Access Living friends and allies,
As many of you are aware, significant federal government changes are under way that threaten the security and the lives of people with disabilities and seniors. In this advocacy alert, we will talk about what some of those changes are, and what our community is doing to respond to these threats.
The threats we face are on multiple fronts and constitute a serious attack on people with disabilities. The threats include but are not limited to:
- First: there is the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, which oversees not only special education funding and civil rights enforcement, but also vocational rehabilitation funding.
- Second: staff cuts and field office closures at the Social Security Administration will make for a more complicated system and less reliable to access public benefits.
- Third: massive cuts of personnel are underway at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), resulting in significant reductions to areas such as policy, research and civil rights enforcement, as well as the dismantling of the Administration on Community Living (ACL).
- Fourth: Congress is weighing significant cuts to Medicaid, which would create crises for people with disabilities, seniors, and the providers of healthcare and supports.
In the face of these threats to our existence, Access Living sees YOU fighting back. Communities are coming together to support those who were in need, as well as those who are suddenly now in need because of federal reductions in force. We see you fighting for Medicaid and Social Security. We see families fighting for students with disabilities. We see you contacting Congress, the news media, educating all of your families and friends. You are organizing from the streets and virtually from your beds.
Disability organizations are helping lead the response to these attacks. Not only have more than 450 disability organizations nationwide signed on to a letter opposing the restructuring of HHS, multiple organization have now filed a federal lawsuit against the Social Security Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The goal of the lawsuit is to stop unlawful cuts to Social Security Services. The lawsuit was filed by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), Deaf Equality, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and Massachusetts Senior Action Council, and individual plaintiffs. Justice in Aging and Brown Goldstein & Levy, LLP joined the lawsuit as co-counsel.
Remember, our power is in our community. Whether it is two people taking care of one another, or two thousand people answering an action alert, never forget that together our power is multiplied when we come together. We are going to be in this threat situation for a while. Access Living is doing our best to support community members on multiple levels, both individual and through systems advocacy. Let’s not roll back what we have won so far; our rights and our lives are worth fighting for!