This morning, the House passed the Build Back Better Act. This bill includes the largest-ever federal investment in home- and community-based services (HCBS) to date — $150 billion for better access to services, better pay for workers, and better quality services.
ASAN thanks our grassroots for their persistent, unyielding advocacy. Every phone call, email, and tweet made a difference. It is thanks to their dogged work that the House has taken this crucial step towards doing the right thing. Now it is time for the Senate to vote quickly to pass the same thing — no cut corners, no further reduction in this down payment, but a true expansion of access to community living.
The disability community deserves a Congress that will fight for us and have our backs as we all begin to move forward from the devastating years of loss we have faced. This funding, only secured through our fighting tooth and nail, will begin to make the changes needed to support people with disabilities and support workers–but much more is needed. We will continue to fight for the policies our community needs, for as long as it takes.
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. We work to empower autistic people across the world to take control of our own lives and the future of our common community, and seek to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. Nothing About Us, Without Us!