Policy Corner: May 18, 2018

House Fails to Pass Farm Bill

Today, the House of Representatives leadership failed to garner enough votes to pass the Farm Bill, H.R.2, Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, which among other provisions, included work requirements for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, along with job training and assistance programs. Work requirements for public assistance beneficiaries have become a theme among the Administration, which has made it easier for states to require adult able-bodied Medicaid recipients to engage in work and is proposing similar requirement for individuals receiving housing assistance (see further information in this newsletter). The Farm Bill also included provisions to allow farm associations to offer health insurance plans without meeting Affordable Care Act mandates, such as essential health benefits and prohibiting lifetime caps.

House Votes to Expand Veterans Care

This week, the House of Representatives voted for S. 2372, the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson Veterans Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (VA MISSION) Act to give veterans more choice in their health care, while improving Veterans Affairs’ internal capacity. The legislation includes funding for the Choice Program to ensure veterans have continuity of care during the transition to the community care program established under the VA MISSION Act. The bill streamlines the department’s duplicative community care programs into one cohesive program; create a nonpartisan process for reviewing VA’s assets to ensure veterans can access the care they have earned and expanded VA’s Post-9/11 Caregiver Program to veterans of all eras, providing equity for all generations of veterans and their caregivers. The Senate will need to approve the House Committee amendments before sending to the president for his signature. Meanwhile, the president has announced Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie as his nominee for VA Secretary. He will need to be confirmed by the Senate.

BIAA Supports the Disability Integration Act

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) signed the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) May 14 letter to House/Senate Leadership to reiterate support of the Disability Integration Act (S. 910, H.R. 2472). This legislation, if passed, would ensure the rights of people with disabilities to live full and independent lives in their communities.

BIAA Opposes the Housing Bill

BIAA joined other members of the CCD in expressing strong opposition to the Making Affordable Housing Work Act and the Promoting Resident Opportunity through Rent Reform Act. The Making Affordable Housing Work Act, proposed recently by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), would impose harmful rent increases on nearly all families across many essential HUD affordable housing programs – including people with disabilities and their families. While Secretary Carson has stated that HUD intends to hold harmless current tenants with disabilities, in reality, the proposed bill would hurt many tenants with disabilities as soon as it is implemented, and would only increase the number of people with disabilities who pay higher, unaffordable rents as implementation moves forward.

HUD’s proposed bill also would give Public Housing Authorities and project-based Section 8 housing owners the option to impose new work requirements. The details of how this would operate would be left up to HUD regulation. The bill fails to propose any new investments to ensure that people can access the supports and services they might need to find and keep a job. Existing programs that offer employment supports and services to jobseekers with disabilities are already underfunded and often have long waiting lists. Both the Making Affordable Housing Work Act and the Promoting Resident Opportunity through Rent Reform Act would have a devastating impact on the ability of people with disabilities and their families to afford stable, accessible housing in the community.

BIAA gratefully acknowledges the Centre for Neuro Skills and Avanir Pharmaceuticals for their support for legislative action.