Take Action: Join ACL’s Teleconference on Their Proposal to Eliminate Part B Funding

President Trump’s May budget outline proposed eliminating Independent Living Part B funding as part of a new program called the Partnership for Innovation, Inclusion, and Independence (PIII). The budget proposes ‘consolidating’ Independent Living Part B funding, State Council on Developmental Disabilities funding, and Traumatic Brain Injury funding, which would result in a$57 million loss for people with disabilities.

While this proposal was not included in the House appropriations bill, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) has been instructed to move forward. ACL staff is currently analyzing the authorizing statutes for each program impacted by the creation of the PIII program and identifying possible amendments. They are also developing language that would be included in new legislation creating the PIII grant program.

NCIL has taken several steps to oppose this proposal. We have spoken with Congressional staff, voiced our concerns to ACL, and sent a letter of opposition to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees with several other organizations. Since then, we have continued to monitor this situation closely, and this latest movement is unacceptable. When the Independent Living (IL) Program moved to ACL, we thought it would be a home for the program that would help us grow. We did not move to ACL to see the IL Program cut!

Take Action!

ACL has started conducting outreach activities to engage with stakeholders. On August 7, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Eastern, ACL will be holding a call for the IL community to provide input.

• Call-in Number: 800-857-9877
• Participant Code: 8400563

Please join this call. We need ACL to hear a unified message from the IL community that this proposal will not work. The IL community cannot and will not support these efforts, because there is no way to move forward with their proposal to cut $23 million from the IL Program without seriously harming it, which will result in harm to people with disabilities all over the country. ACL is also requesting written input. Please submit your input, using the below talking points, to [email protected] by Friday, August 11.

Talking points for the call and written comments:

• The Independent Living community does not support this proposal.
• PIII will result in a $57 million reduction for people with disabilities, and it will cut $23 million from the Independent Living Program.
• The PIII proposal reflects a lack of understanding of the three line items involved, each of which has distinct statutory requirements in different statutes.
• Cuts to the IL Program will result in a reduced ability to serve consumers, major cutbacks and job losses at CILs around the country, and even CIL closures.
• This was proposed as a cost-savings measure. The best way to save taxpayer dollars is to increase funding for the Independent Living Program. By serving consumers in their homes and communities, the Independent Living Program saves states and the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars annually.