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August 22, 2025 | Vol. MMXXV | Issue 126 |
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In this edition:
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FY26 Appropriations & New Campaign to Protect UCEDDs
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Department of Education IDEA Funding
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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White House Objects to Smithsonian Exhibits
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New Legislation
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AUCD Materials
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Words to Know
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FY26 Appropriations & New Campaign to Protect UCEDDs |
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*Note: FY26 appropriations are different from H.R.1, or the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.” H.R.1 was passed into law using the budget reconciliation process in July. FY26 appropriations are currently under consideration in the Senate.*
AUCD has a new tool to protect funding for the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities!
Take 2 minutes to act now: Campaign to Safeguard UCEDD Funding
1. Use the tool to contact both your Senators and Representative.
2. Share the campaign widely.
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Encourage families, students, staff, alumni, and community partners to join you.
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Send the campaign to 3 people in your life and ask them to fill it out.
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Post the campaign on social media, share that you participated, tag AUCD, and use hashtags #SaveUCEDDs and #DisabilityAdvocacy.
Important Note: This campaign does include direct requests for funding and constitutes lobbying. Please consider this when choosing the email address or list you use to send messages.
The Administration’s FY 2026 budget proposal recommended eliminating discretionary funding for the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) and consolidating UCEDD activities under the Independent Living program, alongside four other distinct national disability programs. On Thursday, July 31, the Senate Committee on Appropriations held a markup for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) FY26 Appropriations bill (S.2587). Bill markup is the process by which a bill gets voted out of committee. The bill passed out of committee 26-3. There was a lot of emphasis in the hearing about the bipartisan work that went into this bill. The bill text and report language were released on July 31.
The Senate’s bill shows a rejection by the Senate of the Administration’s desire to cut critical disability infrastructure. This is a result of strong advocacy from the disability community, but we still have a long way to go.
Senate: Now that the Senate bill has passed out of committee, it will have to be debated on the floor and put to a vote. We need to thank Senators for supporting UCEDDs and other programs in the markup but make sure they know we want this bill passed into law.
House: The House will hold a markup for its own LHHS bill in early September, and this bill may not be as positive for disability programs. We need to advocate to the House ahead of markup to fund our centers and programs.
Congress: After the House bill passes committee and is voted on the floor, the House and Senate will have to work together to pass a funding bill they can both agree on. We need to have members advocating for us in both the Senate and the House. |
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Plain Language |
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Remember! FY26 appropriations are about spending money for many different programs. Appropriations means money that is set aside by Congress for a particular use. This is different from H.R.1, which is also called the reconciliation bill or the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.” H.R.1 is the bill that became a law in July. H.R.1 made huge spending cuts to Medicaid, so a lot of people will have their health care taken away because of it. FY26 appropriations are different bills that haven’t yet been passed by Congress. FY26 appropriations bills are still being worked on in Congress, so we need to speak up to tell Congress what we want to see in the final bill BEFORE it becomes a law.
AUCD has a new tool for people to tell their Members of Congress how important the UCEDDs are. The new tool explains that there is a spending bill in the Senate that gives UCEDDs a similar amount of money that they usually get, and this is good. It explains that UCEDDs support people with disabilities and their families, so we need to make sure that they have enough money to do this important work.
Take 2 minutes to act now: Campaign to Protect UCEDD Funding
1. Use the tool to contact both your Senators and Representative.
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Thank the Senate for rejecting the President’s plan to get rid of UCEDDs.
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Urge the House to use the same plan that the Senate used—tell them that both Democrats and Republicans in the House need to work together to protect disability programs in their bill.
2. Share the campaign widely.
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Encourage families, students, staff, alumni, and community partners to join you.
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Send the campaign to 3 people in your life and ask them to fill it out.
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Post the campaign on social media, share that you participated, tag AUCD, and use hashtags #SaveUCEDDs and #DisabilityAdvocacy.
The Administration wants to take away the 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. This breaks up a network of programs that help people with disabilities and their families in every state and U.S. territory. The UCEDDs do important work like research, training, and offering services that improve everyday life for people with disabilities.
