Legislation staff continue a long-standing tradition on Capital Hill under our new name.
On February 24 and 25, United Spinal’s Legislative program staff took their annual trip to Washington, DC, to meet with 34 representatives and senators from across the country on a variety of issues that pertain to our membership and to all persons with disabilities. Each visit provided a personalized forum in which specific members of the legislation team could reinforce our new mission and expanded membership in relationship to our issues, while building on our pre-existing reputation as an essential expert voice on policy and legislation.
Networking is always a positive result of United Spinal’s lobbying trip. Case in point : Rochelle Haynes met with Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) to start a dialog concerning our opposition to the legislation (H.R. 2239) he recently introduced that would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). As a result of their conversation, Representative Holt agreed to meet with the Election Assistance Commission to address voter- verified paper trail machines, which would render his legislation unnecessary. “Going down to Washington gives us the opportunity to discuss the issues face-toface, rather than merely through written correspondences,” said Haynes. “The impact of these conversations is much greater and helps to establish long-term relationships.”
VA Health Care
The DC lobbying trip is timed, as it is every year, to coincide with the federal government’s annual budgeting process. Once again, the proposed funding level for VA health care falls short of where veterans service organizations (VSOs) believe it should be. The President has requested $27.1 billion, which falls $2.7 billion below the amount that VSOs across the country are asking for in their Independent Budget and constitutes a paltry $300 million over last year’s VA budget. United Spinal urged members of Congress to appropriate the full $29.8 billion necessary for all veterans currently receiving care to maintain their services. Additionally, we lobbied to reform the VA’s patient priority system to allow all veterans access to the system.
United Spinal also argued in favor of mandatory funding-i.e., requiring Congress to appropriate funds for the care of all veterans in the VA system-but feels that proposed legislation does not adequately or realistically determine how much funding would be needed to allow every veteran access to VA health care.
Transportation
Like all other citizens, individuals with disabilities need the option of accessible public transportation. Public transportation provides greater access to employment, education, medical care, and a host of other services and activities that help people with disabilities and all persons be active members of their communities.
With this in mind United Spinal staff called on Congress to pass a strong bill reauthorizing the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) that addresses the transportation needs of Americans with disabilities. TEA-21, the current law authorizing funding for all federal highway and public transportation programs, expired on February 29, but was recently extended until April 30, 2004, to allow more time for the passage of the new transportation authorization package.
The Senate recently passed its own TEA-21 reauthorization bill, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA). The House will soon consider its bill, the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA LU). United Spinal strongly prefers TEA LU over SAFETEA because we believe it more adequately addresses the transportation needs of Americans with disabilities.
Housing
People with disabilities who primarily rely on Social Security insurance cannot afford housing unless they receive some type of rental housing assistance. The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities programs have been the primary resources available to assist people with disabilities with their housing needs, and the programs encourage the integration of people with disabilities into their local community.
The President’s budget proposal includes a $1 billion dollar cut to the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. This cut would result in the loss of an estimated 250,000 vouchers. Currently, the Section 811 program is proposed to continue being maintained at its existing level of funding, $249 million.
During our visits last month, United Spinal staff urged Congress members to maintain funding on existing rental assistance programs, so people with disabilities who live on fixed incomes would be able to continue to expand their housing options. Additionally, United Spinal urged passage of H.R. 1102, legislation to establish the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund to provide for the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of decent, safe and affordable housing for low-income families.
Civil Rights
United Spinal Association supports the concept of “paper trail voter verification,” but strongly opposes H.R. 2239 and S.1980 (Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003) because it will inevitably delay the implementation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002. This legislation would require states to purchase a voter verified paper trail machine in order to comply with HAVA.
To date, no state has certified an accessible voter-verified paper ballot touch screen, nor is one in the process of being certified. Requiring the federal certification and implementation of such a system would delay the realization of HAVA, which affords people with disabilities 100% access to polling places and voting machines. As a disability rights organization, we are fully aware and support the need for people with disabilities to be able to vote independently and confidentially. However, for people with disabilities the issue has always been the accessibility of polling places and voting machines. Furthermore, with the recent confirmation of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) this legislation is no longer necessary since the EAC has the authority to develop the standard system for voting machines and address emerging issues in election reform.
