Prior to the Memorial Day recess, the House of Representatives narrowly passed H.R. 1,  the budget reconciliation bill- by a vote of 214 to 215. Running more than 1,000 pages, the multitrillion-dollar tax and spending package (in summary): extends the tax cuts provided for businesses in 2017, steers more money to the military and border security, temporarily raises the child tax credit to $2500 (for eligible families to 2028), raises the state and local taxes cap (SALT) to $40,000 (with income limit), adds a new federal education voucher provision ($20 billion over 4 years) which COPAA opposes, and adds a new one-time federally subsidized savings account of $1,000 for children (with eligibility limits). To pay for the package, the bill slashes $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) -significantly altering eligibility requirements for both programs- and finds $350 million via education programs by limiting Pell Grant eligibility, eliminating subsidized school loans, abolishing loan repayment deferment for unemployment and/or economic hardship, and eliminating tax credits for certain green initiatives. HR1 also includes a provision that would restrict federal judges from holding government officials in contempt when they violate a court order. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to face significant challenges and revisions. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is aiming to finalize the bill before the 4th of July recess. 

COPAA opposes HR 1 due to the addition of the tax credit-to-education voucher provision, harmful cuts to Medicaid, and the changes in Pell grant eligibility, which harm access to college for more than 45 percent of the 3.5 million adults with disabilities utilizing the program.

ACT NOW: Tell the US Senate to OPPOSE HR 1 or SIMILAR SENATE BILL