UCEDDs are important because they help people with disabilities live, learn, work, and be a part of their communities. With your help, we want to protect UCEDDs from losing their funding.
Congress needs to pass a government spending bill to make sure the government is funded in 2026. Before Congress can vote on that bill, committees in the House and Senate need to first review it. This is a process called a markup and the committees are called Appropriations committees.
During markup, lawmakers can look over a bill and share suggested changes. The committee then votes on these suggested changes. If the committee agrees on the suggested changes in a vote, the bill with the changes is sent to either the House or Senate for more discussion and voting.
The Senate Appropriations Committee had their markup meeting to talk about their government spending bill and they passed the bill—26 members voted to support the bill and only 3 voted against it. Senators from both parties (Republicans and Democrats) worked together on this bill. The committee did not agree with the Administration’s plan to take away UCEDDs and other important disability programs. Instead, the Senate Appropriations Committee wants to keep giving money to the UCEDDs and other disability programs at the same level as last year. This shows that the Senate still supports these important programs and does not want them to go away.
This happened because people with disabilities, older adults, and advocates spoke up and told Senators these programs are important. There is still more work to do:
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The full Senate still needs to vote on this bill, so we need to make sure every Senator knows that we want this bill to pass.
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The House will have a markup meeting for their spending bill in early September. The House spending bill may not be as good as the Senate bill for the UCEDDs and disability programs, so we need to tell House Members of Congress what we want.
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After both the Senate and the House agree on their spending bills, they will need to work together to make one final bill.
We can make a difference in this process if we keep speaking up! Watch this Disability Policy for All with Liz video about why UCEDDs are important.
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Department of Education IDEA Funding |
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The U.S. Department of Education is poised to cancel hundreds of grant awards made under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), according to an article from Disability Scoop. The article says that grants provided under IDEA Part D might have been flagged for referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are terms to which the Administration is very hostile. Among other things, IDEA Part D provides technical assistance funding, including Parent Training and Information Centers, Community Parent Resource Centers, and Parent Technical Assistance Centers. Per the article, there are organizations that are funded under Part D grants that “are in the middle of a five-year funding cycle, but have not received aware notifications for the coming year, including some with a renewal date next month.”
This news hasn’t yet been confirmed by official sources at the Office of Special Education Programs within the Department of Education, as of the writing of this issue of DPN. Some advocates have heard from grantees that project officers within the Department of Education have told them to prepare to close. |
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Key Takeaways |
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Many grants and programs have been targeted by the Administration because they include mention of diversity, equity, or inclusion (DEI), which is what some advocates believe was the cause of IDEA Part D funding potentially being canceled. Despite the Administration’s hostility towards these terms, diversity, equity, and inclusion are positive values in the disability community and other marginalized communities. They refer to the range of needs within the community and the importance of creating a world where people with disabilities have access to the same places and resources as nondisabled people. Fighting for inclusion has been key to the enormous strides that disability advocates have made in making our world more accessible. The word “inclusion” is also present in many laws and statutes, meaning that it is necessary to keep inclusion in that work.
In his Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal, the President proposed consolidating many IDEA programs into a block grant, which would be problematic for students with disabilities, families, and educators. Advocates say that block granting this funding would leave specific funding amounts for different IDEA sub-sections up to the discretion of states while removing federal oversight to guarantee funding for each program. Senate appropriators did not follow this proposal when they marked up and passed in committee the FY26 Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations legislation. |
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Plain Language |
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The Department of Education might cancel sending a lot of money to organizations and programs that support special education. The Department of Education is supposed to send this funding because of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This article says that advocates have heard that many grants could be canceled because they mention “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Diversity means different kinds of people who look different from each other or have different life experiences. Equity means everyone having access to the same resources, places, and information. Inclusion means including people in society. The Trump Administration has done a lot of things to stop programs that work on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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. In the President’s budget, the Administration changed how special education programs get money from the IDEA. The President suggested that a lot of IDEA programs get combined and disability advocates didn’t like that. IDEA programs are different from each other and get a certain amount of money based on what the law says and what communities need. The Senate’s spending bill didn’t use the President’s budget suggestion. |
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services |
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that they are launching an oversight initiative to ensure that Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees are U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or have “satisfactory immigration status.” CMS plans to make monthly reports to states to identify people whose citizenship or immigration status couldn’t be confirmed through federal databases. |
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Key Takeaways |
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Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid. However, some states opt to use their state funds to cover some immigrants with temporary status or other legal status. Some states use their state funds to provide medical coverage to immigrants regardless of immigration status; 24 states cover pregnant people, 14 states cover children, and 7 states and Washington D.C. cover some immigrant adults. There is also the use of Emergency Medicaid spending, which reimburses hospitals for emergency care they have to provide to people who might meet Medicaid eligibility requirements otherwise but don’t have an eligible immigration status.
