It’s been a heck of a week, and we’d like to catch up on a few things with you. Don’t miss the opportunity to sign up for our Community Dinner at the end of this email!
Federal budget fight in Congress
This week, the top story in Congress is how to pass a bill that would continue federal funding for the next six months. The deadline is today. The U.S. House has already passed this bill, so it is now in the Senate. As of last night, the Senate was positioned to pass the budget bill this afternoon (the bill is known as a Continuing Resolution). Read more about the budget fight at this link from Roll Call. The bill provides for continuing regular funding, but it omits funding for what is called “earmark” projects. This is funding for community projects requested by individual members of Congress for their districts.
What about Medicaid?
A big problem with the budget bill that’s about to pass is that it instructs the House Energy and Commerce Committee to start working to cut Medicaid by $880 billion over the next ten years. KFF Health News has this story about why cutting Medicaid is a very difficult situation. It is very important that now, and all the way through September, we keep fighting to protect Medicaid. September is when Congress has to finalize NEXT year’s budget, which could see cuts to Medicaid. Access Living set up this webpage to help you get your Medicaid story to your members of Congress.
Cuts to U.S. Department of Education
This week, the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, moved forward with cutting over 1,300 jobs at the U.S. Department of Education. See this story from NPR. That leaves just over 2,100 positions remaining for the critical work of student aid, special education and regular education funds, vocational rehabilitation funds, and more. The Office of Civil Rights has been redirected away from handling most, if not all, discrimination complaints. The backlash has been immediate.
Twenty-one Democratic state attorneys general have sued to stop the layoffs, saying they are illegal and unconstitutional. Two parents, along with the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), have filed a class action lawsuit to stop the decimation of the Department’s Office of Civil Rights. ProPublica carried the story about the COPAA lawsuit here. Locally, ABC Chicago carried a story about concerns from Governor Pritzker, former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and our own Education Policy Analyst, Frank Lally.
Access Living Community Dinner is March 27
In these times, building community is more important than ever. This year, we started a monthly Community Dinner series at Access Living, which has been a hit! The RSVP form for the March 27 dinner is at this link. The dinner will be from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at 115 W. Chicago Avenue in Chicago. Due to space limitations and overwhelming response, an RSVP is REQUIRED to attend Community Dinner. We can welcome up to 80 community members, so make sure to RSVP today. Your name must be on the list to enter. The Community Dinner is free; please note access and food needs on the RSVP form.
Please share this update with fellow advocates. Thank you for your support