Policy Corner: April 28, 2023
Categories: Policy Corner Archives
House Passes Debt Ceiling Bill That Also Cuts Federal Spending
Two days ago, the House of Representatives passed legislation to raise the debt ceiling in order to pay for bills already incurred and in keeping with appropriations already passed for this year, along with significant cuts in spending — $3.6 trillion over the next decade. Called the Limit, Save, Grow Act, this bill would cap domestic spending for future appropriations bill by cutting federal discretionary spending to fiscal 2022 levels and impose a 1% growth cap; cancel the remaining unspent money from previously passed bills addressing the COVID-19 pandemic; and would some work requirements on able-bodied Medicaid eligible individuals and those who receive food stamps who not have children. The bill would make severe cuts to programs that fund disability programs, child care and preschool, schools, college aid, housing, medical research, transportation, and many other national priorities.
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) held a press conference after the House passed the bill and put out a Press Release that the bill was not going anywhere in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) concurred. The Senate and the President are taking the position that Congress needs to pass a clean bill, without spending cuts, in order to raise the debt ceiling before the government runs out of money to pay bondholders and other obligations. The Treasury Department is predicting that the first of June is when government will run out of money.
Senator Proposes the Health Equity for People with Disabilities Act
Senator Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.), along with five other Senators, has introduced S. 1219, the Health Equity for People with Disabilities Act, to modify certain grants available to health centers that offer primary health services to medically underserved populations to ensure underserved populations, including individuals with disabilities, receive accessible health services. As of 2016, an estimated one in four, or 61 million adults in the United States, reported a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data show that people with disabilities face many challenges in achieving optimal health and accessing high-quality health care compared to people without disabilities.
Lawmakers Introduce Bills to Fully Fund Education Programs for People with Disabilities
Bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to require full funding of part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). Title I of ESEA is to help disadvantaged students, including students with disabilities, to meet state academic content and performance standards. IDEA mandates a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities, which children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) were included in the definition of disabilities in 1990. Although the landmark legislation was enacted in 1975, IDEA has yet to be fully funded.
Last week, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) introduced S. 1202, the Keep Our Promise to America’s Children and Teachers Act or the Keep Our PACT Act, and Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) introduced H.R. 2715, along with 56 co-sponsors, to require full funding of Part A of Title I of the ESEA and IDEA.
Senator Casey Announces Bill to Address Housing Affordability for People with Disabilities
Yesterday, Senator Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, announced plans to introduce the Visitable Inclusive Tax Credits for Accessible Living (VITAL) Act to address the housing affordability and accessibility crisis for people with disabilities. The VITAL Act would increase investment in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program and ensure that developers are building more accessible housing units that are designed for older adults and people with disabilities, and located within communities where residents can walk or move around easily in wheelchairs. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) are cosponsoring this legislation.
“Far too many older adults and people with disabilities cannot afford accessible housing, live in unsafe housing, or live in institutions even though they’d prefer to stay in their communities. This is unacceptable,” said Chairman Casey. “We need to ensure that families have a real choice when it comes to the place they call home. My legislation would ensure that we are ramping up accessible housing development to meet the widespread needs of these communities.”
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is a federal program providing tax credits to developers who build new housing for low-income renters. The VITAL Act would increase funding for the LIHTC program to increase the number of accessible homes so that more people with disabilities and older adults can live in the communities they choose. It would also require that the states administering LIHTC construct at least 20 percent of their LIHTC units as accessible and/or walkable and roll-able.
Senators Introduce Legislation to Support Direct Care Workers and Family Caregivers
On Wednesday, Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) joined Senator Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, in introducing the Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act — legislation that is included in Chairman Casey’s HCBS Access Act — to support the recruitment, training, and retention of direct care workers and to support family caregivers. The legislation would direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration on Community Living (ACL), to award grants to states or other eligible entities for initiatives to build, retain, train, and otherwise promote the direct care workforce and to provide grants for states or other eligible entities for educational and training support for both paid and unpaid family caregivers.
Senator Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.) reintroduced the Better Care Better Jobs Act (S. 100) and the HCBS Access Act (S.672) in January and March to invest in home care and address the decades-long workforce shortage crisis by raising wages and improving benefits for caregivers. S. 672 is to require coverage of home and community-based services (HCBS) under a Medicaid State Plan (or waiver of such plan) to eliminate waiting lists for HCBS; to ensure that people with all kinds of disabilities and multiple disabilities, including cognitive disabilities and physical disabilities, receive the services they need to live in their communities; and to support unpaid family caregivers who support people with disabilities due to lack of affordable housing. S. 100 establishes programs and provides funds for state Medicaid programs to HCBS, such as home health care, personal care, case management, and rehabilitative services.