Housing Briefs

Section 811 reform legislation and FY 2010 T-HUD appropriations continue to move through the House and Senate. HUD released a letter on Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher shortages to Public Housing Authorities and the Technical Assistance Collaborative released a new Opening Doors on using the Neighborhood Stabilization fund from the Recovery Act to help create permanent, supportive housing.

House Passes Section 811 Reform Bill

The House of Representatives passed last week the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1675) which will significantly reform the Section 811 program. This ANCOR-supported bill would implement a new demonstration program that would triple the number of units to be built through use of other federal or state funds. The legislation was initially introduced by Reps. Christopher Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL). In addition, Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Mike Johanns (R-NE) introduced an identical companion version of the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2009 (S. 1481).

FY 2010 HUD Appropriations

The Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday voted 30-0, after no debate, to approve a $122 billion spending bill for transportation and housing programs for fiscal 2010. The Senate and House (passed July 20) versions also differ slightly.

The Senate bill would provide $265 million for the Section 811 program, compared to $350 in the House version. The Section 202 program fares better in the House at $1 billion than the Senate's $785 million. The Senate bill would provide $18.1billion for Section 8 tenant-based vouchers, compared with $18.2 billion in the House bill, and $8.1 billion for the Section 8 project-based rental assistance account, compared with $8.7 billion in the House bill.

The Senate bill includes $4 billion for formula grants through the Community Development Block Grants program, compared with $4.2 billion in the House bill.

HUD Releases Letter on Section 8 Voucher Shortfall

The letter, sent July 30th to Public Housing Authorities (PHA), updates them on steps HUD is taking to minimize the effects of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher shortfalls some PHAs are experiencing and how to prevent termination of vouchers.

New Opening Doors from the Technical Assistance Collaborative

This issue of Opening Doors provides an overview of HUD’s new Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), documents the purpose and history of the program, discusses how the funds are distributed, describes the ways that NSP can be used to create permanent supportive housing, and suggests strategies that can be used by the disability community to work with NSP grantees.








Read more!

August Recess Begins Next Week--Request Meetings or Site Visits with Your Members of Congress

The House begins their district work period on Monday and Senate begins theirs on August 10th--both chambers resume business on September 7th. District work periods or congressional recesses are a great time to meet in person with your members of Congress. In fact, meeting with them in their local, district offices or having them visit your organization is the most effective way to educate your Members and their staff on issues important to you. This allows Members and staff to hear and see how you carry out your important mission of providing supports to people with disabilities, to visit with direct support workers, to hear about the challenges you face, and to even gain some local media attention and goodwill. Eventually your persistence will pay off and you will be given the opportunity to help Members and their staff understand how federal policies impact your work. Please let ANCOR know when you have scheduled your visits by filling out a short webform. Read more!

Resolution Highlights Service of Direct Support Professionals

In a show of bipartisan support, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 228 designating the week beginning September 14 as "National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week." Sponsored by Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), the resolution recognizes the invaluable supports Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) provide and the difference this workforce makes in the lives of Americans with disabilities.

As part of the National Advocacy Campaign, ANCOR worked with Senator Nelson and key ANCOR members on this resolution to coincide with the annual Governmental Activities Seminar taking place September 13-15 in Washington, D.C.

The resolution received considerable attention in the Senate and gained nine co-sponsors including, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY), Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Thank you to all of the state teams so instrumental in gathering these original co-sponsors!

Along with the passage of this Resolution by the U.S. Senate, ANCOR has worked with key members in the states to successfully have gubernatorial DSP Recognition Week proclamations issued in Colorado, Maine, Nebraska, New York and Virginia. We hope to add more states in the coming weeks!

Click here for more information about DSP Recognition Week and ways you can celebrate and advocate for DSPs.
Read more!

H1N1 Virus Webcast and Update

Join HHS Secretary Sebelius, DHS Secretary Napolitano and Education Secretary Duncan for an important webcast on emergency preparedness related to the flu epidemic.

Participants will be able to learn about: the latest information on vaccine development; vaccine planning and preparedness efforts; federal funding support for sate efforts and ; progress on planning and preparedness for schools, child care centers, businesses and communities.

Registration is not required. To view the Webcast, visit www.flu.gov at 3:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, August 4. Please note, you will need Flash (http://www.adobe.com) installed on your computer in order to view the live video stream.

