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NATIONAL POLICY MATTERS
For Chapters of The Arc and Affiliates of UCP

                     


ISSUE 2 : May 20, 2009

This issue includes updates on key programs administered by the following federal agencies:

Social Security Administration

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Education

Department of Labor

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of Transportation

Department of Justice







President Releases Detailed Budget Request for FY 2010. 
Most Discretionary Disability Programs Level Funded, Some Receive Increases


President Obama released the details of his Administra-tion's Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request on May 7. Of the $3.56 trillion to be spent, $1.2 trillion is reserved for non emergency domestic spending. This amount is about $10 billion more than the FY 2010 Budget Resolution adopted by the Congress.

Since the Administration’s budget proposal was prepared in a short time with limited staff, there are discrepancies in some of the figures that need to be sorted out. Overall, this budget request falls short of the disability community’s expectations on key disability program funding priorities. Some of this disappointment may be owed to reverting back to funding levels prior to the significant increases for certain disability programs provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The action now shifts to the Congress, where the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will begin marking up their appropriations bills in June. Given the several high profile Congressional priorities (e.g. health care and energy), it is unclear whether the Congress will complete action on all twelve FY 2010 appropriations bills by the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.

Administration officials noted that additional changes to the budget request could be made later this year depending on the state of the economy, deficit projections and possible rescissions (cuts to programs made by the Administration if not rejected by the Congress).

Under the proposed budget, most disability discretionary programs would be frozen or slightly increased. Of particular concern is the Administration's priority to increase early childhood programs, yet the IDEA Early Intervention and Preschool programs remain frozen at current levels. The only disability program the Administration proposed to eliminate is the Department of Labor’s Work Incentives Grants which funds improved accessibility in the workforce development system. 





   Social Security Administration(SSA)



Administration.
The cost of administering the Social Security Administration’s programs is appropriated on an annual basis under the term “Limitation on Administration Expenses (LAE).” SSA’s LAE for FY 2009 was $10.587 billion. The President has requested an increase of $1.016 billion, or 9.6 percent, for a total of $11.603 billion. This amount will help the agency cover the on-going costs of administering the Social Security retirement, survivor, and disability programs and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. It will also allow SSA to continue its significant efforts to eliminate the huge backlogs in decisions on disability claims.

Reviews and Redeterminations. The Administration proposes an additional $485 million for SSA to perform Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs) and SSI Redeterminations. These reviews evaluate whether beneficiaries are still disabled for purposes of the Social Security disability and SSI programs. The reviews result in program savings when people who are determined no longer disabled are removed from the disability programs

Benefits. While Social Security and SSI benefits are not subject to the appropriations process, the proposed budget does include the President’s estimates for benefits to be paid in FY 2010, including expected Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAS). The projection is that there will be no COLA in benefits for 2010. This is due to the status of the overall economy. The amount of adjustment for benefits payments in any one calendar year are dependent on inflation measured in the third quarter (ending September 30) of the previous calendar year. SSA’s budget estimate for FY 2010 reveals expectations that there will be no measurable inflation in the third quarter of calendar year 2009. If Medicare co-payments continue to rise, Social Security beneficiaries could see a reduction on the value of their Social Security benefits.


Department of Health and Human Services(HHS)


Medicaid Real Choice Systems Change Grants. A decrease of $2.5 million is proposed for these grants which are used by states to assist in designing and implementing improvements to community-based support systems. The total for FY 2010 would be $2.5 million. However, another section of the budget documents indicates that the grants will be cut by $2 million from $5 million (rather than $2.5 million).

Medicaid Money Follows the Person Grants. The Budget Request seeks an increase from $359 million in FY 2009 to $474 million in FY 2010, an increase of $115 million. Money Follows the Person provides the states with an increased match for moving individuals out of institutions and into community-based settings.

Medicaid Institutional Alternatives. A 4.19 percent growth projection is made in the Budget Request for the use of the “institutional alternatives” - personal care, home health services, and home and community-based services.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. $142.0 million – a $4 million increase over FY 2009 level – is requested for the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD). The mission of the NCBDDD is to promote the health of babies, children and adults and enhance the potential for full, productive living. One of the Center's primary goals is to promote health and wellness among people with disabilities of all ages.

National Institutes of Health. $1.314 billion – a $19 million increase over FY 2009 – is requested for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Child Health and Human Development. The Institute conducts and supports research on all stages of human development, from preconception to adulthood, to better understand the health of children, adults, families, and communities.

