News/Alerts
H.R. 3995 HARMS IMPORTANT DISABILITY RIGHTS PROGRAMS
Urge your Member of Congress to oppose this damaging bill
Congressman Barney Frank recently introduced legislation that is supported by VOR (the Voice of the Retarded) which would place restrictions on the ability of Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&As) to protect the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities who live in intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded (ICF/MRs) from abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, Congressional staff may not understand about the work of P&As, or other partners under the DDAct, and 36 Members of Congress (including some civil rights luminaries) have cosponsored this bill. We must stem the tide!
For instructions on how you can take action and for a sample letter template, visit DRNPA's "Alerts" page.
NCIL Members Take Action: Tell Senators to Pass the ADA Amendments Act, HR 3195 Before July 26th, the 18th Anniversary of the ADA!
Call or fax a letter to your Senators and tell them to vote for the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, HR 3195 as passed by the House on June 25th. This bill, HR 3195, has been changed to reflect the deal the business and disability communities reached. Below is a sample phone script and letter. Tell the Senate to Pass the Bill with no Changes, No Amendments!
Sample Phone Script
[Call: 1-800- 828-0498 or (202) 224-3121]
"I am calling to express my strong support for the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, H.R. 3195. This bill would protect people with disabilities and provide a clear definition of disability under the ADA for employers. The ADA Amendments Act is supported by over 100 national disability organizations and many key business associations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Society for Human Resource Management, and the HR Policy Association. These supporters recognize that this legislation that will ensure all Americans have a fair opportunity to secure employment. I urge Senator to support the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 as passed by the House."
Sample Letter to Fax*
Click Here for a Directory and Contact Information.
*US mail sent to Congress can be delayed by up to four weeks because of security screening. Also, because the Senate receives so many emails, some Senators have chosen to block email. Given time constraints, phone calls and faxes to Senators are preferred.
Dear Senator:
I urge you to support the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, H.R. 3195, as passed by the House of Representatives.
The Americans with Disabilities Act has transformed the nation since its enactment in 1990. The ADA was intended to protect people with disabilities from discrimination at work and in public life. Over the last decade, the promises and protections of the ADA have dissolved for people with disabilities. Judicial decisions over the last decade have excluded people with conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease and bipolar disorder - those who Congress clearly intended to protect under the ADA in 1990 - from seeking protections against employment discrimination under the ADA.
The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 will re-establish these protections. This legislation is supported by over 60 national disability organizations, including the National Council on Independent Living, and many key business associations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Society for Human Resource Management, and the HR Policy Association.
The ADA Amendments Act would give employers and people with disabilities tools for successful integration into the workplace and society. Please join in this historic partnership and help ensure that the ADA once again covers the people Congress intended to be covered. People with disabilities depend upon it. I urge you to support the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 as passed by the House.
Sincerely,
[Name]
For more ADA Restoration and ADA Amendment Act news, please visit http://www.ncil.org/news/ADARADeal2.html.
For more information, contact NCIL Policy Analyst Deb Cotter by email deb@ncil.org with “ADA Amendments Act” in the subject line, by phone (202)207-0334, ext. 1008.
LRI / PCIL Action Alert: Tell the Legislature to Support Independent Living
We Must Act Now!
BACKGROUND
State legislative leaders and the Governor are negotiating the final state budget. They must continue to hear from the ENTIRE Independent Living Community that CIL funding and attendant care funding is important. This document gives you all the information you will need. Please take action. It’s easy and fast.
What THE INDEPENDENT LIVING COMMUNITY Needs to Do
Your local CIL is partnering with the PA Statewide Independent Living Council and Pennsylvania Council on Independent Living to organize separate EMAIL and Call-in Days. Your participation in both is critical.
EMAIL CAMPAIGN
Starts Friday, June 20
In just seconds, EVERYONE can send an email to legislative leaders and their local Representative and Senator through the Action Center on the PA Statewide Independent Living Council’s website. The step-by-step process is very easy.
- Go to www.pasilc.org and click “Contact your Legislator” in the center.
- Complete the simple information form. The system needs your home address to automatically identify your legislators.
- The text of the email is already written for you.
