $8.6 million in the Senate but not by the House and the Parent Training and Information Centers, increased by $3.5 million in the House and $7.5 million in the Senate.

The Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants are increased in both bills by $61 million. This is the minimum (cost of living increase) allowed by law. The Supported Employment State Grant program received no increases, essentially the same amount since FY 1996. Assistive Technology, the National Institute on Disability Research and Rehabilitation and the Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR) programs would all receive slight increases in the Senate but not the House bill.

The next step is for these bills to be considered on the House and Senate floors. Republican leaders have set a new goal to complete work on all 13 spending bills by July 31, the date of the Republican National Convention. However, disagreements among Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) have indefinitely blocked action on spending bills in the Senate and the president’s veto threat looms. There are a number of scenarios that could happen. For example more funds could be “found” or there could be another end-of-the-year showdown between the Congress and the administration.

Senator Tom Harkin (Iowa) Announces
“A Day in the Life of the ADA Campaign”

July 26, 2000 will mark the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As those of us who worked so hard for the ADA predicted, the Act has taken its place among the great civil rights laws in our history.

On July 26, 1990, we as a country committed ourselves to the principle that disability in no way diminishes a person’s right to participate in the cultural, economic, educational, political, and social mainstream. By eliminating barriers everywhere from education to health care policy, neighborhood streets to public transportation, from workplaces to shopping malls, and from courthouses to Congress, the ADA has opened up new worlds to people with disabilities. People with disabilities are participating more and more in their communities and living fuller lives as students, co-workers, taxpayers, consumers, voters and neighbors.

As part of the anniversary celebration, I am announcing the “A Day in the Life of the ADA” Campaign. I would like people across the country to send me stories about how their lives are different because of the ADA. We will use the stories to celebrate our accomplishments and to learn more about what we still must do to give all Americans an equal opportunity to live out their dream of independence.

The Campaign will create a historical record of the profound impact the ADA has had on the daily lives of people with disabilities, their families and friends, and every American. I encourage everyone to share their stories about how the ADA has improved their lives. For example, I would like stories about:

How the ADA has eliminated segregation in education, health care, or the workplace.
How the ADA has increased the accessibility of schools, colleges, government and the workplace for people with disabilities.
How the ADA has made it possible for people with and without disabilities to enjoy the smaller things that many of us take for granted: going out to a birthday dinner as a family, to a movie or museum with friends, or just going shopping for groceries.
How the ADA has improved their lives in any other way.

I will tell these success stories on the floor of Congress. I will share them with other Members of Congress, policymakers and the public to show how the ADA has benefited people with disabilities and all Americans and why it is such an important law.

So, I ask everyone to help me to build the record of the ADA’s success by sending your stories by July 15, either by e-mail or regular mail, to: adastories@harkin.senate.gov

A Day in the Life of the ADA, c/o Senator Tom Harkin, 731 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510

Sincerely,

Senator Tom Harkin

If you have any questions regarding this information, contact Marty Ford or Kim Musheno in the Governmental Affairs Office of The Arc.

A June 12 U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Pegram v. Herdrich) that patients cannot sue health plans to challenge cost-control procedures, like financial incentives to doctors to keep costs down, showed how weak current insurrance protections are. This ruling prompted new calls from several Members of Congress to enact strong patient protections.

ü Employment Networks. Under the new Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act, SSA will enter into agreements with Employment Networks to provide employment, employment – related services, vocational rehabilitation and other support services to beneficiaries with disabilities who want to work. As part of its implementation of this legislation, SSA has contracted with The Gallup Organization to determine the level of interest of organizations and businesses in becoming Employment Networks. A questionnaire has been mailed to a number of businesses and organizations in all 50 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to gather information on potential Employment Networks. If you would like more information about this study, or would like to participate in this study, go to www.ssa.gov/work/gallupmain.htm.

üADA Celebration. July 25^th & 26^th will be jammed packed with events in Washington, D.C. celebrating the enactment of the Americans with Disability Act. On July 25, the ADA torch arrives in D.C. The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) and the President’s Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities will co-host an event at the FDR Memorial on that morning. The event theme is “Honoring the Heroes,” where CCD and the Task Force will honor the Members of Congress, Hill staff, Federal officials and the disability lobby/legal team that worked in 1989-90 to make the ADA reality. This event is expected to generate substantial interest in the press and will be well attended.

üDisability Exhibit. The National Museum of American History ( http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/ ) of the Smithsonian Institution will open an exhibit entitled "The Disability Rights Movement" on July 6th, 2000. Marking the tenth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the exhibit examines the history of grass roots activism by people with disabilities, their friends, and families to secure the civil rights guaranteed to all Americans. For information, call 202-357-2700.