Press Releases: 2005 Releases

Budget Reconciliation is the Darkest Day, Say National Disability Advocates (12/21/2005)

Washington, DC, December 21, 2005 - Sue Swenson, executive director of The Arc of the United States and Stephen Bennett, president and CEO of United Cerebral Palsy, two of the nation’s leading non-profit organizations advocating for people with disabilities, issued the following statement in response to the Congress’s passage of the Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Reconciliation bill (“the Budget Reduction Act”):

“Nationwide, people with disabilities should be saddened to know that their United States Congress considers their health and well-being a less than worthy investment. The Arc and UCP can truthfully say this could be the darkest day for people with disabilities and the future looks even bleaker.

“Congress has given State Governors unprecedented abilities to balance their state budgets on the backs of the neediest. Most low-income people with disabilities rely on Medicaid for their health and long-term care. Governors can raise co-payments on Medicaid’s prescription medicines and therapies for millions of beneficiaries with disabilities, forcing them to choose between life-saving services or rent, clothes and food. People with disabilities who have no money can be denied the critical prescription drugs and long-term care they need to survive if they cannot pay these co-payments required by the new law.

“Children born with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and related developmental disabilities will suffer without Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program, which can prevent and minimize disability through early, regular health screenings and treatments. In addition, new onerous work requirements for TANF recipients will force many parents of children with disabilities further into poverty.

“This Budget Reconciliation is unlike any other in Congress’s history and shows a true callousness for our nation’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. Passage of this law represents a huge set back for services and supports for our constituents and their families. They deserve better.”

About The Arc of the United States

The Arc of the United States is the nation’s largest and leading national organization working on behalf of the 7 million children and adults with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities and their families. For more than half a century, our organization has sought to increase the Federal government’s role in protecting the rights of and providing benefits, services and supports to our constituency. For more information, visit www.thearc.org.

About United Cerebral Palsy

United Cerebral Palsy is one of the nation’s leading organizations serving and advocating for the more than 54 million Americans with disabilities. Most UCP consumers are people with disabilities other than cerebral palsy. Through its nationwide network, United Cerebral Palsy offers services to individuals, families and communities such as job training and placement, physical therapy, individual and family support, early intervention, social and recreation programs, community living, state and local referrals, and instruction on how to use technology to perform everyday tasks. For more information, visit www.ucp.org or call (800) 872-5827.

About the Disability Policy Collaboration

The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) have combined their resources, talents and strong legacy of grassroots involvement in national public policy into a formal Disability Policy Collaboration (DPC). Working together, we strive to be more effective in convincing policymakers of the vast unmet needs of our constituents and in mobilizing our constituents, their families, and our chapters and affiliates as active players in national public policy. For more information about the DPC, visit the Web sites of The Arc at www.thearc.org and United Cerebral Palsy at www.ucp.org.

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