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June 6, 2025 | Vol. MMXXV | Issue # 115 |
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President's Budget |
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On May 30, the President released his budget, which proposes massive cuts to government departments and agencies—as previewed in his “skinny” budget proposal released earlier in May. The budget proposes a $31.3 billion cut to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a $12 billion cut for federal education programs, including a 36% cut to the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education. Agency heads have started testifying in front of various Congressional committees to discuss the President’s budget proposal.
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Key Takeaways |
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Despite advocacy from the disability community, Dear Colleague Letters with bipartisan support, and a commitment from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to protect the Developmental Disabilities Network, the President’s budget explicitly proposes the elimination of the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs). The President’s Budget does not give us specific information on LEND programs and IDDRCs.
Other notable elements:
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National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDLRR) - moved to the Administration for Children, Families, and Communities (ACFC), funded $100 million
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DD Councils - moved to ACFC, funded at $80 million
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Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) - funded $13.8 million
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - cut $1.8 billion
The President's budget serves as a roadmap for Congress for how the Administration wants Congress to fund the government. Congress does not have to follow the recommendations of the Administration. This gives us opportunity to continue fighting for the programs we care about. AUCD is continuing to analyze and monitor how budget proposal would affect the broader DD Network. Read AUCD’s statement here. Read this article about the cuts to UCEDDs.
These talking points were shared upon the release of the “skinny” budget several weeks ago; they are as relevant now and can be used to provide context about our programs.
Reminder: please review the guidance on educating vs. lobbying, and as you personalize these messages, use your discretion on whether you contact Members of Congress personally versus professionally, and if you need alter the language to better meet your university’s requirements. |
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Plain Language |
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The President writes a budget that they have to send to Congress every year. This budget shows how much money that want to give to different parts of the government. It is not law. The Administration’s budget takes a lot of money away from government programs in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education that support people with disabilities and their families. AUCD is worried about the budget that came out because the budget would not give any money to the University Centers of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs). The UCEDDs do a lot of important work for people with disabilities and their families and have had support from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Now, it is up to Congress how they give money to important programs like UCEDDs. AUCD does not want Congress to follow this budget suggestion because it will be extremely harmful to people with disabilities in lots of ways, including getting rid of UCEDDs.
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Reconciliation |
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The Senate will not publicly hold markups in committees, the way the House did, but will be conducting closed-door negotiations to prepare their retooled bill. They will likely then hold another vote-a-rama, which is a long process on the Senate floor where Senators consider a bill and can add as many amendments as they want. Once they finish, they need a simple majority to pass their budget resolution. |
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Key Takeaways |
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If this bill passes, it would be disastrous for people with disabilities and their families, older adults, and rural communities. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its full score of the reconciliation package House Republicans passed last month, estimating that the bill would increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion over a decade and that sixteen million people could lose health insurance if that bill becomes law. The work requirements provisions alone are expected to leave 4.8 million people without health insurance.
There are Republican Senators who are not fully sold on the Medicaid cuts and are expressing concern about how they might negatively impact rural communities, people with disabilities, families, hospitals, and more. There are also Republican Senators who have been vocal about how this reconciliation bill would not impact people with disabilities—it is important that they hear from the disability community that they are not correct in that assertion. If the House’s bill passes, states will have to change how they finance their programs and they will reduce benefits.
Folks must continue to let their Members of Congress know how painful, misguided, and cruel any cuts to Medicaid would be.
Read Answers to FAQ on Medicaid and Budget Reconciliation Proposals from the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) and the Disability and Aging Collaborative here.
Read Top 10 Reasons Why House Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill is Bad for Medicaid (and the ACA) from the National Health Law Program here.
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Plain Language |
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Congress is in the middle of a long process of passing bills that affect how the government spends money, which is called reconciliation. The House of Representatives passed their bill. Next, the Senate will need to vote on their bill. Reconciliation is sometimes a long and complicated process. This is because you don’t need as many lawmakers to vote ‘yes.’ It is usually used when lawmakers in one political party (either Democrat or Republican) want to pass bills they know the other political party wouldn’t like very much. They can do this when there is the same political party in charge of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency. Republicans in the House might have different priorities than Republicans in the Senate, and the Senate has different rules than the House, so some things might change about the bill.
Republicans in both the Senate and House are trying to cut Medicaid and take it away from millions of people and even make it harder for people to get health insurance in other ways. They want to spend less money on Medicaid so that the government can spend more money on immigration police and helping some rich people spend less on their taxes. We do not think this is fair.
Because many people with disabilities, older adults, and advocates are speaking out, Republicans are having a hard time moving this process forward. We can make a difference if we keep speaking out.
