Fw: Arc Report on Disability Cuts and US Deficit Reductions

[Guest guest]

Arc Report on Disability Cuts and US Deficit ReductionsFYI

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Arc Report on Disability Cuts and US Deficit Reductions

The Arc of Illinois issues of the day from the desk of Tony

auski Is this email not displaying correctly?

View it in your browser.

Friend on Facebook

Follow on Twitter

Forward to a Friend

The Arc of Illinois

The Arc of Illinois is a state chapter of The Arc

of the United States. The Arc of Illinois is committed to empowering persons

with disabilities to achieve full participation in community life through

informed choices.

Leaders in The Arc:

As you know, I was in Baltimore recently for The

Arc US meetings for Exec’s. We spent an entire morning on the Budget Control

Act that the President signed into law. This was the outcome of the budget

deficit fiasco we witnessed the last few weeks of July.

I will try my best to stay away from the mechanics

of the bill and only focus upon the threats to disability supports/services.

Bottom line, the bulk of spending cuts are put off

until November and all disability-related services are still very much at risk.

There is no detail on any specific cuts at this time. This process is a moving

target, and we will keep you up-to-date as we learn more specifics. You can

expect many calls to action between now and the end of the year!

A twelve-member Joint Select Committee on Deficit

Reduction has been appointed and they will propose specific spending cuts by

November 23rd. This “Super Committee†will have the power to recommend to

the Senate and House cuts or changes to entitlement programs, additional caps to

discretionary programs and new or increased revenues. Nothing is off the table

for the “Super Committee.†Here is a story from the Washington Post with a

profile of every member of the “Super Committee.â€

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/supercommittee-members/?hpid\

=z3

While there is a “Super Committee,†all

members of the U.S. House and Senate will have to vote on these cuts and/or new

revenue so every member of the U.S. Congress needs to hear from disability

advocates!

It is best to think about this as a three-phase

process. The goal is to cut spending by $2.4 trillion at a minimum. There could

be deeper cuts proposed! While new revenues are not explicitly included in the

legislation, they are not prohibited. There are no details about which programs

will be cut or by how much for either phase one or two.

1.. The first phase is placing caps on

discretionary programs. This phase is expected to cut $1 trillion from

discretionary programs. Disability programs at risk include: housing, education,

vocational rehabilitation, employment and transportation. Entitlement programs

(Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income) are

protected in the first phase.

1.. The second phase of cuts of $1.4 trillion

will be initiated by the “Super Committee.†The “Super Committee†will

propose to the Congress specific spending cuts by November 23rd. In Phase two,

the Committee can recommend new revenues and/or drastic cuts to important

disability-related programs, discretionary and entitlement programs. There are

no protections for Medicaid, SSI, Social Security, Medicare or other programs

serving low-income people. The “Super Committee†will work with the various

Appropriations Committees through this process. The “Super Committeeâ€

recommendations could then be enacted by the Congress at phase two. The

Committee’s plan must get the support of 7 of the 12 members for the vote by

the full Congress to occur. The Congress will not be allowed to amend or change

the recommendations of the “Super Committee.†The Congress can only vote to

support the recommendations or oppose them.

1.. In phase three, if the “Super Committeeâ€

fails to reach agreement or if the Congress fails to enact their

recommendations, automatic across-the-board cuts would prevail. In phase three,

entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Social Security programs would be

exempted from these cuts.

These are serious times for disability advocates.

We have never seen an attack like this on our human service safety net!

Below is an action alert from The Arc of the

United States with talking points for you to use at town hall meetings or

directly with your member of the U.S. Congress.

Please share this information with others.

Tony auski

The Arc of Illinois

815-464-1832

Stand Up for Medicaid at a Town Hall Meeting!

Take Action!

Congress’ August recess is in full swing, and

Members of the House and Senate are setting up town hall meetings throughout

their districts to hear from their constituents. This is your chance to tell

your Members of Congress in person “Don’t Cut Our Lifeline!â€

Now is the time to speak to your representatives

in Congress because part of the recently signed deficit reduction law requires

further Congressional action this fall. All Members of Congress need to

continue hearing from their constituents on this critical issue. Click on the

Take Action link above to find the district office phone number for your Members

of the House and Senators to ask when their next town hall meeting will be, and

attend their upcoming meetings to tell them “Don’t Cut Our Lifeline!â€

What’s in the debt deal?

On August 2nd, President Obama signed a bill

into law to put into place a three step process to raise the debt ceiling and

place spending caps on discretionary programs, reducing spending by $840 billion

over ten years in the first step. These cuts must be balanced between defense

and non-defense spending, which could include important disability-related

programs like housing, education, employment, and transportation. Entitlement

programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Supplemental

Security Income (SSI), are protected from cuts in this first step. Over the

next two months, committees in Congress will finalize what programs bear the

brunt of the cuts.

What’s next?

This fall, Congress is charged with finding an

additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction by 2021. This will be initiated

by a twelve-member bipartisan Congressional “super committee†(Joint Select

Committee on Deficit Reduction) that proposes specific spending cuts by November

23rd. The Committee’s plan must get the support of at least 7 of its members

to be voted on by the full Congress. Congress will then hold an up-or-down

vote, with no amendments allowed, on the spending cuts legislation by December

23rd. Cuts to important disability-related discretionary and entitlement

programs, like Medicaid, could be proposed by the Committee and enacted by

Congress.

If this committee fails to obtain agreement from

at least 7 of its Members to cut $1.5 trillion or if Congress fails to enact it,

then automatic, across-the-board spending cuts will be triggered for 2013-2021.

However, any automatic, across-the-board cuts would exempt the low income

entitlement programs, such as the Medicaid and SSI programs. Small Medicare

cuts are allowed but will fall on the providers. The bottom line is Medicaid

and other programs that serve people with I/DD are still extremely vulnerable to

cuts.

What Can I Do?

Now is the time for you to contact your Members

of Congress and ask when and where they are holding town hall meetings you can

attend. We need advocates like you to let Members know that Medicaid is a

lifeline for millions of Americans.

These in-person interactions leave a lasting

impression, especially when it makes elected officials stop seeing Medicaid as

an entitlement program and start picturing the people whose lives it changes.

If you don’t know who your Representative or

Senator is click here and enter your zip code. Then call and ask when their

next town meeting is, and attend - your voice can make a difference, so get out

there and engage your elected officials!

Suggested Questions to Ask at a Town Hall

Meeting

• Can I count on you to support Medicaid

services for people with disabilities, seniors, and low income Americans?

• Can I count on you to protect Medicaid so

that families aren’t forced to quit their jobs, stop paying taxes, and go on

to public assistance to care for their loved ones?

• Can I count on you to protect Medicaid so

that community services aren’t cut and people aren’t forced to return to

institutions?

• Can I count on you to support Medicaid and

talk to the members of the Super Committee about protecting the program?

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a

friend

Copyright © 2011 The Arc of Illinois, All rights

reserved.

You are receiving this email because you are a member of

The Arc of Illinois.

Our mailing address is:

The Arc of Illinois

20901 S.LaGrange Rd.

Suite 209

fort, IL 60423

Add us to your address book

unsubscribe from this list | update subscription

preferences