As Cuts To Special Education Loom, Congress Takes Break

Within days, severe budget cuts are slated to hit nearly every federal program — including special education and other disability supports — and there’s no sign of a deal on the horizon.

The sweeping automatic spending cuts will take effect March 1 unless Congress acts. For people with disabilities, the across-the-board reductions are expected to touch everything from employment assistance to housing programs, education, mental health initiatives and research dollars.

The funding chop is coming under a process known as sequestration, which was triggered in 2011 after Congress failed to reach a budget deal. The cuts were designed to be so dire that neither political party would want them to go through and the two sides would be forced to reach a deal. So far, however, that has not happened. Lawmakers already delayed the cuts once when they were were originally scheduled to take effect in January, but now hopes are dimming that another deal with be struck to avert the reductions.

Read more of Michelle Diament's Disability Scoop article HERE.

Disability Programs In Limbo Following Supercommittee Collapse

The collapse of Congress’ supercommittee last week could lead to mandatory cuts among several federal programs benefiting people with disabilities, advocates say.

Last week, Democrats and Republicans on the so-called “supercommittee” said that they were unable to reach an agreement. The panel of a dozen lawmakers was tasked with developing a plan to reduce the nation’s deficit ahead of a Nov. 23 deadline.

Without a deal, automatic spending cuts to the tune of $1.2 trillion were triggered and are slated to begin in January 2013.

And that leaves several unknowns for the disability community, advocates say. While programs like Medicaid and Social Security will not be affected, other government programs assisting people who have disabilities with everything from housing to transportation to employment could be in jeopardy.

“Because the committee was unable to enact a thoughtful, balanced and collaboratively developed deficit reduction package, we now face devastating mandatory cuts to many critical programs,” said Donna Meltzer, chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, a coalition of some 100 national disability groups.

See more of Michelle Diamente's Disability Scoop article HERE.