Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and a group of her fellow Senate Democrats wrote to congressional leadership on Wednesday morning to encourage the inclusion of people with disabilities in the next iteration of the coronavirus stimulus package.
Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) joined Warren in drafting the letter, which calls for significant increases in funding programs to support people with disabilities through the coronavirus crisis. The CARES Act, which President Donald Trump signed on March 27, allocated funding for people with disabilities, but many in the community said it did not go far enough.
In their letter, the senators propose a $50 billion increase in funding for Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) programs, paid sick leave for people with disabilities and their caregivers, a boost in Medicaid funding, and emergency income relief. They sent the letter to Senate Majority and Minority Leaders Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
The 61 million people living with disabilities in the United States are twice as likely to experience poverty as their non-disabled counterparts, and, similarly, people experiencing homelessness are also twice as likely to have a disability, thus making this population particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 ― but without the resources in place to get the care they need. |
