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June 27, 2025 | Vol. MMXXV | Issue 118 |
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President's Budget |
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The President’s budget proposes getting rid of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs). The Administration wants to combine the work of the UCEDDs with the work of a few other disability programs to make the Independent Living Program do that work. It is now up to Congress to decide how much money is given to important programs like UCEDDs.
Action Alert - Use AUCD’s messaging guide to contact Members of Congress and state elected officials to tell them why UCEDDs are so important for people with disabilities and their families all across the country. |
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Reconciliation |
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We expect the Senate to soon begin their vote-a-rama and start voting on their version of the reconciliation bill, which makes deeper cuts to Medicaid and health care spending than the House’s version of the bill.
In vote-a-rama, there is no limit to how many amendments Members can introduce, and Democrats will likely introduce amendments to both slow down the process and make Republicans vote on politically unsavory issues. Senate debate time is fixed at 20 hours, split evenly between parties. Once this process ends and Republicans pass a bill, the bill will go back to the House for them to vote on again.
The Senate parliamentarian is starting to rule that some provisions don’t comply with the Byrd rule, which essentially stipulates that the bill only deal with federal spending. She has recently ruled that major pieces of the Medicaid policies in the reconciliation bill do not comply with the Byrd rule, including the provider tax provision. Senate Republicans are expected to rework the language so that it can be included in the bill. Senate Democrats on the Budget Committee released this memo detailing some of the rulings. Read more about Senate reconciliation rules here.
Most states help finance their Medicaid costs by collecting taxes from health care providers. Those amounts are returned to providers in the form of higher Medicaid payments from the federal government. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that limiting or eliminating these provider taxes based on the House’s reconciliation bill would leave 3.9 million people without coverage. Learn more about provider taxes here.
Many House Republicans are not happy with the changes the Senate made to the reconciliation bill. On June 24, 16 House Republicans sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) opposing the Senate’s proposed Medicaid changes in their budget reconciliation bill. Some Senate Republicans have also spoken publicly about the Senate bill making cuts that are too deep and could negatively impact stakeholders they care about, like rural hospitals. Here’s a summary of some recent Congressional Republican complaints about the reconciliation bill.
On June 20, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and three committee ranking members—Amy Klobuchar (D-MN; Agriculture), Jeff Merkley (D-OR; Budget), and Ron Wyden (D-OR; Finance)—led a letter to Majority Leader Thune about the proposed Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cuts in the House’s reconciliation bill. In the letter, the entire Senate Democratic caucus urges Senator Thune to reject the House’s bill, writing that “the House-passed Republican reconciliation bill includes over $1 trillion in health care cuts, decimating Medicaid and dismantling the ACA.”
Read more about Medicaid provisions in reconciliation in this summary from KFF. |
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Key Takeaways |
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Because of pushback from people with disabilities, older adults, healthcare providers, and many more advocates, Congressional Republicans are feeling pressure to limit their proposals to cut Medicaid. We have helped to slow down this process, and we need to keep our efforts up.
The Democratic letter to Senator Thune underscores that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found “the entirety of Republicans’ health care cuts will terminate health care coverage for 16 million people.” In the letter, they write:
"New analyses find more than 51,000 Americans will die as a result of the bill’s Medicaid cuts, which will also lead to the loss of 850,000 jobs. The Republican bill will increase costs for everyone and damage local economies; raise premiums and health care costs across markets; shutter rural hospitals and nursing homes; worsen unemployment from resulting job loss; and slam state budgets with new, unaffordable costs."
If this bill passes, it would be disastrous for people with disabilities and their families, older adults, and rural communities. 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.
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.
Action Item - Call your Senators and educate them on the importance of Medicaid for people with disabilities and their families and caregivers--you can use AUCD’s Medicaid fact sheet and talking points. Reach your Senators by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or use this link from The Arc:
Tell Congress: No Medicaid or SNAP Cuts!
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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Congress is still working on passing the bills that affect how the government spends money, which is a process called reconciliation. The Senate will soon start voting on their version of the bill that cuts more money from Medicaid and healthcare than the House bill.
During voting, Senators will make lots of changes to the spending bill in a process called “vote-a-rama.” Democrats in the Senate are planning to slow this process by introducing extra changes for the Senate to vote on. If Senate Republicans can pass the bill, it will go back to the House for another vote.
A lot of Republicans in the House are not happy with the Senate’s changes to the spending bill. These Republicans sent a letter to say they do not support the Senate’s new bill. Some Republicans in the Senate are also not happy with how much money is being cut in the bill because it could hurt important services. Senate Democrats also do not agree with these cuts. They sent a letter to Republicans warning that the bill could take away Medicaid for millions, close hospitals, cause job cuts, and hurt state budgets.
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 up.
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. You can also use this form from The Arc to reach your Member of Congress:
Tell Congress: No Medicaid or SNAP Cuts!
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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House Energy and Commerce Hearing with Secretary Kennedy |
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On June 24, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the President’s budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) FY26 budget. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was the sole witness, and was questioned by Members about his changes to vaccine safety panels, the reductions in force at HHS, frozen grants and funding for programs under HHS, and more. You can read Secretary Kennedy’s testimony here. |
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Key Takeaways |
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This marks Secretary Kennedy’s fourth appearance before a congressional committee since he was sworn in as health secretary. In his hearings, Secretary Kennedy has shown that he is unfamiliar with the structure of his own agency, the extent of the mass firings that have taken place since his tenure began, and the consequences of the significant cuts to personnel and funding. Democrats on the panel expressed frustration at the lack of transparency from the agency; Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO) highlighted that Democrats on the committee had sent Secretary Kennedy 18 letters seeking information about the changes taking place at the agency, none of which received any responses from the Secretary. |
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Plain Language |
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This week, Secretary Kennedy met with a Senate committee that keeps an eye on the Department of Health and Human Services and its budget. Members of Congress asked him about these firings and about the money that is being stopped from going to important programs that affect people with disabilities, children, older adults, and more. Secretary Kennedy showed that he did not know a lot about the firings or the money. Democrats on this committee sent 18 letters to Secretary Kennedy asking about what is happening to the department, but he did not respond to any of them. |
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New Legislation
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Plain Language |
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There are a few new bills in the U.S. Congress.
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The Disability Access to Transportation Act (DATA) would create a test program that helps riders with disabilities save time when they request transportation for trips. The program will also make it easier to report problems with their transportation and help communities find ways to make their transportation more accessible.
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The Autism Family Caregivers Act would give money to teach family members the skills to care for their children with autism or other developmental disabilities.
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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 important work of UCEDDs, LENDs, IDDRCs, PNS’s, DD Councils, P&As
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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 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 on the President's budget and UCEDDs. |
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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.
Vote-a-rama
This is a process where the Senate votes on a lot of changes to a bill. These changes are called amendments. There is no limit to how many amendments Senators can share during this process. After a Senator shares an amendment, the whole Senate votes on it. This can make vote-a-rama a long process because the Senate ends up having to vote a lot. All the votes can take many hours. Both parties (Democrats and Republicans) will try to make amendments that support what they believe in. Some of the amendments are serious, but others try to make the other party make difficult votes. When this is done, the bill will go back to the House for another vote. Vote-a-ramas usually happen when the Senate is passing bills that affect how the government spends money. |
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