Additionally, United Spinal lobbied against passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) notification act, legislation that would require lawyers to provide 90 days notice to proprietors of Title III entities (privately owned public accommodations) prior to commencing a Title III lawsuit. This requirement would prohibit the complainant from receiving injunctive relief during this time. A 90-day window could allow substantial construction to take place and make later ADA required alterations more costly and prohibitive. Furthermore, giving noncompliant entities 90 days notice effectively gives them a pass for violating a statute that has been on the books for 14 years.
United Spinal believes that injunctive relief to stop illegal construction performed at Title III entities helps the Title III entity as much as people with disabilities. Once the unlawful work is halted, demolition of new inaccessible construction will not be required.
Disability Health
United Spinal Association lobbied on behalf of MiCASSA, the Medicaid Community- Based Attendant Services and Supports Act,
(H.R. 2032 & S. 971). MiCASSA promotes the right to self-direction in long-term care and provides equal access to community- based services and supports to eligible individuals with disabilities. MiCASSA seeks to amend Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act by offering individuals who are eligible for Nursing Facility Services or ICF- MRs to choose where their services will be provided either in the institutional setting or in the community and administrated by community based attendants. All services must be provided in the most integrated setting possible and appropriate to the needs of the individual. Similarly we lobbied on behalf of the Money Follows the Person Act (S. 1394-there is only a Senate bill, no House bill), which also promotes the right to self-determination in long-term care and provides equal access to community-based services and supports for eligible individuals with disabilities. This legislation seeks to establish a demonstration project under the Medicaid program to encourage the provision of community-based services to individuals with disabilities. The bill allows for state and Federal Medicaid dollars to follow a person with a disability from an institution into the community. Money Follows the Person can give persons with disabilities real choices in their long-term care.
Finally United Spinal opposed any efforts to convert traditional Medicaid into a system of block grants. Under a block grant system (federal capped allotment), states will have complete discretion establishing eligibility requirements and determining which benefits to offer. States will have the freedom to reduce services while requiring beneficiaries to pay higher premiums and co-pays.
The group most in danger of losing all of their coverage is the “optional” beneficiaries. While states will still be required to provide health care services to “mandatory” populations, those offered to optional populations-namely children, the elderly and people with disabilities-are in serious jeopardy of being reduced or eliminated. Medicaid should remain an open-ended financed entitlement program. Millions of low-income people depend on Medicaid for health coverage.
Employment
United Spinal believes that the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which includes the Rehabilitation Act, presents an excellent opportunity to remove barriers to employment and to maximize successful employment outcomes for all individuals with disabilities.
Although the House-passed version of WIA reauthorization contains some measures to increase access to employment for individuals with disabilities, it also raises some barriers to participation in the workforce and may, in fact, cause harm. The version that passed in the Senate, however, makes great strides toward improving employment and training opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
United Spinal strongly urges Congress to adopt a conference report that benefits people with disabilities by eliminating barriers to employment and training, ensuring a physically and programmatically accessible workforce development system, and not taking funds from already underfunded programs to help pay for the system.
Raise Your Voice
As members, please let your voice be heard. Write to your representative or senator and mention our position on the legislation in this article. For more information about any of these positions, please visit www.unitedspinal.org or call United Spinal’s Legislation program at 718-803-3782.
Contributors to this article: Jeremy Chwat, Director, Legislation; Daniel Anderson, Assistant Director, Legislation; Katherine Catu, Health Policy Analyst; Rochelle Haynes, Legislative Analyst; Carolyn Hubbard, Health Policy Analyst; Kimberly Ruff- Wilbert, Legislative Analyst; Melissa Weiss, Legislative Analyst; Donna Fredericksen, Senior Public Affairs Officer.
