Note: NCIL sent out the below alert on Friday and again this morning encouraging NCIL members to urge your Representatives to sign on to Representative Hanabusa’s letter of request for increased Independent Living funding. Please note that this is a Congressional letter. Only members of Congress can sign this letter. CILs, SILCs, and other organizations cannot sign this letter. Please see below for the original alert and please continue contacting your Representatives!
Congress is now working on FY 2019 appropriations, and this year’s fight is more important than ever. With Congress intent on slashing funding and the Administration’s budget proposal to cut IL funding, advocacy from our community and our allies in Congress is critical!
We are very excited to inform you that this week, Representative Hanabusa (HI) sent a Dear Colleague letter to the entire House of Representatives asking them to join her in supporting an increase in funding for the Independent Living Program. Once signatures have been received, Representative Hanabusa will submit a letter to Chairman Cole (OK) and Ranking Member DeLauro (CT) of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS-Ed) to formally request increased funding for the Independent Living Program in FY 2019. So far, Representatives Norton (DC) and Sablan (CNMI) have already signed on, and we need to get as many more supporters as possible by Wednesday, March 14, 2018!
Take Action!
The Independent Living Program is a vital, cost-effective program that has been grossly underfunded for years. We need your help to get as many other Representatives as possible to sign-on! Contact your Representative TODAY and urge them to sign on to Representative Hanabusa’s Independent Living Appropriations request. Make sure you Representative knows how vital the Independent Living Program is to you, and how much the CILs in their state do for their disabled constituents!
All Representatives can be reached by the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY), and you can find your Representative’s direct DC and local office numbers as well as other contact information at Contacting Congress. You can also use Resistbot to turn texts into faxes, mail, or hand-delivered letters.
The deadline to sign-on is Wednesday, March 14.
If your Representative has any questions or wants more information, they can contact Elizabeth Songvilay at Representative Hanabusa’s office at [email protected].
