Policy Corner: April 21, 2023
Categories: Policy Corner Archives
President Issues Executive Order on Supports for Individuals with Disabilities and Family Caregivers
On Tuesday, President Biden issued an Executive Order highlighting the need for both early, affordable child care and for long-term care options for persons with disabilities and older adults to be able to live at home and in the community. It was noted that a significant number of families provide informal, unpaid supports to care for their members to live at home. Through the Executive Order, the President is directing federal agencies to look at policies and ways to improve and connect family caregivers to resources, including veterans and military families caring for members who sustain injury or illness in the line of duty.
GOP Leadership Releases Legislative Proposal
This week, House Republican Leadership released a legislative proposal, called the “Limit, Save, Grow Act,” to raise the national debt ceiling in exchange for $4.5 trillion in cuts in discretionary spending. The measure would revert funding for fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2022 levels and limit spending growth to 1 percent annually over the next decade. The proposal would reduce spending to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid programs, among other cuts. The bill, introduced by House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Tex.), imposes stricter work requirements to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding, formerly known as food stamps, for childless adults.
Discretionary spending refers to programs that receive a formally approved appropriations each year, which most disability, health, research, and prevention programs fall under that category. Entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Social Security, are considered mandatory spending programs set by law and are not subject to the annual appropriations process. The spending cap that is proposed for future bills would impact funding for brain injury research, education, prevention, health and other resources.
Senate Appropriations Committee Sets Written Public Testimony Due as May 18
Individuals and organizations interested in submitting testimony to the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies in support of fiscal year 2024 funding for brain injury programs must do so by May 18. The Committee has guidelines that must be followed. These guidelines can be found here.
ACL Solicits New State TBI Grant Application
On April 6, the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Administration on Disabilities (AOD) announced that it is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2023 for the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) State Partnership Program grants authorized by the TBI Act. Currently, 28 states receive funding. As the program received an increase for this fiscal year, ACL is funding one more TBI State Partnership Program grant. Applicants for this program must agree to:
- Provide a required 2:1 state match;
- Support a state TBI Advisory Board with a person-centered focus that includes a make-up of at least 50% individuals with TBI within the first 12 months of the start of the grant;
- Provide the equivalent of 1 full-time employee at the state or sub-awardee level;
- Create a TBI state plan; and
- Establish culturally competent resource facilitation practices that educate individuals with TBI and their support networks on available resources, services, and supports within their state and/or communities.