Prepare Your Story. It Matters Now More Than Ever

This is a long post, but it is worth it. 

It is time to prepare your personal story.

Be ready to explain: 

• Why special education matters to you or your family
• Why well-trained professionals make a difference
• Why accessible voting is essential

Why research and demonstration projects change lives. 

Your story is your most powerful tool.

Why This Matters Now

The President has released a proposed FY 2027 budget. If adopted by Congress, it could significantly change how disability-related programs are funded and delivered.

Proposals under discussion include:

• Eliminating or reducing key disability provisions, including parts of the Help America Vote Act
• Shifting funding for training and services to state discretion
• Reducing federal leadership in setting standards for quality, access, and equity. 

This represents a fundamental shift—from a coordinated national system to a fragmented, state-by-state approach.

Over decades, a national infrastructure has been built based on:

• Fair competition
• Professional standards
• Evidence-based practices

That infrastructure could be weakened or lost.

Why Your Voice Is Critical

Congress—not the President—makes final funding decisions.

And within Congress, Appropriations Committee members are the key decision-makers.

They decide:

• What programs are funded
• How much funding they receive
• Whether national priorities continue—or disappear

What You Should Do Now

1. Identify Appropriators in Your State
   
• Look for members of the House or Senate Appropriations Committees
2. Write Your Story
   
• Keep it personal and specific
• Explain what works—and why it matters
• Describe what would happen if support is reduced or delayed
3. Send It Early
   
• Late spring and early summer are critical
• Decisions are shaped before final votes. 

WHY DO PERSONAL STORIES MATTER

Data informs. Stories persuade.

When Members of Congress hear:

• How your child learned because of trained educators
• How accessible voting allowed independence and dignity
• How services made employment possible

—it changes how they think about funding decisions.

The Bottom Line

If people do nothing, decisions will be made without your voice.

And programs you rely on could:

• Change dramatically
• Be reduced
• Or disappear

Now is the time to act.

Key Members of the Appropriations Committees (119th Congress)

Senate Appropriations Committee

(Party – State)

Republicans

• Susan Collins (R – ME, Chair)
• Mitch McConnell (R – KY)
• Lisa Murkowski (R – AK)
• Lindsey Graham (R – SC)
• Jerry Moran (R – KS)
• John Hoeven (R – ND)
• John Boozman (R – AR)
• Shelley Moore Capito (R – WV)
• John Kennedy (R – LA)
• Cindy Hyde-Smith (R – MS)
• Bill Hagerty (R – TN)
• Katie Britt (R – AL)
• Deb Fischer (R – NE)
• Mike Rounds (R – SD)
• Jon Husted (R – OH)

Democrats

• Patty Murray (D – WA, Vice Chair)
• Richard Durbin (D – IL)
• Jack Reed (D – RI)
• Jeanne Shaheen (D – NH)
• Jeff Merkley (D – OR)
• Chris Coons (D – DE)
• Brian Schatz (D – HI)
• Tammy Baldwin (D – WI)
• Chris Murphy (D – CT)
• Chris Van Hollen (D – MD)
• Martin Heinrich (D – NM)
• Gary Peters (D – MI)
• Kirsten Gillibrand (D – NY)
• Jon Ossoff (D – GA)  

House Appropriations Committee

(Party – State)

Republicans

• Tom Cole (R – OK, Chair)
• Harold Rogers (R – KY)
• Robert Aderholt (R – AL)
• Mike Simpson (R – ID)
• John Carter (R – TX)
• Ken Calvert (R – CA)
• Mario Díaz-Balart (R – FL)
• Steve Womack (R – AR)
• Chuck Fleischmann (R – TN)
• David Joyce (R – OH)
• Andy Harris (R – MD)
• Mark Amodei (R – NV)
• David Valadao (R – CA)
• Dan Newhouse (R – WA)
• John Moolenaar (R – MI)
• John Rutherford (R – FL)
• Ben Cline (R – VA)
• Guy Reschenthaler (R – PA)
• Ashley Hinson (R – IA)
• Tony Gonzales (R – TX)
• Julia Letlow (R – LA)
• Michael Cloud (R – TX)
• Michael Guest (R – MS)
• Ryan Zinke (R – MT)
• Andrew Clyde (R – GA)
• Stephanie Bice (R – OK)
• Scott Franklin (R – FL)
• Jake Ellzey (R – TX)
• Juan Ciscomani (R – AZ)
• Chuck Edwards (R – NC)
• Mark Alford (R – MO)
• Nick LaLota (R – NY)
• Dale Strong (R – AL)
• Celeste Maloy (R – UT)
• Riley Moore (R – WV)

