NDRN - Budget & Appropriations

FEDERAL FISCAL POLICY GOALS
(from 2007 Legislative Agenda)

Budget & Appropriations Links
Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Alert (02/08) FY09 Appropriations Chart FY 2009 Appropriations Fact Sheets (PDF) CAP PAAT PADD PAIMI PAIR PATBI PAVA Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities FY 2009 Budget Document Center for Budget and Policy Priorities Coalition on Human Needs

Introduction
A number of presidential policy goals have had a direct impact on the lives of children and adults with disabilities and their families. The ever-increasing human and fiscal impact of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan – including the large number of returning soldiers who now have disabilities – directly affects the nation’s ability to address the unmet needs of children and adults with disabilities. Additionally, ongoing Administration efforts to cut taxes, as well as to make permanent certain already-enacted tax cuts, are among the fiscal and policy decisions harming people with disabilities, deeming it “politically acceptable” to offset the growing federal deficit with cuts in programs for those with the greatest needs.

However, the November 2006 elections changed the face of the U.S. Congress. Instead of one party controlling both the Executive and Legislative branches, there is once again a balance of powers. There is strong hope that this will put a stop to policies which have endangered services and supports that are critical to people with disabilities and their families. NDRN and many others concerned with human needs strongly hope that the new leadership in Congress will stop the unraveling of our nation’s safety net and return equity to society.

The FY 2008 appropriations process has the potential to be even worse for non-defense discretionary programs than FY 2007. The Administration continues to propose entitlement “reform” efforts targeted directly at critical disability programs such as Medicaid. NDRN is concerned that, as efforts to find more funds for homeland security, the war, and tax cuts continue, so too will the parallel effort to reduce the deficit by focusing on cuts to programs and entitlements that benefit individuals with disabilities and their families.

Federal fiscal policy is the number one priority of NDRN for several reasons. First, the P&A/CAP network is mandated by federal law to assist people with disabilities in obtaining the services and supports needed to live and work in their community. Along with this mandate comes federal funding for P&A/CAP work. Second, state funding for critical disability programs is often based on the amount of federal funds available. If federal funds are reduced, state funding likely will decrease, and supports and services for people with disabilities will be diminished. Third, the majority of important disability-specific and low-income programs are federally funded. Therefore, cuts at the federal level threaten the continued existence of these important programs and the ability of people with disabilities to find needed supports and services in the community.
Recent serial reductions in P&A/CAP funding have had an adverse impact on the Network’s ability to carry out its federal mandate at a time when advocacy needs are increasing both because of funding cuts at the state and local levels and increased requests for services by veterans with disabilities and an aging population. Therefore, NDRN will focus much effort on ensuring the viability of a strong and adequately funded P&A/CAP network that can meet the needs of those for whom it was mandated.

NDRN recognizes the need for a strong economy and the importance of strengthening national security. However, NDRN will work to ensure that (1) rights, supports, services, and benefits critical to the well-being of people with disabilities and their families are protected, improved, and expanded; and (2) federal funding decisions do not result in a federal budget that is crafted at the expense of people with disabilities.

Appropriations
NDRN believes that the First Session of the 110th Congress must address the significant – and growing – unmet needs of children and adults with disabilities and their families by increasing existing federal funding, including funding for the P&A/CAP network. This will continue to be a difficult task, considering that the government is being funded for FY 2007 by a year-long Continuing Resolution. This means that, as the demand for P&A/CAP services increases, the capacity of the Network to respond is decreasing.

The President’s FY 2008 budget again recommends eliminating the PATBI and PAAT programs and proposes level funding for all other P&A/CAP programs. P&A/CAP programs have experienced a recent history of increased demand coupled with funding neglect. The Administration has proposed elimination of the PATBI program three times in the last three years, and elimination of the PAAT program in two of the last three years. Fortunately, Congress has shown continued bipartisan support for P&A/CAP programs and has restored funding for PATBI and PAAT each year. Other P&A/CAP programs have been level funded, and then received several years of harmful reductions as part of across-the-board cuts made by Congress. When inflation is taken into account, the P&A/CAP network is currently funded at levels well below that of just a few years ago – and well below what is needed to meet the growing demand for services.

Lost funding falls especially hard on certain states. P&A/CAP programs are formula-funded programs with appropriated dollars distributed according to population and certain other factors, depending on the particular program. This funding structure places additional pressure on P&A/CAP programs because population shifts lead to changes in the amount of each grant, even if appropriations remain the same. A decrease in funding is an especially devastating blow to states which are not only losing population, but also facing an increase in the number of people requiring services due to both the aging of society and increased level of disability and poverty.

It is critical, therefore, that the following programs receive funding increases for FY 2008:

PATBI is currently funded at $3 million;
NDRN recommends an increase to $6 million.
CAP is currently funded at $11.04 million; NDRN recommends an increase to $16 million.
PAAT is currently funded at $4.42 million; NDRN recommends an increase to $6 million.
PADD is currently funded at $39.1 million;
NDRN recommends an increase to $43.5 million.
PAIMI is currently funded at $34.3 million; NDRN recommends an increase to $40 million.
PAIR is currently funded at $16.7 million; NDRN recommends an increase to $22 million.
PABSS is currently funded at $7 million;
NDRN recommends an increase to $10 million.
PAVA is currently funded at $4.9 million;
NDRN recommends an increase to $10 million.

Revenue Policy
NDRN believes that the First Session of the 110th Congress must:

Address the unmet needs of children and adults with disabilities and their families before making further tax cuts or revising the tax code.
Roll back certain recent tax cuts that have added to the deficit and placed existing disability and low-income assistance programs at risk.
Assure that tax and other policies, such as Social Security reforms, represent a sound investment for all in the nation and do not have a negative impact on people with disabilities and their families by shifting long-term costs to the future.
Ensure that critical disability programs are not the target of deficit-reduction measures.

Appropriations & Budget