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Transportation Conference Near Completion, Disability Program Still At Stake

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Contact Your Senate Transportation Conferee Now

Background: A final push to support the House language regarding the disability provisions in the transportation reauthorization bills is needed. It appears that the Conference Committee resolving the differences in the House and Senate passed transportation reauthorization bills are close to completing their work on the bills. In June, we sent an alert asking you to urge your Senate conferees to support the House language. If you did not respond to that alert please e-mail your Senator today. Section 3018 of the House bill (H.R. 3) creates the New Freedom Initiative (NFI) transportation program as a separate and distinct program with greater

flexibility. The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy support this transportation provision. NFI funds can be used for accessible taxi services, accessibility in non-key stations,

transportation vouchers, volunteer drivers and transportation management programs, which benefits people with disabilities living in small urban and rural areas. Another benefit of the House bill is Section 5310, which helps aging and disability organizations purchase vehicles to provide transportation services to the elderly and people with disabilities. Section 5310 funds could also be used for management and transportation planning.In the Senate version, the NFI transportation program is combined with the Section 5310 program. However, the funding authorization level for Section 5310 is increased. While The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy support the increase in funding, we

oppose combining the programs. The Senate's approach would not allow disability organizations and transit providers to develop new programs to serve their consumers. Even worse,

the Senate bill also makes public transit agencies eligible for Section 5310 money, which could easily displace the non-profit disability organizations that now benefit from it.Status:Conferees are still working to resolve the differences in the two bills. While it appears an agreement has been reached in the overall funding level, many policy differences remain. The conferees have not yet decided on how the new disability provisions will be structured. Action To Be Taken: Write your Senate conferee today and urge him/her to support the following disability provisions in a final the transportation reauthorization bill:Separate the New

Freedom Initiative Program from Section 5310 program;Allow Section 5310 funds to be used for operating assistance;Increase the funding levels for Section 5310 included in the Senate bill; andMaintain the restriction for eligibility for Section 5310 funding to non-profit organizations.The Senators on the transportation conference committee are: Inhofe (R-OK) Warner (R-VA) " Kit " Bond (R-MO) Voinovich (R-OH)Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) Murkowski (R-AK) Thune (R-SD) Jim DeMint (R-SC)ny Isakson (R-GA) Vitter (R-LA) Grassley (R-IA)Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Shelby (R-AL) Allard (R-CO) Ted s

(R-AK)Trent Lott (R-MS) Jeffords (I-VT)Max Baucus (D-MT)ph Lieberman (D-CT)Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Carper (D-DE) Hillary Clinton

(D-NY) Lautenberg (D-NJ)Barack Obama (D-IL)Kent Conrad (D-ND) Inouye (D-HI) D. Rockefeller (D-WV) Sarbanes (D-MD)Jack (D-RI)Tim (D-SD)

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