Tom Ridge: Trump's Budget Is Full of Cuts Aimed at People With Disabilities
Source: New York Times
Trump’s Budget Is Full of Cuts Aimed at People With Disabilities
Funding for the Special Olympics may have been restored, but many more important programs are still on the chopping block.
By Tom Ridge
Mr. Ridge is the chairman of the National Organization on Disability.
April 17, 2019
Last month’s proposal from Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to cut millions of dollars in funding for Special Olympics caused a public uproar and a bipartisan backlash fierce enough to force President Trump to restore it days later. That reversal was welcome. But it was also incomplete. Most Americans do not know that the 2020 budget is still full of cuts that aim directly at many other programs that support people with disabilities.
The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2020 budget would make cuts across multiple agencies and offices that serve Americans with disabilities, stripping them of essential resources. Of particular urgency to me and many of my colleagues are the devastating impacts that the weakening of these agencies would have on job seekers with disabilities.
Independent living centers, assistive-technology programs, supports for individuals living with brain injuries and family caregiver support services are among those programs and services on the chopping block. So too is the Office of Disability Employment Policy. This office, within the Labor Department, is the only nonregulatory federal agency that promotes policies and coordinates with employers and all levels of government to increase workplace success for people with disabilities. It also holds federal contractors to account for meeting certain hiring goals.
Combined, these cuts total in the tens of millions of dollars. Cutting funding to these critical programs — that turn tax consumers into taxpayers — is not only unjust but also fiscally foolish.
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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/opinion/disability-budget-cuts-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
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