Economic Recovery Legislation

The House Democratic leadership has unveiled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  This is a $825 billion package which includes $550 billion in spending and $275 billion in tax cuts.  The legislation includes many increases in disability related programs, such as a one-time payment to SSI recipients. A summary can be found on The Arc national web site and this also allows you to “Take Action” on the Act.

Health Care

The House of Representatives passed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (H.R. 2).  This legislation reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through FY 2013.  It expands the program to cover approximately 4 million more children than currently covered. The bill includes a provision that would allow states to waive the federally mandated five-year waiting period for legal immigrants to receive SCHIP benefits.  By vote of 12-7, the Senate Finance Committee approved a similar bill.  SCHIP funds BadgerCare in Wisconsin.

Seclusion and Restraint

The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) recently released a report called, “School is Not Supposed to Hurt: Investigative Report on Abusive Restraint and Seclusion in Schools”.  This document outlines dozens of seclusion or restraint cases that have lead to injury or death, including a well-publicized case in Wisconsin.  It is likely this issue will be taken up by both Houses of Congress.  House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) promises to hold a hearing to "address and hopefully end these horrific acts." 

• Read the NDRN report 
• For more information on seclusion, aversives and restraints, visit APRAIS, an alliance of which The Arc and UCP are members
• For state-specific laws and information, visit the NDRN web site at:

Entitlement Reform

President Obama recently stated that economic recovery required addressing the high costs of Medicare spending and Social Security solvency. He announced that he will convene a "Fiscal Responsibility Summit" in February before he delivers his first budget to the Congress to begin discussion on these issues.

Employment

In his last week as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) at the U.S. Department of Labor, Neil Romano circulated a memorandum highlighting "Employment First" policies in some states. Generally, employment first means that sheltered employment with subminimum wages and non-work day activities are no longer considered acceptable employment outcomes.  It is expected that ODEP will continue to promote the employment first policies.  A discussion of increasing meaningful, integrated and customized employment at minimum wage or above was a central focus of the employment roundtable ODEP sponsored last October on people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.