Developmental Disabilities Act. The Budget Resolution proposes level funding for DD Act programs. DD councils would maintain funding of $74 million, Protection and Advocacy systems would stay at $40 million, and University Centers would hold at $38 million. Similarly, Projects of National Significance funding would remain unchanged at $14 million.

Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. The Administration requested that the autism and other developmental disability program at the Health Resources and Services Administration received a $6 million increase. These programs support early detection and intervention, training and research programs.

Respite. The Lifespan Respite Care Act received $2.5 million in the President’s Budget Request, the same amount it received when it was first funded in FY 09. These respite systems are to provide easy access to an array of affordable, quality respite services; ensure flexibility to meet diverse needs; and assist with locating, training, and paying respite providers.

Title XX Social Services Block Grant. This program receives level funding at $1.7 billion in the President’s Budget Request. The SSBG funds states to help them achieve a wide range of social policy goals, which include preventing child abuse, increasing the availability of child care, and providing community-based care for the elderly and persons with disabilities.

Maternal & Child Health Block Grant. This program receives level funding at $662 million in the President’s Budget Request.  The Maternal and Child Health Block Grant’s purpose is to improve the health of all mothers, children, and their families, especially for those with low-incomes or limited availability of care and those with special health care needs.

 

Department of Education


All special education funding (IDEA) is level funded. The President did not request funding for the new model comprehensive transition and postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities or the other new higher education programs for students with disabilities
.

Vocational Rehabilitation Title I State Grant Program.  This program received a $111 million (3.7%) cost of living increase for FY 2010, from $2.974 billion to $3.085 billion.   The majority of the other VR programs would receive level funding.

Supported Employment State Grants. Funding for this program is frozen at the FY 2009 level of $29 million.  

The National Institute for Disability & Rehabilitation Research (NIDDR). NIDRR funding increased by $3 million in the President’s Budget Request.

 

  Department of Labor (DOL)



Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
. The President’s Budget recommended a $10 million dollar increase for ODEP. 

Work Incentives Grants. These grants are slated for elimination in the President’s Budget Request. They currently support the disability program navigators which work with the workforce One-Stop centers.

National Programs. The Department of Labor’s National Programs received $65 million in the President’s FY 2010 budget; this is an increase of $11 million from FY 2009.   National Programs provide programmatic support to Workforce Investment Act (WIA) based activities and nationally administered programs that serve segments in the population that are underserved in the labor force. The program focuses on projects that demonstrate and evaluate transitional job models while combining short-term subsidized or supported employment with intensive case management. 


Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD)

Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program.
 The amount requested is $250 million, the same as FY 2009. This includes $114 million to finance the construction of new supportive housing units, as well as $49 million for renewal of project-based rent contracts (to cover operating subsidies such as maintenance, utilities and insurance for units), and $87 million for renewal of existing tenant-based rent subsidies.

Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program(tenant based assistance).   The Budget Request contains sufficient funding to renew all current vouchers and allows public housing agencies (PHAs) to lift the current HUD cap which prevents them from funding vouchers over a specified limit (which varies amongst PHAs). The change on the current “cap” policy is projected to allow PHAs to make approximately 100,000 new housing vouchers available in FY 2010. The HUD proposal does not include funding for Section 8 vouchers targeted to any specific population (e.g. non-elderly persons with disabilities or veterans). The DPC will urge the House and Senate HUD Appropriations Subcommittees to target a significant portion of the new voucher funding to non-elderly persons with disabilities.  

National Affordable Housing Trust Fund: $1 billion is requested for first time funding to finance the development of affordable housing for extremely low-income people, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries with disabilities.

Community Development Block Grants (CDBG): $4.45 billion is requested, a $550 million increase over the FY 2009 level.

HOME Investment Partnership Program: $1.825 billion is requested, the same as FY 2009 level.

Office on Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control: $140 million is requested, the same as the FY 2009 funding.

Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity: $72 million is requested, a $19 million increase over FY 2009 level.


 

 Department of Transportation (DOT)



The President’s budget recommendations assume current baseline program levels for all public transit and highway programs authorized by SAFETE-LU. SAFETEA-LU expires on September 30, 2009. The Administration’s request assumes that any funding growth for any of the programs will be made in the new authorizing bill. Congress has begun work on reauthorizing this critical transportation bill.

 

 Department of Justice (DOJ)




Office on Violence Against Women. 
In FY 2009, $6.75 million was provided to DOJ for education and training to reduce violence against women with disabilities. The President’s seeks this same amount in his Budget Request.

 

All Disability Programs

This table compares the Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations for key disability programs with the President’s request for Fiscal Year 2010 funding. 

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