Were these being abused? used as slushfunds?
Betsy DeVos defends Special Olympics budget cuts: 'We had to make some difficult decisions'
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended budget cuts to programs including the Special Olympics on Tuesday.
Appearing before a House subcommittee Tuesday to review the department’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, DeVos said, “We had to make some difficult decisions.”
DeVos’s remarks came in response to questions from Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who pressed her on the amount of kids the budget cut would impact.
“I don’t know the number of kids,” DeVos said before Pocan answered that 272,000 kids would be impacted.
“I think Special Olympics is an awesome organization, one that is well supported by the philanthropic sector as well,” DeVos said
The budget proposed by President Trump and supported by DeVos calls for nearly $18 million in cuts to the Special Olympics.
Last year, DeVos donated a portion of her salary to the Special Olympics, according to Politico.
Tuesday was DeVos's first appearance before a Democrat-controlled House panel.
Formerly the chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, DeVos was approved as Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Education following a contentious confirmation hearing with strong pushback from Republicans.
DeVos has long been an advocate for school choice, and her proposed budget includes increased charter school funding.
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/435918-betsy-devos-defends-special-olympics-budget-cuts-we-had-to-make-some-difficult
Trump Proposes Cuts To Medicaid, Other Disability Programs
With his latest budget proposal, the president is calling for significant changes to Medicaid that advocates say would have big consequences for people with disabilities.
President Donald Trump released a $4.75 trillion plan Monday to fund the federal government for the next fiscal year. The proposal features broad cuts to domestic spending, an increase in funding for defense and money for a wall along the border with Mexico.
Within the budget request is a plan to “give states additional flexibility over their Medicaid programs” through per capita cap or block grant systems.
Essentially, rather than send matching grants to states to cover whatever services are provided to beneficiaries no matter the cost, Trump’s plan would see the federal government provide a fixed amount of money to states each year for Medicaid services.
The approach has been pushed by Republicans several times in recent years as a way to rein in spending on the entitlement program. It is broadly opposed by disability advocates who say that limiting federal spending would squeeze states and jeopardize their ability to fund services that people with developmental disabilities rely on.
In a statement this week, The Arc said Trump’s budget request “would put the lives of people with disabilities at risk.”
“The proposal includes deep cuts to Medicaid, the core program providing access to health care and home and community-based services for people with disabilities,” the group said.
Aside from Medicaid, the budget request calls for cuts to numerous programs including state councils on developmental disabilities, independent living programs and respite care efforts while slashing funds altogether for Special Olympics’ education programs and doing away with a $51 million initiative to address autism and other developmental disorders.
One area spared from cuts is special education, with Trump proposing level funding for grants under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act at $13.2 billion.
“Tough decisions were made, but we made sure that this budget protects our most vulnerable students by requesting level funding for Title I and IDEA,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2019/03/12/trump-cuts-medicaid-programs/26159/