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TO: NDSC Members and Affiliated Parent Groups
FROM: Susan Goodman, Director, Governmental Affairs
DATE: October 26, 2005
In this issue:
- Action Required to Stop Medicaid Cuts
- Community-based Services Update
- Gag Law for Nonprofits?
Contact Congress Now to Stop Big Medicaid Cuts
The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee begins mark-up of the budget reconciliation bill this week. The budget resolution passed earlier by the House calls for $14 billion in Medicaid spending cuts. Medicaid is a joint federal/state program that funds most residential and employment services for adults with disabilities. Therefore, these spending cuts will directly affect services for individuals with disabilities.
NDSC members should contact the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee listed below immediately and urge them to vote against the budget reconciliation bill because these cuts negatively affect the lives of people with disabilities.
The members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and their district, are as follows:
| Arizona |
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John B. Shadegg, 3rd |
| California |
|
Mary Bono, 45th
Lois Capps, 23rd
Anna Eshoo, 14th
George Radanovich, 19th
Mike Ross, 4th
Hilda Solis, 32nd
Henry Waxman, 30th |
| Colorado |
|
Diana DeGette, 1st |
| Florida |
|
Michael Bilirakis, 9th, Vice Chairman
Jim Davis, 11th
Cliff Stearns, 6th |
| Georgia |
|
Nathan Deal, 10th
Charlie Norwood, 9th |
| Idaho |
|
C. L. "Butch" Otter, 1st |
| Illinois |
|
Bobby Rush, 1st
Jan Schakowsky, 9th
John Shimkus, 19th |
| Indiana |
|
Steve Buyer, 4th |
| Kentucky |
|
Ed Whitfield, 1st |
| Maine |
|
Tom Allen, 1st |
| Maryland |
|
Albert Wynn, 4th |
| Massachusetts |
|
Edward Markey, 7th |
| Michigan |
|
John Dingell, 15th, Ranking Member
Mike Rogers, 8th
Bart Stupak, 1st
Fred Upton, 6th |
Mississippi |
|
Charles "Chip" Pickering, 3rd, Vice Chairman |
Missouri |
|
Roy Blunt, 7th |
Nebraska |
|
Lee Terry, 2nd |
New Hampshire |
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Charles Bass, 2nd |
New Jersey |
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Mike Ferguson, 7th
Frank Pallone, Jr., 6th |
New Mexico |
|
Heather Wilson, 1st |
New York |
|
Eliot Engel, 17th
Vito Fossella, 13th
Edolphus Towns, 10th |
North Carolina |
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Sue Myrick, 9th |
Ohio |
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Sherrod Brown, 13th
Paul Gillmor, 5th
Ted Strickland, 6th |
Oklahoma |
|
John Sullivan, 1st |
Oregon |
|
Greg Walden, 2nd |
Pennsylvania |
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Mike Doyle, 14th
Tom Murphy, 18th
Joseph Pitts, 16th |
Tennessee |
|
Marsha Blackburn, 7th
Bart Gordon, 6th |
Texas |
|
Joe Barton, 6th, Chairman
Michael Burgess, 26th
Charles Gonzalez, 20th
Gene Green, 9th
Ralph Hall, 4th |
Virginia |
|
Rick Boucher, 9th |
Washington |
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Jay Inslee, 1st |
Wisconsin |
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Tammy Baldwin, 2nd |
Wyoming |
|
Barbara Cubin, At Large |
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You may reach House members by calling the main number at the Capitol: (202) 224-3121.
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Community-Based Services Update
Congress is currently considering various measures that would have an impact on adult services for individuals with disabilities through the Medicaid program.
These measures are being considered as part of the "budget reconciliation package" that would determine the amount of spending of the Medicaid program. Advocates are hopeful that amendments that will promote the funding of "community-based" services and end the institutional bias in Medicaid funding. Some of the amendments advocates support include the following:
- Money Follows the Person Act (S 528): This bill would provide grants to states to conduct demonstration projects that are designed to enable Medicaid-eligible individuals to receive support for appropriate and necessary long-term services in the settings of their choice. It would require the federal government to reimburse the state for 100% of the first-year costs of home and community-based services for individuals on Medicaid who move to the community from nursing homes or other institutions.
- Home and Community Based Services Amendment (S 1602): This bill promotes home and community-based services. Section 201 of the bill provides states with a new alternative to offer home and community-based services to Medicaid-eligible individuals without having to get a federal waiver. This is important because the process of obtaining federal waivers to the Medicaid program to provide these services is time-consuming and an obstacle to the provision of more services in the community.
States would also be able to permit people to choose to self-direct services. This
promotes "individual choice" which is defined in the legislation as allowing a
person with a disability or his or her representative to "receive services in a
manner which gives them the most control over such services consistent with
the individual's abilities."
- Self-Directed Services are defined by the legislation as: "such services
for the individual which are planned and purchased under the direction
and control of such individual or the individual's authorized representative...". The individual's service plan is "developed through
a person-centered process that is directed by the individual or the
individual's preferences, choices, and abilities, and involves families,
friends, and professionals as desired or required by the individual or the
individual's authorized representative...".
To read either of these bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov and enter the bill number in the appropriate space. We will follow the progress of these amendments and notify Newsline readers if action is needed.
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Some House Members Want to Impose Nonprofit Gag Law
Received from OMB Watch:
Act Now to Oppose the Nonprofit Gag Provision
Vote Expected Oct. 26
The House will likely vote next Wednesday, Oct. 26, on a provision to be introduced as a manager's amendment to the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) in the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (H.R. 1461) that would dramatically restrict nonprofit advocacy. While it applies only to nonprofits seeking grants under a new Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), the provision sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the speech and association rights of all nonprofits.
The Nonprofit Gag Provision restricts nonprofit entities - it does not apply to for-profit entities - from receiving AHF grants if the organization:
- Engages in partisan and nonpartisan voter registration, voter identification, and get-out-the-vote activities;
- Publicly "promotes," "supports," "attacks," or "opposes" a candidate for federal office, which could be interpreted to include criticism of elected officials who may be seeking reelection;
- Broadcasts any ads - public service announcements, grassroots issue advocacy, anything - that refer to federal candidates within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary; or
- Lobbies, except if the group is a 501(c)(3) organization it may lobby within permissible limits.
Affiliation with any entity that engages in any of the above activities during the same time period - 12 months before applying for a grant or during the grant period - will also disqualify the group from receiving money from the AHF.
Take action now - tell your representatives to let House leadership know that this provision should not come to the floor. And if there is a vote on the provision, tell them to oppose the Nonprofit Gag Provision.
Over the past 20 years our community has fended off a number of similar attacks on nonprofit advocacy rights. We will once again need to rise to the occasion - but we have extremely limited time.
To read about this legislation and the action recommended by OMB Watch, go to http://www.ombwatch.org/.
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If you have questions or comments about the Newsline, please contact Susan Goodman at Susang1961@aol.com. |