Democrats

• Rosa DeLauro (D – CT, Ranking Member)
• Steny Hoyer (D – MD)
• Marcy Kaptur (D – OH)
• James Clyburn (D – SC)
• Sanford Bishop (D – GA)
• Betty McCollum (D – MN)
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D – FL)
• Henry Cuellar (D – TX)
• Chellie Pingree (D – ME)
• Mike Quigley (D – IL)
• Grace Meng (D – NY)
• Mark Pocan (D – WI)
• Pete Aguilar (D – CA)
• Lois Frankel (D – FL)
• Bonnie Watson Coleman (D – NJ)
• Norma Torres (D – CA)
• Ed Case (D – HI)
• Adriano Espaillat (D – NY)
• Josh Harder (D – CA)
• Lauren Underwood (D – IL)
• Susie Lee (D – NV)
• Joseph Morelle (D – NY)
• Mike Levin (D – CA)
• Madeleine Dean (D – PA)
• Veronica Escobar (D – TX)
• Frank Mrvan (D – IN)
• Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D – WA)
• Glenn Ivey (D – MD

Here is a template letter:

 Subject: Protect Disability Programs in FY 2027 Budget

Dear [Senator/Representative Last Name],

I am writing as a constituent from [City, State] to urge you, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, to protect and sustain federal funding for programs that support people with disabilities.

These programs are not abstract to me—they directly affect my life.

[Insert your personal story here (3–5 sentences):

• Who you are (parent, person with a disability, professional, etc.)
• What programs/services have mattered (special education, trained professionals, accessible voting, employment supports, etc.)
• What difference they have made in real terms
• What would happen if they were reduced or delayed]

Federal investment ensures:

• Well-trained professionals who understand how to support people with disabilities
• Accessible voting systems that allow full participation in our democracy
• Research and demonstration projects that improve outcomes and expand opportunity
• A consistent national standard of quality and access

Shifting these responsibilities entirely to the states risks weakening a system that has taken decades to build. Without federal leadership, access and quality will vary widely, and many individuals and families will fall through the cracks.

I respectfully ask that you:

• Oppose cuts to disability-related programs in the FY 2027 budget
• Maintain strong federal support for training, accessibility, and research
• Ensure that people with disabilities remain a national priority

Personal stories like mine reflect what is at stake. These programs make it possible for people with disabilities to live, work, vote, and contribute in their communities.

Thank you for your leadership and for your consideration of my request.

Sincerely,

[Your Full Name]

[Your Address]

[City, State, ZIP]

[Email]

[Phone]

Hope this helps.

Common Grounder

We Cannot Be Silent: Protect Housing, Protect Lives

 

I serve on the Board of the U.S. International Council on Disabilities (USICD), and I have spent my career advancing policies that allow people with disabilities to live in and contribute to their communities.

Those of us in the disability community know this: we must frequently and forcefully oppose cuts to federal programs that promote community inclusion. These programs are not optional. They are the difference between stability and crisis, between independence and institutionalization, between life and death.

One such program now under threat is Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA).

The President’s budget proposes to zero out the $529 million HOPWA program, suggesting that people could instead rely on the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program. That substitution is misguided—and dangerous.

HOPWA is not simply an emergency response. It is a long-term housing stabilization program. It provides not only housing, but also access to essential supports—mental health services, career assistance, and transportation. These are the very services that allow people to regain stability and move forward with their lives.

Because of HOPWA’s success, low-income people living with HIV are able to secure stable housing, manage their health, and live independently. The program has strong bipartisan support and a proven track record. Last year alone, HOPWA helped house 55,000 families across the United States.

Let’s be clear about what is at stake.

HIV, if untreated, remains a communicable, incurable chronic condition that affects the immune system for life. As people age with HIV—most are now over 50—complications increase, and care must be comprehensive and continuous. Housing is foundational to that care.

HOPWA does more than provide shelter. It prevents homelessness, supports families, and ensures that thousands of children have a stable place to live each year.

And the outcomes are measurable.

For people living with HIV, stable housing is associated with a 20% greater likelihood of achieving viral suppression. When individuals are virally suppressed, they cannot transmit HIV to others. That means healthier individuals, stronger communities, and real progress toward ending the epidemic.

This is what effective federal policy looks like: targeted, proven, and humane.

As the Rev. Lauren Banks, Executive Director of the National HIV/AIDS Housing Coalition, put it:

“We call on Congress to continue supporting the HOPWA program and fund it at $600 million in FY27 so we can continue to end homelessness and HIV simultaneously.”