According to KFF, “much of Emergency Medicaid spending goes toward labor and delivery costs. Without Emergency Medicaid, the costs of care would be shifted to hospitals that are required to treat individuals in emergency situations or fully to states.” This announcement from CMS is in line with the Administration’s hostile position on immigration and intentions to cut Medicaid costs, including their May 2025 announcement about increased federal oversight for states who help undocumented immigrants get Medicaid coverage. It also aligns with the provisions in H.R.1—the reconciliation bill passed in July, also known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill”—that limits federal matching payments for Emergency Medicaid for people who would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid coverage except for their immigration status. This provision will take effect in October 2026. You can read more about the issues with H.R.1’s immigration provisions and the White House’s claims about immigrants on Medicaid in this brief from Justice in Aging.
Many advocates are concerned that immigrants with and without legitimate immigration status will forgo healthcare because they will be at risk of deportation, discrimination, or unlawful arrest and harassment. |
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Plain Language |
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which is in charge of Medicaid, has announced that they will do more work to stop states that help some immigrants get Medicaid. Immigrants are people who come to the U.S. from another country. There are a lot of different types of immigration status, like having a green card or becoming a citizen. If someone came from a different country and doesn’t have certain documents, they are called an “undocumented immigrant.” It can be very hard to get these documents and while people are waiting to get them or applying to get them, they usually work and raise their families in this country. They have health care needs like everyone else. The President and his Administration think that a lot of states are using money from the federal government to give Medicaid services to immigrants who are not in the country legally. While there are some states that help undocumented immigrants who are children or are pregnant or have a health emergency, they use their state money, not the federal government’s money. Advocates are worried that some immigrants will be too scared to get healthcare, and they might get sicker. |
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White House Objects to Smithsonian Exhibits |
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The White House released an article noting various exhibits and art pieces from Smithsonian museums to which they take issue and offense. This included programming from the National Museum of the American Latino entitled “Thriving in Diversity: Latinas and Latinos with Disabilities.” This programming included animations and content from “a disabled, plus-sized actress” and an “ambulatory wheelchair user” who “educates on their identity being Latinx, LGBTQ+, and disabled.” |
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Key Takeaways |
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As we have said before, diversity is not a dirty word—it refers to the broad spectrum of experiences and needs within communities, including the disability community. Disability advocates have applauded the inclusion of more disabled voices in art over the years because representation in art and culture is important for true, meaningful inclusion in all aspects of society. |
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Plain Language |
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The White House released an article that lists many exhibits that the President doesn’t like at museums in D.C. These museums are all part of the Smithsonian organization. The President doesn’t like these museums because they all have exhibits, including art, that talk about how the U.S. has treated many people very badly throughout history. The President doesn’t like how these museum exhibits talk about diversity, which means different kinds of people who look different from each other or have different life experiences. One of the exhibits in the article from the White House is about Latino people with disabilities. |
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New Legislation
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Plain Language |
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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
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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 most recent blog, “My Summer at AUCD,” by Rincon Jagarlamudi, AUCD’s Summer 2025 Policy Intern. |
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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 explaining the difference between budget reconciliation and annual appropriations.
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Words to Know |
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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.
Social Security
Social security is a federal program that provides money to older adults and people with disabilities. Many people get social security money when they retire, or stop working. Other people get money from social security if they are disabled and can’t work or can’t work very much.
Immigration
Many people come to the U.S. from other countries. This is called immigration. They come for different reasons and from many different parts of the world. |
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