[Counselor_Educ] Fwd: What Will Sequestration Mean for People with Disabilities?

[Dr. Mona Robinson]

Mona Robinson, PhD, PCC-S, LSW, CRC 
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator
Counselor Education
Ohio University 
Patton College of Education
Department of Counseling and Higher Education
203 McCracken Hall 
Athens, Ohio 45701
(740) 593-4461 phone (740) 593-0477 fax 
robinsoh at ohio.edu 





-----Original Message-----
From: Lawrence Carter-Long for the National Council on Disability <LCarterLong at NCD.GOV>
To: NCD-NEWS-L <NCD-NEWS-L at LIST.NCD.GOV>
Sent: Thu, Feb 28, 2013 11:17 am
Subject: What Will Sequestration Mean for People with Disabilities?


What Will Sequestration Mean for People with Disabilities?

A series of automatic, across-the-board cuts to federal government spending 
totaling $1.2 trillion over the course of 10 years are set to take effect this 
Friday, March 1. Dubbed “sequestration” these cuts, if implemented, will be 
split between defense and domestic discretionary spending. 

The National Council on Disability (NCD) urges the Executive Branch and Congress 
to find a responsible alternative to sequestration to prevent potential harm to 
Americans with disabilities and their families.

Background

Originally passed as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 on the heels of the 
debt ceiling compromise, the sequester was intended to pressure the Joint Select 
Committee on Deficit Reduction (the “Supercommittee”) to agree on a budget of 
$1.5 trillion by way of spending cuts and revenue increases over the next 
decade.

Congress stopped mandatory budget cuts from taking effect by passing the 
American Taxpayer Relief Act January 2 when the deadline was pushed back to 
March 1, 2013.  If Congress fails to agree on a budget to reduce the federal 
deficit by then $85 billion in spending cuts – split evenly between domestic and 
defense discretionary programs – will go into effect.

For Americans with disabilities, this means everything from special education to 
transportation, to housing and health care programs will “feel the pinch” due to 
the precarious collision of across-the-board cuts and unforeseen circumstances. 

Spending reductions break down into three broad categories:

1. Defense spending. Amounts to half the sequester cuts.
2. Non-defense. Includes housing, education, and employment programs.
3. Medicare. Limited to a 2% cut in payments to Medicare providers, specifically 
hospitals and doctors.

Mandatory programs

-- Assistance to individuals with low-incomes and their families like Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, or welfare), the Supplemental Nutritional 
Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps), unemployment benefits and provider 
payments made through Medicare will not be cut, although staff time and 
resources are likely to be compromised. 

Medicare

-- While other non-defense programs are facing a 8.4 percent cut, Medicare cuts 
are limited to 2 percent per fiscal year. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 
estimates that in 2013 a 2 percent cut totals $123 billion dollars.

Social Security

-- Disability benefits will also remain intact, but across-the-board budget cuts 
would force the SSA to “curtail service to the public,” according to the White 
House. Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue wrote on Feb. 7 that 
administrative cuts could slow disability claims, "If we do not have enough 
staff to keep up or if furloughs prevent them from working, the public can 
expect to wait longer in our offices, on the phone, and for disability decisions 
at all levels."

-- Pending levels of initial disability claims are likely to rise by over 
140,000 claims, and it is estimated that applicants will have to wait about two 
weeks longer for decision on disability claims and nearly a month longer for 
disability hearing decisions.

Housing

-- $1.9 billion in cuts to housing assistance for an estimated 125,000 
Americans, including assistance for elderly and people with disabilities, as 
part of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program would be lost – increasing the 
possibility of homelessness, according to testimony to the Senate by Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan on February 14.

-- Rural rental assistance for 10,000 very low-income rural people, mostly 
single women, seniors, or people with disabilities would be eliminated as a 
result of cuts to the Department of Agriculture.

Education

-- $978 million in comprehensive funding cuts would affect 30.7 million special 
education students.
Funding for special education, specifically, would be slashed by nearly $600 
million, reducing supports for students with disabilities to 2005 levels.

-- Federal funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 
will be reduced by 28 percent, totaling a loss of one billion dollars.

-- Close to 15,000 special education teachers could lose their jobs resulting in 
larger class sizes.

-- 70,000 children, many of them disabled, would be dropped from Head Start 
programs.

-- Funding for “up to 7,200″ special education support workers – such as 
personnel aides and money for assistance – would also be eliminated, according 
to the White House.

Employment

-- Vocational rehabilitation stands to lose $160 million leading to the 
reduction of services, increasing wait times for services and placing disabled 
job seekers in administrative limbo on waiting lists.

Veterans

-- Military Pay (including PCS and Subsistence) is exempt under the 
sequestration exemption. Programs such as TRICARE, tuition assistance and family 
support programs are not exempt and do fall under sequestration.

-- There are no direct cuts to Veterans Administration health care programs 
under sequestration, but individuals forced to turn to the VA to obtain care 
they normally receive under TRICARE could add increased burdens to the system. 

Bottom line

The sequester would place tens of thousands of Americans with disabilities at 
greater risk for hunger and homelessness, endanger the education of millions of 
children with disabilities and delay employment services and disability benefits 
for scores of people with disabilities – including disabled veterans -- who are, 
on average, already at greater risk of poverty.

Direct link: http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/022813

- - - 

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