TO: NDSC Members and Affiliated Parent Groups
FROM: Susan Goodman, Director, Governmental Affairs
DATE: January 2, 2007

Capitol Hill Staff Members Address CCD

NDSC Director of Governmental Affairs Susan Goodman attended the annual meeting of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on December 19th. Staff members from the offices of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and the Homeland Security Oversight Committee attended the meeting and spoke about the Congressional agenda for the new session. Some of the agenda items which were of interest to the disability community included passage of legislation that will:

• Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour over a three year period;
• Require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on prices for medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit;
• Prohibit insurers from imposing limits on hospital stays and physician visits for mental health treatment that are greater than those imposed for physical health visits, and require them to charge the same co-payments and deductibles for both mental and physical health services.