- Click send. The email is automatically sent to legislative leaders and your local Representative and Senator.
- Encourage other Independent Living supporters to also send emails.
Monday, June 23
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Please set aside about 20-30 minutes to make several phone calls. Your message must be clear and short. You will likely only have a moment on the call:
“Hello, my name is (SAY YOUR NAME). I am a consumer of Independent Living services of the (STATE THE NAME OF YOUR LOCAL CIL). I live in [insert name] county. I am a voter and a taxpayer.
In the proposed budget, CIL funding was once again threatened to be cut. It is crucial that $450,000 that is proposed to be cut is restored. Also, while other sectors of human services have received moderate COLAs in recent years, CILs have not. CILs must start to receive a modest COLA in order to provide much needed services to Pennsylvanians with disabilities.
We are grateful that restoration and a 3% COLA for CILS that appear in the current House form of the budget under Printer’s Number 3931. They must remain in the final version of the budget.
Finally, attendant care workers need a 3% COLA. Attendants empower people with disabilities to live in your communities, which saves the state millions on institutional spending. Most attendants are paid less than $10 an hour, so the COLA would help keep and attract more people to the job.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your support on these issues.”
How to Contact the Governor and Legislative Leadership
- Governor Edward G. Rendell:(717) 787-2500 or (800) 932-0784
- Sen. Joseph B. Scarnati III (R), President Pro Tempore: (717) 787-7084
- Sen. Dominic Pileggi (R), Majority Floor Leader: (717) 787-4712
- Sen. Robert J. Mellow (D), Minority Leader: (717) 787-6481
- Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong (R), Majority Appropriations Chair: (717) 787-6535
- Sen. Gerald J. LaValle (D), Ranking Appropriations Chair: (717) 787-3076
- Rep. Dennis M. O’Brien (R), House Speaker: (717) 787-4610
- Rep. H. William DeWeese (D), Majority Floor Leader: (717) 783-3797
- Rep. Samuel H. Smith (R), Minority Floor Leader: (717) 787-3845
- Rep. Dwight Evans (D), Majority Appropriations Chair: (717) 783-1540
- Rep. Mario J. Civera, Jr. (R), Ranking ppropriations Chair: (717) 787-3850
- Your Local Representative and Senator
(Look below for how to find your local legislator)
What has already happened?
The voice of the Independent Living Community is being heard in the halls of the Capitol. In the last few months, advocates have been attending budget hearings, visited with many legislators, sent a Faces of Independent Living email campaign to all legislators and attended a rally on June 10.
The feedback from the legislature and administration was clear: the collective voice of independent living is being heard in the halls of the Capitol! This was clear when the state House of Representatives revealed its current version of the budget (often referred to as the “fake budget” because much discussion and change will still occur) on June 11: it contained a proposed $450,000 restoration on the Centers for Independent Living (CIL) line item as well as a first-time cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 3% on the [restored] line item. WE CAN’T STOP NOW!!
Who is my local legislator?
When you send an email through the Action Center, the computer system identifies your legislator based on your home address. If you are calling your legislator, you can find their name and number in your local telephone book or visit the legislative web site at www.legis.state.pa.us; then visit the box in the upper-righthand corner of the page titled “Find Members By.” Through use of this box, you can locate legislators by zip code or county.
Additional Resources Available
Your CIL received information in earlier emails containing budget and policy attachments, as used during the recent Capitol Day. Also, visit the PA SILC web site at www.pasilc.org for additional information. And, as always, feel free to contact any PA SILC/PCIL staff member with questions or concerns.
Follow-up with PA SILC/PCIL
PA SILC/PCIL would like to track the success of Virtual Capitol Day. Please take a moment to email Melissa DiSanto Simmons of the PA SILC at mdsimmons@pasilc.org regarding your governor and legislative contacts through this campaign:
- Your name, CIL, whether you are a consumer, staffer (title), board member, family member/friend, employer.
- Time of your call(s).
- Whom you called and with whom you spoke (name of staffer).
- The message you shared.
- Comments made to you during the call.
- Does the governor/legislator support your issues?
- Will s/he vote to restore the cut and include a 3% COLA?