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Action Item - Right now, people should let their Senators know how important Medicaid is for people with disabilities and their families. You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and talk about how Medicaid helps people get home and community-based services, employment support, and more. If you have a personal story, it is really helpful to share! Here is some more information about Medicaid in plain language.
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Department of Education |
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On Tuesday, June 3, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the President’s budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Education. Education Secretary Linda McMahon testified on the budget and was questioned by Senators about the lack of transparency from the Administration on its spend plan for the Department, Shaheen on students with disabilities, and more.
In Secretary McMahon’s testimony, she says “…this budget maintains full funding for Title I to school districts for children from low-income families, and special education funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). By consolidating various disparate K-12 programs into a single streamlined program, we provide states flexibility to fund activities that make the most sense for their respective communities, including improving school leader quality, expanding choice, and building teacher capacity.”
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Key Takeaways |
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The Administration has pledged to abolish the Department of Education, and has begun to take actions to that end. While they cut the workforce and eliminate programs, Secretary McMahon and the Administration continue to espouse a belief that the Department has previously maintained too much control over states’ education programs. In fact, states already have a lot of flexibility, as the Department of Education does not develop curricula, set requirements for enrollment and graduation, determine state education standards, establish schools or colleges, or develop or implement testing to measure whether states are meeting their education standards.
While school districts and states directly oversee instruction, curriculum, and more, it is the Department of Education that holds school districts and states accountable and provides them with the infrastructure to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Attempts to dismantle the Department of Education and “return authority to the states” are alarming, because what the Administration is actually doing is taking away the rights of students with disabilities and their families. The Department of Education plays a vital role in ensuring that students with disabilities are educated and have recourse when they are discriminated against. The Administration and Secretary McMahon are attempting to weaken the mechanisms in the Department that oversee special education and civil rights compliance, jeopardizing protections for students with disabilities, which could lead to segregation and stigmatization of students with disabilities.
Read more from AUCD about the Department’s harmful actions here.
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Action Item - Call your Members of Congress—your Representative and Senators—and reach out to your state officials, such as the governor’s office, to educate them on the important work that the Department of Education does to protect and support students with disabilities and their families. You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
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Plain Language |
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The Department of Education supports many students with disabilities and makes sure that they have protections against discrimination at school. The Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, is in charge of the Department and she wants to change a lot about how the Department works. People are worried that the changes she is making will mean that students with disabilities are going to have less protections in school, might get separated from students without disabilities, and might not have the programs that support them anymore.
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Action Item - Call your Members of Congress—your Representative and Senators—and reach out to the government officials in your state, such as the governor’s office, to educate them on the important work that the Department of Education does to protect and support students with disabilities and their families. You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
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AUCD Story Collection |
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AUCD is collecting stories from the Network on a variety of topics to amplify the effects of this Administration on real people and our programs. If you have a story, we want to hear it.
We are interested in stories about:
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Medicaid and its impact on people's lives
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The impact of dismantling ACL
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The impact of zeroing out UCEDDs, LENDs, IDDRCs, PNS’s, DD Councils, P&As
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Impact of grants that are being cut
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Stories responding to RFK Jr.’s claims about autism or the autism registry
You can use this link to provide information and let us know if you are comfortable sharing your story with Members of Congress and their staff. |
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AUCD Policy Blog |
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AUCD invites Network members to fill out this form if you’re interested in writing for the AUCD policy blog. We are open to a variety of issues areas, and we will follow up with you as relevant issues come up that we’d like you to write about.
Check out our first blog "Personal Reflections on Fifty Years Since the Signing of the Willowbrook Consent Decree: Litigation, Policy, and the Importance of Medicaid" written by Joanne Florio Siegel, ACSW, LCSW.
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Disability Policy for All with Liz |
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Join Liz on Instagram Reels, where she provides plain language updates on policy, highlighting current issues and hot topics in federal disability policy.
Liz Weintraub is AUCD's Senior Advocacy Specialist and the host of “Disability Policy for All with Liz.” She 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.
Watch Liz’s most recent video interviewing Gale Hann on autism and workplace accommodations. |
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Words to Know |
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Reconciliation
This is a process of passing bills that affects how the government spends money. It is unique because usually, you need more people to vote ‘yes’ for a bill. With reconciliation, you don’t need as many lawmakers to vote ‘yes.’ This is why reconciliation is usually used when lawmakers in one political party (either Democrat or Republican) want to pass bills they know the other political party wouldn’t like very much. They can do this when there is the same political party in charge of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency.
Appropriations
This is money that is set aside by Congress for a particular use. The appropriations process happens once a year. Money is sometimes requested by the President’s Administration or by Congress for a specific use.
Immigration police
Also known as “ICE,” this is special police that is supposed to keep people from coming in to the United States and goes around and arrests people the government doesn’t think should be here or are here illegally.
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