Other Questions? Please email HHSIGA@hhs.gov

Flu Panel Creates Priority List for Vaccine
A 15-member panel of experts met Wednesday at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to create a list of who should get the pandemic flue vaccine first. When the vaccine is available in September, the first to receive it will be pregnant women, the caretakers of infants, children and young adults ages 6 months to 24, people with chronic illness ages 25 to 64, and health-care workers.

Unlike most flu strains, people over the age of 65 are rarely contracting this strain. Speculation is that it is due from exposure to similar flu strains that circulated years ago. Children under 6 month are not able to receive the vaccine due to their immune system not being developed.

The vaccine will come in two forms: the traditional flu shot and a “live” vaccine squirted into the nose. The question of whether one or two shots is needed has still not been answered and the vaccination program is expected to start before an answer is found.

For More information please visit www.flu.gov.
Read more!

California Enacts Revised Budget with Additional $1.4 Billion in Medicaid Cuts

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed a revised budget July 28 containing $1.4 billion in new spending reductions for the state's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. According to the revised budget from Schwarzenegger’s Department of Finance, most of the cuts to the state Medi-Cal program ($1 billion) is expected to be restored by increased federal Medicaid funding from waivers and payments of past due amounts. The California Medical Association called this money “shaky revenues” that would lead to further cuts if the federal government does not agree.

•a line item veto reducing county funding to administer Medi-Cal ($60.5 million)
•expanded efforts to combat fraud, waste, and abuse within the Medi-Cal program ($46.8 million)
•and limiting adult day care visits to three days per week and freezing program rates as of Aug. 1, 2009 ($28.1 million)
Read more!

Scan Foundation Report on Long-Term Care in Health Care Reform

The Scan Foundation released a policy brief entitled “Long-Term Care in Health Care Reform: Policy Options to Improve Both”. The policy brief discusses four options to improve the current health care system.

The first two proposals seek to improve long-term care in Medicaid through improving long-term care for people with low incomes and limited financial resources. Option one, is to “expand Medicaid support for home and community-based services”. This would fix the limited and variable access through Medicaid to personal assistance in home and community settings. Option two would “improve coordination of medical and long-term care for Medicare-Medicaid Dual Eligibles”. This proposal promotes the development and testing of integrated care programs for dual eligibles with the hope of improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of services for people who rely on both Medicare and Medicaid.

The second two proposals are to improve long-term care for the broader population. Option three aims to “improve coordination of medical and long-term care for Medicare enrollees with chronic conditions”. The proposal would promote innovation and distribution of service delivery and payment models designed to improve quality and efficiency by coordinating the full range of medical and long-term services people with chronic condition may need. Option four is to “establish public insurance protection for long-term care for the broad population”. This last proposal would create a public insurance program, financed by participants through premiums or taxes, which would spread the risk across a broad population and offer protection to participants of all ages and incomes.
Read more!

$220 Million DOL Grant Program Targets Health Workers

The U.S. Department of Labor launched a $220 million grant program aimed at training new workers for health care and other high-growth industries. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides funding and the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will administer the program. The purpose of the program is to promote economic recover through assisting individuals impacted by the recession receive training and employment opportunities.

A DOL fact sheet was released explaining the details and requirements to qualify for the program. The Federal Register published the notice for the grant on July 22nd.
Read more!

International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

On July 24, 2009, President Obama announced during a speech celebrating the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act that the United States will sign the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice will sign the treaty on Thursday, July 30th. Until the Senate ratifies the treaty with a 2/3 majority the United States is not legally bound to the treaty. There is no official word yet as to when President Obama will submit the treaty to the Senate. Read more!

White House Revises Lobbying Restrictions

On July 24, 2009, the White House revised their policy on banning lobbyists from meetings on the stimulus projects and funds. Lobbyists will once again be allowed to meet with and have telephone conversations with staff members and provide their expertise to help members make “merit based” decisions for stimulus projects. The American League of Lobbyists (ALL), Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) partnered together to achieve these revisions. Read more!

Ohio State Budget Update

Governor Strickland signed the Ohio budget on July 24, 2009. After a tough process, the Waiver program rates will be frozen for 2 years unless. Throughout the budget process, the ICF/MR program went from a 1% increase each year, to a $50 million cut, to a slight increase. To avoid the $50 million cut the providers agreed to delay payment of 2 weeks at the end of the next biennium to save millions in this current budget. Within the next 2 years, providers will need to address their cash flow.

Thank you to Ohio state association member, Than Johnson, for providing ANCOR with this information.
Read more!