blind_html [Fwd: For People with Vision Loss and Other Disabilities, Stimulus Bill Raises Many Hopes and Some Concerns]
- From: Nimer <nimerjaber1@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: blind_html@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:02:16 -0700
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: For People with Vision Loss and Other Disabilities, Stimulus
Bill Raises Many Hopes and Some Concerns
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009 13:11:37 -0500
From: AFB DirectConnect <blemoine@xxxxxxx>
To: AFB Subscriber <afbweb@xxxxxxx>
AFB DirectConnect Letterhead
*For People with Vision Loss and Other Disabilities, Stimulus Bill
Raises Many Hopes and Some Concerns*
For further information, contact:
Mark Richert
Director, Public Policy
202-822-0833
mrichert@xxxxxxx <mailto:mrichert@xxxxxxx>
As Congress moves closer to passing a massive $900 billion economic
recovery and stimulus package, the Obama Administration is reaching out
to organizations of and for people with disabilities to ask for their
express support for the President's call for prompt passage of the
legislation. And indeed, the organized disability community has
generally found many aspects of the stimulus plan very favorable to
programs and services for people with disabilities. Among the many
provisions on the table having an impact on people with disabilities,
key funding priorities include--
• over $13.6 billion for state assistance to provide special education,
related services, and early childhood intervention;
• over $500 million for vocational rehabilitation without the usual
requirement of state matching funds;
• over $50 million for services to older individuals who are blind under
Title VII, Chapter 2 of the Rehabilitation Act;
• a one-time extra monthly payment to recipients of Supplemental
Security Income (SSI).
However, differences between the detailed language now being debated in
the Senate and the House-passed version of the plan do raise some
questions. For example, the Senate version of the plan is raising
significant concern on the part of special education advocates who fear
that the Senate's proposal to allow state governors the flexibility to
redirect special education dollars to other accounts with the approval
of the U.S. Secretary of Education is dangerous public policy. The House
did not take such an approach. In addition, while the House version
specifically provides dollar amounts for the older blind and other
independent living programs, the Senate bill does not specifically
delineate the funding amounts for these services. This is particularly
troubling in as much as the Senate version would fund Rehab Act programs
and services at a level that is considerably lower than the House passed
version of the plan.
These and myriad other differences will no doubt be the subject of an
historic conference between the House and Senate once the Senate passes
its version of the plan. In general, funds provided under the plan will
be available over two years and are not intended to substitute for funds
that are made available during the ordinary appropriations process that
Congress engages in each fiscal year. Obviously the fear on the part of
advocates is that the severity of the U.S. economic downturn and the
massive investments being proposed in this stimulus plan may lead to
overwhelming pressure for cuts in programs in those appropriations
measures to come. While time will tell, advocates are preparing to work
with House and Senate leaders to be part of the process to reconcile the
two approaches on the table. Stay tuned for future updates and calls to
action as the process unfolds in the next couple of weeks.
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