Congress has already passed three major and several smaller legislative bills to address the Coronavirus pandemic, but the needs of people with disabilities have yet to be adequately addressed. People with disabilities have been hit hard by COVID-19 in every area of life, and we need more resources and supports during this crisis. Senators are coming home for July 4^th recess, and when they return to Congress in mid-July, they will be focusing on the 4^th major COVID-19 relief package. NOW is the time to for us to contact their offices to put disability-related priorities at the forefront.

What is in the next COVID-19 relief package will be ultimately determined by the Senate Leadership: Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Senators McConnell and Schumer need to hear from their fellow Senators in their respective parties about priorities. If you live in Senator McConnell or Senator Schumer’s state, it is especially important that you contact them as constituents.

Please call or email to urge your Senators to include the following disability-related priorities in the next COVID-19 relief bill AND ask them communicate their support for these priorities to Senate Leadership:

1. Dedicated Funding for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS)

We are seeking $20 billion in dedicated funding for Medicaid Home & Community-Based Services (HCBS) in the next COVID package. This is the TOP priority for NDSC and much of the disability community. Although the previous COVID packages passed by Congress have provided some relief to people with disabilities and have even provided additional funds to Medicaid overall, they have neglected to address the most vital services upon which people with disabilities rely to maintain their independence and access the community: HCBS. HCBS funds are necessary to support the workforce that provides critical services to people with disabilities, the service providers that employ that workforce, and the people who depend upon those services to live safely in their homes and communities. Unfortunately, because HCBS are optional Medicaid services, they are most at risk in budget crises, placing people with disabilities at serious risk of unnecessary institutionalization (which, given the outbreaks of COVID in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, increases risk to people with disabilities even more). We need funding specifically dedicated to HCBS.

2. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Dedicated Funding and No Waiver of Rights

a) Dedicated IDEA Funding

We are asking for $12.5 billion dedicated funding for IDEA (supplemental to Fiscal Year 2021 funding) in the next COVID-19 package. IDEA has been historically and continuously underfunded. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed even more strain on state and local education systems, as they are incurring enormous costs to make investments in technology, products, services and personnel training in their move to distance education and their planning for the fall. Although previous COVID-19 bills have increased education funding that could potentially be used for IDEA, there has been no funding dedicated specifically to serve students with disabilities. (The requested breakdown for the requested IDEA funding would be: $11.3 billion in IDEA Part B Section 611 programs; $500 million in IDEA Part C programs; $400 million in IDEA Part B Section 619 programs; and $300 million in IDEA Part D personnel preparation.)

b) No Waivers to IDEA

Tell Congress NOT to authorize any IDEA waivers, and that sufficient flexibility is available under existing guidance. Secretary DeVos issued guidance that strongly affirmed the rights of children with disabilities to be educated during the pandemic and outlined flexibility available during the pandemic. NDSC conducted an in-depth analysis of IDEA law, regulations, and policy and various waiver proposals that may be found HERE. Our analysis found that these waivers are not necessary and would diminish fundamental civil rights. Then, in response to a requirement in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, 

Secretary DeVos issued a report to Congress that does not request waivers to IDEA, other than addressing two administrative issues. However, there are some stakeholder groups that are heavily pressuring their Senators to authorize IDEA waivers. We agree with Secretary DeVos that no waivers are needed. Please let your Senator know that no waivers to IDEA are needed during this time and sufficient flexibility already exists.

3. Include Adult Dependents in Stimulus Payments

Please ask your Senators to fix the definition of “dependent” used in the CARES Act for the Recovery Rebates to align with the federal tax code so that all taxpayers with dependents age 17 and older would be eligible for the $500 dependent credit if those taxpayers were otherwise eligible for the Economic Impact Payment. The CARES Act provided important economic impact payments to people to help them meet their financial obligations during the COVID-19 crisis and provided tax credits of $500 to taxpayers for dependents younger than 17. Unfortunately, the definition used by the CARES Act for “dependent” was not aligned with the definition of “dependent” under the federal tax code, thereby excluding parents and caretakers who claim adult dependents on their tax returns from that additional $500 credit. This should be fixed in the next COVID-19 bill.

People with disabilities have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and it is long overdue that Congress address our concerns and support the disability community. Please urge your Senators to include our priorities in the next COVID-19 package.

Call your Members of Congress:

1. Call the Capitol Switchboard at: (202) 224-3121 (voice) or (202) 224-3091(tty) and ask to be connected to your Senators.

2. You can use this easy tool to find your members of Congress.

[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address and zip code to ensure your call is tallied]

Thank you for your advocacy efforts!

The NDSC Policy & Advocacy Team

We encourage you to stay engaged in our advocacy efforts by: (1) Registering for NDSC Action Alerts- click "Quick Sign Up"; (2) Subscribing to the NDSC Policy & Advocacy Newsline; (3) Joining our national grassroots advocacy program, the National Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition  and (4) "liking" NDSC Policy & Advocacy on social media .