At this time, the budget is scheduled to be voted upon during the week of June 23. If this effort is successful, an additional day may also be chosen during the week of June 23. Stay tuned!
Tell Congress to Increase Funding for the Independent Living Program!
Source: CQ
The Senate and House have each adopted the Fiscal Year 2009 budget resolution conference agreement, paving the way for Congress to begin work on the Fiscal Year 2009 appropriation bills. The agreement provides $436.6 billion in domestic spending for Fiscal Year 2009, which is $21.1 billion over Fiscal Year 08 and $22.6 billion over the President’s request. The Senate adopted the conference agreement, S. Con. Res. 70, on June 4, and the House adopted the conference report June 5. Both votes were largely on party lines.
In the Senate, the measure passed 48-45. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) was the only Democrat voting against the measure, and Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) were the only Republican senators voting for it. In the House, the measure passed 214-210 with 14 Democrats voting against the resolution; Representatives John Barrow (D-GA), Dan Boren (D-OK), Don Cazayoux (D-LA), Travis Childers (D-MS), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), Bill Foster (D-IL), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Baron Hill (D-IN), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Nicholas Lampson (D-TX), Jim Matheson (D-UT), Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), and Patrick Murphy (D-PA) voted against the resolution along with all Republican members of the House.
Passage of the resolution, which does not have to be signed by the President, represents a significant victory for the Democratic Congress, because the Republican-led Congress was unable to adopt a budget resolution in the last several election years.
The next step is for the House and Senate Appropriation Committees to develop their 302(b) allocations. These allocations establish the overall amount for each of the 12 appropriation bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill, which includes funding for the Independent Living Program. The House Labor-HHS-Education; HHS Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to mark up their bill on June 19th with the full Appropriations Committee set to mark up this funding bill on June 25th.
House appropriators began marking up their fiscal 2009 spending bills Wednesday, starting with two measures that are generally among the easiest to move. The Homeland Security Subcommittee approved its measure by voice vote in the morning, and the Interior-Environment Subcommittee was expected to finish its bill later in the day. The full Appropriations Committee has not released the spending limits that apply to each subcommittee’s bill. But as individual markups proceed, some of those numbers will be made public.
A standoff over spending between the White House and Capitol Hill is likely to result in Democrats setting aside much of the work on the appropriations bills until after the election, and possibly until the next presidential administration.
Tell Congress to Increase Funding for the Independent Living Program!
As Members of the Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations Subcommittee begin to consider funding for programs under the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, including the Independent Living Program, they need to hear from advocates like you about the important role IL plays in enhancing the lives of people with disabilities. Contact your Members of Congress today, by phone via the Capitol switchboard (202) 224-3121, or by faxing them directly. You can obtain your Senators’ and Representative’s direct fax and phone numbers by looking at the online directory.
On March 13th, NCIL President Kelly Buckland testified before the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee. Kelly testified that Independent Living could be properly funded through reinvestment of the millions of dollars it has already saved the federal government through nursing home transition. Read Kelly’s testimony and use it in your talking points and letters.
Please feel free to contact NCIL Policy Analyst Deb Cotter if you have any comments or questions, and let her know about the responses you receive from you Members of Congress. Email Deb@ncil.org with “2009 IL Appropriations” in the subject line or call Deb at (202) 207-0334, ext. 1008.
Liberty Purchases the Sovereign Building at 714 Market Street!
For the first time, Liberty Resources owns its home! Click here to read more.
We need more co-sponsors for the Community Choice Act!
We need testimonies from every state. Get involved now. To see if your Senator or Representative has signed onto the legislation go to www.thomas.gov and type in the bill number. If your Senator or Representative is not on the list of co-sponsors, call them directly and ask them to sponsor S. 799 & H.R. 1621.
The NCIL web site (www.ncil.org) has a copy of Dr. Mitch LaPlante’s report Estimating the Expense of a Mandatory Home- and Community-Based Personal Assistance Services Benefit Under Medicaid as well as talking points for the Community Choice Act of 2007. Together we can and will make a difference! Thank you for your advocacy efforts!
As a Center for Independent Living, Liberty Resources is a member of the NCIL network. Click here to go to NCIL’s alert pages.