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February 18, 2025 | Vol. MMXXVVII | Issue 102 |
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Reconciliation |
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Congressional Republicans are in the process of passing a budget resolution that will begin the reconciliation process. The Senate is looking to pass two bills while the House is looking to pass one bill. Budget reconciliation is a congressional procedure that makes it easier to pass legislation related to taxes and spending, provided that legislation follows specific rules. Using reconciliation allows lawmakers to avoid the filibuster in the Senate. It is used when the same party controls the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency.
On Tuesday, February 11, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington released a budget resolution which included at least $4.5 trillion in tax cuts while slashing spending by at least $1.5 trillion over the coming decade. The Budget Committee passed it by a party-line 21-16 vote, sending it to the full House of Representatives to vote on when they return from recess. Reconciliation instructions in the bill require the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut at least $880 billion in spending, meaning lawmakers would likely need to enact deep cuts into Medicaid and other healthcare programs. If passed by the House of Representatives, the next step is for committees named in the budget resolution to write their sections of the budget, per the reconciliation instructions they have received. These sections must align with the dollar amounts set in the resolution.
On Friday, February 7, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham released a budget resolution that would enact border security, defense, and energy policy, with an $150 billion increase in defense spending and $175 billion increase in border security funding. The Senate’s budget resolution “would tee up consideration on the first part of its twin-track plan” as Senate Republicans aim to put tax cuts in a second, more expansive bill, later in the year. The budget resolution instructs the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to cut at least $1 billion each. Senator Graham framed the resolution as a backup plan if House Republicans do not move quickly on their budget proposal. On Wednesday, February 12, the Senate Budget Committee marked up and passed the budget resolution 11-10 out of committee.
AUCD and other organizations are working to protect Medicaid including how to prevent cuts to the program and other programs for people with disabilities. AUCD is participating in coalition meetings with partners to meet with key offices. |
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Plain Language |
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In this new session of Congress, which started at the beginning of January, people are talking about how to pass bills that affect how the government spends money. They have different ideas of how they want to do this and how they want to spend money. The people who want to pass these bills want to make the government spend less money, so they are working on how to do that.
The Senate and the House of Representatives have two committees that focus on the government’s budget. Committees are groups of lawmakers who work on a certain issue or topic.
Some lawmakers are talking about taking money away from Medicaid. AUCD and other organizations will work to protect Medicaid. |
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Action Steps |
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You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and educate them on the importance of protecting the Medicaid program and increasing funding for programs for people with disabilities in FY 2025. |
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Budget and Appropriations |
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Congressional leaders are continuing bicameral, bipartisan negotiations to come to agreement on how to fund the federal government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2025. The current continuing resolution expires March 14. Congress must finalize the appropriations bills or pass another continuing resolution to continue to fund the federal government through September 30. If Congress does not pass this legislation, the government could shut down, which would affect programs across the federal government, including new applications for benefits, special education and vocational rehabilitation programs, and caregiving services. Republicans and Democrats must work together to pass a funding bill.
While Fiscal Year 2025 still needs to be completed, the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Labor-Health-Human Services-Education-Related Agencies (LHHS) subcommittee has announced an opportunity for the public to submit testimony to be considered for funding programs in Fiscal Year 2026. The public hearing will be on Wednesday, April 9 at 10:30 AM in room 2358-C of the Rayburn House Office Building. The deadline to submit requests to testify is Friday, March 21. More information on how to submit testimony here. |
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Plain Language |
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Congress needs to figure out how to fund the government by March 14, or the government could shut down. This means that federal programs that the government runs might not be able to work like normal. Some things like education programs might not be able to continue like they normally do.
The U.S. House of Representatives has a committee—which is a group of lawmakers who work on a certain issue or topic—that wants to hear from people about what they think should be in the funding programs for 2026. If you want to tell the government which programs are most important to give funding to or how much money the programs should get, you have to request to testify, which means to share your official statement about a topic or issue. If you want to request to testify, you should follow these steps:
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Email LH.Approp@mail.house.gov and include “Public Witness Hearing – Request to Testify” in the subject line
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Include information about who you are, if you are with any organizations, and what you want your testimony to be about. Testimony is an official statement.
If the committee wants to hear your testimony, they will contact you and give you more information. Learn more about the process here. |
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Action Steps |
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Protecting Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act |
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Please help protect Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is this week. Section 504 is the federal civil rights law that protect children and adults from discrimination by the federal government and programs that receive federal funding. This includes hospitals, schools, housing, and so many other federal programs and services. It provides vital civil rights protections and ensures that people with disabilities can access schools, hospitals, and other federally funded services.
Seventeen states have brought a lawsuit looking to rule the new regulations that interpret the Section 504 regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as unconstitutional. These are the regulations that would address discrimination in doctor’s offices, making sure medical equipment is accessible, making sure people with disabilities can access life-saving medical care, and more. These 17 states are also seeking to declare that Section 504—the law—is also unconstitutional. The law has been in existence since 1973 and applies to all areas of federal funding.
Some states’ Attorney General offices are saying that the lawsuit will not impact Section 504 and will only delete the part of the new regulations. This is not accurate. The lawsuit looks to find the HHS regulations and the law unconstitutional. For example, if the law is found unconstitutional, this would impact the educational rights of students with disabilities. While the Attorneys General may not have intended to get rid of all of Section 504, this is what would happen if the lawsuit were successful and the Court rules 504 unconstitutional.
The Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) has been leading the way to educate the public about the lawsuit. DREDF hosted a webinar and the webinar, slides, and more information are linked here. We need you to call your Attorney General’s office if you are in one of the 17 states and tell them why they need to protect Section 504 and should withdraw from the lawsuit. The states bringing the case are Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. |
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Plain Language |
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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is an important law for people with disabilities. It protects people with disabilities from discrimination and says that places like schools and hospitals cannot discriminate if they get money from the United States government. There is a lawsuit right now that could remove the protections that Section 504 put in place. A lawsuit is a court case where a person or organization asks the court to fix a problem they are having because someone is not following the law. To sue someone means to start a lawsuit against them. State governments and the United States government can sue each other. When governments sue each other, they are usually trying to get the court to change a law or government rule. In this case, there are 17 states that are suing the United States government to change Section 504.
If Section 504 went away, it would be bad for people with disabilities. If you live in one of the states that are in the lawsuit, you can call your state Attorney General and ask them to drop out of the case. You can ask them to drop out of the case in a meeting, in writing, or on the phone. You can find contact information for all Attorney General offices here. Learn more about what you can do here.
These are the states in the lawsuit: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. |
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Actions Steps |
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New Bills to Establish Work Requirements for Medicaid |
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On February 6 and 7, U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and U.S. Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) introduced legislation in both the House and Senate to establish work requirements for certain Medicaid recipients. The Jobs and Opportunities for Medicaid Act (H.R. 1059) would “require able-bodied adults without dependents who receive Medicaid benefits to work or volunteer for at least 20 hours per week.” S. 447 is the Senate companion bill. Senator Kennedy wrote this op-ed in the National Review: Work Requirements Would Improve Medicaid — and the Lives of Those on the Program. |
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Plain Language |
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U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw and U.S. Senators John Kennedy and Eric Schmitt introduced a bill that would make some people who get Medicaid report to the government how much they are working or volunteering. |
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Action Steps |
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Presidential Nominations and Confirmations |
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President Trump’s nominations for Cabinet positions continue to be debated and voted on in the Senate.
The following are confirmed Cabinet members:
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Robert Kennedy, Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary
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Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture
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Russell Vought, Director of White House Office of Management and Budget
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Chris Wright, Energy Secretary
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Doug Collins, Veterans Affairs Secretary
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Scott Turner, Housing Secretary
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Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
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Pam Bondi, Attorney General
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Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary
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Doug Burgum, Interior Secretary
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Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary
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Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary
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Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary
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John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director
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Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
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Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator
See the list of nominees confirmed or awaiting confirmation by the Senate. |
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Plain Language |
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President Trump chose a few people to be in charge of U.S. departments and agencies. The U.S. Senate decides if they will approve those people. These decisions happen in committees, which are groups of lawmakers who work on a certain issue or topic. |
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President Trump Creates Make America Healthy Again Commission |
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On February 13, President Trump signed an executive order to launch the new Make America Healthy Again Commission, to be chaired by newly confirmed U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. The executive order specifically mentions health conditions and disabilities including asthma, autoimmune disease, Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and autism. The Commission is ordered to “study the scope of the childhood chronic disease crisis and any potential contributing causes,” “advise and assist the President on informing the American people regarding the childhood chronic disease crisis, using transparent and clear facts,” and “provide to the President Government-wide recommendations on policy and strategy related to addressing the identified contributing causes of and ending the childhood chronic disease crisis.”
Within 100 days of the date of the order, the Commission must submit an initial assessment to the President to identify and assess childhood chronic diseases in America and various threats to childhood health. Within 180 days, the Commission must submit a Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy based on the findings from the initial assessment.
Executive orders have the force of law, and like laws passed by Congress, they have to comply with existing laws, including civil rights laws like the Americans with Disabilities. Therefore, some executive orders may not withstand certain actions that are working their way through the courts. Recent executive orders from President Trump can be found here. |
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Plain Language |
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President Trump made a new commission, which is a special group of people who need to complete a specific task or research something. This new commission is focused on learning more about health issues, especially children’s health issues. |
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Action Steps |
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Read more about the Make America Healthy Again executive order. |
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Senator Cassidy Introduces Bill Increasing Age Threshold for Social Security Benefits |
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On February 6, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced S. 466, legislation to amend title II of the Social Security Act to increase the age threshold for eligibility for child’s insurance benefits on the basis of disability. |
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Plain Language |
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Senator Bill Cassidy introduced a new bill that will help more children with disabilities get health care. |
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Check out "Tuesdays with Liz: Disability Policy for All" |
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“Tuesdays with Liz: Disability Policy for All” is a YouTube video series highlighting current issues and hot topics in disability policy. Past guests of Tuesdays with Liz include U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, agency officials, AUCD leadership, and key members of the disability community.
Liz Weintraub is AUCD's Senior Advocacy Specialist and the host of "Tuesdays with Liz: Disability Policy for All."
Liz has extensive experience practicing leadership in self-advocacy and has held many board and advisory positions at state and national organizations, including the Council on Quality & Leadership (CQL) and the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council.
Find the full playlist on YouTube. |
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