Policy Corner: December 21, 2018

Congress Sends TBI Reauthorization Act to President

H.R. 6615, the Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act of 2018 sponsored by Congressional Brain Injury Task Force Co-chairs, Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), has finally passed and is ready to send to the President for his signature. The legislation reauthorizes the State Grant and the Protection and Advocacy Services Grant programs administered by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), specified in the bill as the administering agency, as well as programs administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through fiscal year 2024. It also authorizes appropriations for the CDC Injury Center’s National Concussion Surveillance System to provide a better estimate of the prevalence of TBI. Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.) introduced the companion bill in the Senate, which passed, and were instrumental in securing passage of the House bill.

House and Senate at Impasse on CR to Fund Remaining Federal Programs

Without a funding measure to extend funding to the remaining federal programs that are funded only through midnight tonight, these governmental programs will shut down. At issue is funding for a southern wall for border security, which the House included in its continuing resolution (CR) passed yesterday. Many senators left Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, after passing a CR to extend federal funding through Feb. 8, but without funding for the border wall.

Other programs that will expire tonight, should Congress not come to an agreement with the White House, include programs funded by the Women Against Violence Act and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program that provides temporary financial assistance for to help pregnant women and families with one or more dependent children to pay for food, shelter, utilities, and expenses other than medical. Both the House and Senate funding measures included funding for disaster relief and to extend the Money Follows the Person (MFP) Demonstration Program for three months and spousal impoverishment protections to a married spouse whose spouse qualifies for Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS).

The President is to sign S. 767, the Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person (FIRST STEP) Act, which shortens sentences for some offenders and expands job training and other programs for inmates. The bill provides for a risk and needs assessment system to reduce recidivism. The bill also requires screening for dyslexia, a major cause of illiteracy, during the intake process and at each periodic risk reassessment of an inmate. The Attorney General is directed to incorporate programs designed to treat dyslexia into the evidence-based recidivism reduction programs or in programs designed to treat other learning disabilities.

President Signs Farm Bill and Announces New Work Requirements for Food Stamps

The President signed the farm bill Thursday. Among other provisions the bill included continued funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), referred to as the food stamp program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Although the final bill that passed did not include additional work requirements for food stamp recipients as proposed by the Administration and the House, the President announced intentions of stricter requirements through the federal agency’s rules and regulations process. The program already requires most adults without dependents to work if they collect food stamps for more than three months in a three-year period. But USDA regulations allow states to waive the requirement in areas with unemployment rates that are at least 20 percent greater than the national rate. The USDA is now proposing that states could waive the requirement only in areas where unemployment is above 7 percent. The current national unemployment rate stands at 3.7 percent. The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register and the public will have 60 days to comment.

AZ Senator to Resign at the End of the Year

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) is expected to retire from the Senate at the end of the month, having filled the term of Senator John McCain following his death. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey is appointing Republican Rep. Martha McCally to fill the seat. She will hold the seat until 2020, when she will need to run again in a special election.

NIDILRR Director Announces His Retirement

Dr. Robert Jaeger, Director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), has announced his retirement effective January 5, 2019. Before joining ACL, he spent nine years with the Department of Veteran Affairs, where he served as the director of Post-Deployment Health Research. Before that, he was the program director for the Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities Program at the National Science Foundation and also served as an adjunct research biomedical engineer with the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at NIH’s Clinical Center.

In earlier years, he was a Mary E. Switzer Fellow with National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) from 1987-1988, and returned in 1997 to serve as a program specialist, with responsibility for the peer review process, the Field-Initiated Grant Program, and the Small-Business Innovation Research program. From 2000-2006, he served as NIDRR’s director of interagency and international affairs until 2006. In that role, he also served as the Executive Secretary of the Interagency Committee on Disability Research.

For the last year, Dr. Jaeger has served as the Director of NIDILRR. He has led the release of the NIDILRR Long-Range Plan and shepherded the development of the ICDR Government-Wide Strategic Plan for Rehabilitation Research, which is almost complete. He also brought together former directors, grantees, and the NIDILRR family for this year’s celebration of NIDILRR’s 40th anniversary. Dr. Kristi Hill will succeed Dr. Jaeger in an acting capacity.

Senator Rebukes Education’s School Safety Commission Report

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a statement this week on the report released by the U.S. Department of Education’s school safety commission. The commission was formed following the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida Sen. Murray voiced concerns that the report completely avoids addressing meaningful, commonsense gun safety reform, such as universal background checks for gun purchases.

The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) Executive Director Curt Decker also issued a statement in response to the report criticizing the rescinding of the Title VI discipline guidance, which provides important information to schools to prevent discrimination and is unrelated to the Commission’s charge. “Any potential hardening of schools must protect all students, including students with disabilities. For example, door locks or safety devices must ensure that that all students can evacuate safely and at the same time,” said Decker.

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