We should listen.

Eliminating HOPWA would not save money in any meaningful way—it would simply shift costs elsewhere, increase homelessness, worsen health outcomes, and undermine decades of bipartisan progress.

We have seen this pattern before. When critical supports are cut, the consequences are immediate and severe—especially for those already at risk.

The disability community understands that community living depends on sustained, thoughtful investment. HOPWA embodies that principle.

Congress must act.

Protect HOPWA.

Strengthen it.

Fund it at $600 million.

Because housing is not just a program line item—it is the foundation for health, dignity, and full participation in society. We should speak now.

Thank you.

Common Grounder

What Happened to the Women’s Museum Legislation in the House Is a Lesson for Us



I sent to the Times, but they did not take it. I hope those who read here will share it. I am chair of the Friends of the National Museum of Disability History and Culture. 

 

The reported move by House Republicans to prohibit the inclusion of transgender history in the American Women’s History Museum is not simply misguided—it is a deliberate act of erasure with far-reaching and dangerous consequences. See HR 1329 reported out of the House Committee on Administration, authorization of the American Women’s History Museum Act.

At its core, this effort asserts that certain people’s stories are unworthy of being told because acknowledging them would affirm their existence. It is an attempt to legislate invisibility—to decide, by political decree, who counts as part of our shared human story and who does not.

This is not about curation. It is about exclusion.

If allowed to stand, this action sets a chilling precedent: that any group can be written out of history if those in power find their existence inconvenient or ideologically uncomfortable. Today it is transgender people. Tomorrow it could be people with disabilities, racial minorities, immigrants, or anyone whose lived experience challenges a preferred narrative.

The consequences are profound:

• Institutionalized erasure: Museums—our nation’s memory keepers—would become tools of political filtering rather than truth-telling.
• Legitimization of discrimination: Denying a group’s history reinforces the false notion that they do not belong, fueling stigma, harassment, and violence.
• Educational distortion: Future generations will inherit an incomplete and manipulated understanding of society, weakening critical thinking and civic integrity.
• Policy spillover: Once exclusion is normalized in cultural institutions, it becomes easier to justify exclusion in law, healthcare, education, and employment.
• Erosion of democratic values: A government that dictates whose history is “acceptable” undermines the very principles of pluralism and freedom it claims to defend.

This proposal also ignores a simple truth: transgender people have always existed, have always contributed, and have always been part of the broader fabric of women’s history and human history. Their stories are intertwined with movements for equality, creativity, resilience, and social progress.

History is not a tool for ideological comfort. It is a record of reality.

We cannot allow public institutions to become instruments of selective memory. Silence, in this moment, is not neutrality—it is complicity.

We must respond with urgency and clarity:

• Flood congressional offices with calls and written objections.
• Demand media scrutiny that exposes the absurdity and danger of this effort.
• Stand in solidarity with those whose histories are being targeted for erasure.

Because once we accept that some people can be written out of history, we accept that some people can be written out of our society.

And that is a line we cannot afford to cross. Being silent makes us complicit.

 

 

USICD Fund Raising Gala

It’s that time of year again—the U.S. International Council on Disabilities Annual Gala, our one essential fundraiser. This year’s event is virtual, making it accessible to all.

December 3, 2025 • 6:30–8:00 PM

Tickets at: 2025USICDGala.eventbrite.com.

Like every nonprofit, USICD is navigating challenging times. But our mission—advancing global disability rights, strengthening international partnerships, and ensuring immigrants with disabilities have a voice—makes our work especially vulnerable to shrinking federal aid and rising political pressure.

This year’s gala is critical to sustaining that work. Disability rights are under siege, and organizations like ours cannot continue without collective support. Your ticket matters. Truly.

Your support helps us:

• Equip local leaders to expand disability rights in their communities.
• Shape inclusive economic development strategies.
• Build practical solutions to reduce poverty among disabled people—especially women and girls.
• Educate policymakers so disability perspectives are represented at every decision-making table.

If you stand with us —

• Hope will be renewed.
• Thoughtful action will replace rhetoric.
• Facts will drive progress, not deepen disparities.
• A new generation of young leaders with disabilities will rise.

Please help us keep this work alive.

One ticket is not just support—it is a statement of belief in a more just, inclusive world.

Visit USICD.org to learn about this year’s great honorees — trailblazers with creativity and passion. Things we need to celebrate this year more than ever.

Thank you, https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5654100548468406256/2894400594685848680

Common Grounder