The House of Representatives expects to finalize the budget reconciliation package this week before sending it off to the Senate. Negotiations are still underway, but things are moving quickly, and action is needed now to ensure the disability community’s needs are met!
As we mentioned in our previous alert, the current package proposes funding home and community based services (HCBS) at $190 billion. While this number is more than House negotiators started with – largely because of the advocacy of the disability and labor communities! – it is less than half the amount promised in President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, and not nearly enough to meet the needs of disabled people across the country.
Millions of our people are still stuck in institutional settings. Over 800,000 are on waiting lists for HCBS – many who will wait years before receiving the supports and services they need. Congregate settings have been – and continue to be – hit hard by COVID-19. The direct support workers who keep us safe in our homes and the work they do have been undervalued for years, both because providing services to disabled people is not seen as valuable, and because many of these workers are Black and brown women. Improving wages and benefits for our in-home workers values the work being done and the people doing the work. Investing in HCBS is critical to protecting disabled people and our direct support workers, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more urgent than ever.
Take Action!
President Biden proposed a major investment in HCBS, and Congress introduced the Better Care Better Jobs Act (BCBJA) to put that proposal into action. We need Congress to fully fund HCBS in the budget reconciliation package! Our Members of Congress need to hear from us NOW as they wrap up negotiations and finalize the package.
Contact both your Senators and your Representative today! Tell them they MUST meet the needs of their disabled constituents and the direct care workforce in the reconciliation package!
More information – including how to contact them and a sample script – are below.
- Call your Senators and Representative: Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 (voice) or (202) 224-3091 (TTY). Ask to be connected to your Senators or Representative.
- You can find your Senators’ phone numbers and websites at senate.gov and your Representative’s phone number and website at house.gov/representatives. If you don’t know who your Representative is, you can find out at house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.
- You can Tweet your Senators and Representative at tweetcongress.org.
- You can use Resistbot to turn texts into faxes, mail, or hand-delivered letters by texting “RESIST” to 50409.
Sample Script (please feel free to personalize):
Hi, my name is [YOUR FULL NAME], and I’m from [CITY, STATE].
I am [calling / writing] to urge [Senator / Representative NAME] to make sure home and community based services are fully funded in the upcoming budget reconciliation package.
Many disabled people and older adults rely on HCBS to live in our homes and participate in our communities. Currently, states are not meeting the needs of their disabled residents, forcing many people to remain on years-long waiting lists and others to be institutionalized.
As we have seen, people in these settings are at much higher risk of infection and death from COVID-19. In light of the disproportionate COVID infection and death rates, improving access to HCBS is more urgent than ever. We need Congress to provide this critical and long-overdue investment.
Thank you for your time. I hope I can count on your support for your disabled constituents by fully funding HCBS in the reconciliation package.
(Your name)
[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL OR EMAILING: please leave your full street address and zip code. This will ensure your call or email is tallied]
Sample Tweets (feel free to tag your Member of Congress!)
Disabled people and older adults want to stay in their homes, but HALF of states spend twice as much on institutional care as #HCBS. Congress must invest in their disabled constituents by fully funding HCBS in the reconciliation bill. #WeCantWait
Over 820,000 people are on waiting lists for #HCBS, and most wait YEARS for needed services and supports. Disabled people and older adults need Congress to fully fund HCBS in the reconciliation package! #WeCantWait
Racially marginalized disabled people and older adults are even less likely to have access to HCBS. Fully funding #HCBS in the reconciliation package will help build more equitable systems so we can all access the care we need in our communities. #WeCantWait
Fully investing in #HCBS will help disabled people stay in the community and will expand and support the direct care workforce. Congress MUST fully fund HCBS in the reconciliation package! #WeCantWait
#HCBS ensure disabled people can access the services we need safely at home – not in dangerous institutions where #COVID19 outbreaks are rampant. Congress must fully fund HCBS in the reconciliation package! #WeCantWait
Direct support workers– most of whom are racially marginalized women– are paid an average of $11.50 per hour. Fully funding #HCBS in the reconciliation package would raise wages & benefits for these critical workers. #WeCantWait
About half of all COVID-19 deaths have occurred in congregate settings. Congress must fully fund #HCBS in the reconciliation bill so disabled people & older adults can stay safely at home with the services and supports we need. #WeCantWait
#Medicaid covers critical in-home supports, but current funding doesn’t meet the need. My rights, and my life, will be at risk if I can’t stay in my home. Congress must fully fund #HCBS in the reconciliation package so disabled people like me can stay safe. #WeCantWait
We have an opportunity to build a system that works for disabled people, older adults, families, and workers – but to do so, Congress must make a meaningful investment in #HCBS. Congress, please fully fund HCBS in the reconciliation package! #WeCantWait
Additional Resources:
- Fact Sheets on how the Better Care Better Jobs Act would benefit each state and the nation as a whole
- House Energy and Commerce documents (subtitle G contains the HCBS provisions)
- Better Care Better Jobs Act text
- Better Care Better Jobs Act summary and section-by-section (PDF)
