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Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

Urgent Action Alert: DIA Co-Sponsors Needed!

We need to immediately secure members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee as co-sponsors on the Disability Integration Act – DIA (H.R. 555) in order to achieve movement on this bill in the 116th Congress.

If your Representative sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, please reach out to them right away. Tell them, “Please co-sponsor DIA (H.R. 555) today!” Then ask your family, friends, co-workers, and other community members to call and email as well.

This is the committee that will work the DIA in the House. They are in charge of the first part of the process of eventually bringing this bill to a full vote in the House of Representatives.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has 55 members: 31 Democrats (we need 19 more) and 24 Republicans (we need 23 more).

Contacting Your Legislators

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Representative’s office or contact your Representative’s office directly.

Once connected, ask to speak with a staff member who handles civil rights. Make sure you give them your name and identify that you are a constituent. Tell the staff member, “Please tell Representative [NAME] that I want them to co-sponsor the Disability Integration Act (H.R. 555) today!”

You can tell your story and use the talking points provided. Tell them to contact Amy Bos in Representative Jim Sensenbrenner’s office at 202-225-5101 or [email protected] to sign on as a co-sponsor today! This may take multiple calls and emails.

You can also call, email, and post to social media. Hashtags: #DIA #DIAToday #DisabilityFreedom.

Congressional Outreach Resources

Background Information

The Disability Integration Act (DIA) is bipartisan and bicameral civil rights legislation that ensures people with disabilities have a right to live and receive services in their own homes. The DIA further secures our Constitutionally-protected right to liberty by preventing disabled people from being forced into costly institutional settings by unnecessary government regulations. The DIA (H.R. 555 and S. 117 in the 116th Congress), introduced on January 15th in honor of the 90th birthday of the great civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Senators Charles Schumer, Minority Leader (D-NY) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) in the Senate and Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) in the House, creates a comprehensive solution, assuring the full integration of disabled people. For more information on DIA, go to: www.disabilityintegrationact.org.

Together, we will achieve passage of this imperative civil rights legislation and FREE OUR PEOPLE!

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