After a summer spent successfully fighting to save Medicaid (although the battle will continue in the budget process) the work to get disabled people out of institutions and into the community has shifted back to the passage of the Disability Integration Act (DIA). The leadership shown by NCIL and ADAPT in resisting efforts to gut Medicaid caught the attention of many mainstream progressives and has helped us in generating support for DIA. Since June, DIA has been endorsed by the ACLU, Indivisible, Move On, UltraViolet, The Women’s March and the Human Rights Campaign.
We are now in the midst of a push to bring more Democrats and Republicans on to the bill. Over the summer 25 new Senators and Representatives have signed on as cosponsors including republicans Cathy McMorris Rogers, Barbara Comstock & Gregg Harper. We are hopeful that support for DIA will continue to grow now that the health care fight has given people a new understanding of how vulnerable our right to live in the community actually is. This summer has shown the nation how important Medicaid is to our community. Passing DIA will ensure that the lives we saved are the ones we want to live, in our own homes, in our own communities.
DIA is vital to ensuring our right to liberty and now that the healthcare fight is fading it is time be proactive and call upon representatives from both parties to support this much needed legislation. Visit, call and write your Senators and Representatives urging them to sign on as cosponsors. Tell your friends and colleagues to do the same.
Read more information and talking points about the Disability Integration Act and sign your organization on as a supporter.
