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Disability programs at risk due to budget cuts

Randall L. Rutta, Senior Vice President
Government Relations, Easter Seals
Easter Seals National Headquarters
Chicago, IL

For many children and adults with disabilities, their quality of life is dictated by the availability of services and supports from the federal government. Because federal funding is so critical, Easter Seals works to demonstrate to Congress how important it is to fund federal programs that support and promote the health and independence of people with disabilities each year as Congress sets its budget priorities.

Congress has just completed its work on the federal budget plan for 2006. Not only did Congress not address the growing unmet needs of vulnerable Americans -- low-income citizens, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities -- this plan calls for $35 billion in cuts from entitlement programs over the next five years, nearly one-third or approximately $10 billion of which will come from the Medicaid program. Additionally, during this same period, $212 billion will be cut from domestic discretionary programs, which includes programs that are important to people with disabilities. Please visit our Web site for more information about the federal budget resolution

Easter Seals will be working diligently over the coming months to mitigate the harm caused by these budget cuts to people with disabilities and the programs and supports that they depend on. Through the appropriations process, Congressional committees will now take the spending levels set by the budget plan and apply these cuts to the programs under their jurisdiction. Easter Seals will closely monitor the actions of the two committees that will implement the Medicaid cuts, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Congress must pass 13 different appropriations bills by October 1, 2005.

This budget was not widely supported by Congress. This budget plan passed by only three votes in the House of Representatives and two votes in the Senate. As the appropriations process develops, we will be calling on members of the Easter Seals Legislative Action Network to speak out and tell Congress to invest in programs and supports for people with disabilities.

You can help Easter Seals now by helping us inform others about the impact that the federal budget has on the programs and supports that people with disabilities depend on by forwarding this message to family and friends