🍁 ASAN September Update 🍁

September 30, 2024

ASAN September Newsletter

Dear friend,

The days may be getting shorter with the transition to autumn, but our advocacy work isn’t slowing down. Take a look at what we’ve been focused on this month!

We’re excited to announce ASAN’s 2024 Virtual Gala will take place on Wednesday, October 30th! This year’s theme is Grow With Us — in recognition of our growth and a tribute to the power of our grassroots to fight for the rights of our community. Join us for an evening celebrating our community with our award ceremony recognizing the incredible work of community members, exciting panels, and a speech from ASAN’s incoming Executive Director Colin Killick! This year’s gala, as it has been since 2020, will be virtual and everyone’s welcome! We’re thrilled to share the gala with disability community members and allies from across the country and around the world, who usually wouldn’t be able to attend in-person. Make sure to get your tickets here and don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook!

Disabled people deserve to work at the same places and for the same pay as nondisabled people. This isn’t news — but in 2024, some of us are still being paid less than the minimum wage in segregated workplaces. This is called subminimum wage, and it most commonly happens in sheltered workshops. It is discrimination, and it is unacceptable. The Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCIEA) is a bill that would give states and businesses the help they need to create competitive integrated employment opportunities for disabled people. Right now, we need your help to get more Senators to support and cosponsor TCIEA — learn how you can take action here! If you have questions or want to learn more about TCIEA, check out our helpful guide here. Together, we can increase good jobs for disabled people and end subminimum wage. It’s past time to give disabled workers integrated, equal employment.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our “Get Out the Vote with ASAN” webinar earlier this month! We talked about the basics of voting, including voting by mail. Disabled people are often overlooked when talking about how to handle discrimination at the polls. From inaccessible polling places to volunteers not knowing how to work the accessible ballot machines, there can be unique barriers to our ability to vote. Many of us have questions every step of the way. If you missed it, you can still check out the recording here. Now is also a great time to make sure you’re registered to vote, and check out our resources on voting and elections!

This season of change offers us a chance to reflect on both the challenges and victories of this year. We’re grateful to fight alongside our grassroots. Thank you for your support, and we’re excited to celebrate with you next month!

Sincerely,

The Team at ASAN

Along with several other disability organizations, we signed onto a letter calling on the US Department of Transportation to finalize a rule that would improve air travel for people with disabilities.
ASAN joined a letter about health care access for currently and formerly incarcerated people.
We signed an amicus brief for a Tennessee case about gender affirming care for minors.
We joined several letters in support of the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (S.533).
ASAN signed on to a letter asking for Congress to match the Census funding level that’s within the President’s budget request and calling for the removal of two harmful riders.
We, along with several disability organizations, endorsed the Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day (DWEPD) Resolution, which recognizes the significance of equal pay and the pay disparity between disabled women and both disabled and nondisabled men.
ASAN signed a letter asking the US Department of Justice to investigate voter suppression tactics and increase federal oversight of state investigations into alleged voter fraud and investigation of civil rights violations.
We joined a letter opposing outlay caps for FY25 appropriations and opposing bills that would further restrict federal spending.
Along with 60 care, gender justice, racial justice, and allied advocacy organizations, we urged Congress to take the opportunity of the upcoming expirations of the temporary provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) to make the tax code fairer and to raise more revenue that can support long-overdue investments in women, families, communities, and our shared economy.
We joined a brief from National Disability Advocacy and Action Coalition advocating for accessibility around technology.
ASAN joined a letter opposing H.R. 5717, the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, which would aggressively defund essential services for cities that don’t collaborate with federal immigration enforcement.
We signed onto a letter urging increased appropriations for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey (CPS) because funding cuts impact the quality of the data, particularly for those with intersecting, marginalized identities.
With the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities, we signed on to a letter in support of the amended version of HR 670, Think Differently Database Act, which makes HCBS waiver information more digestible for people seeking services and provides more transparency around wait lists and services overall.
ASAN signed on to a letter opposing HR 1605, the Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act, which could derail CDBG-DR funding by creating a new, duplicative FEMA program with less oversight, less transparency, and no prioritization of low-income disaster survivors.
Alongside several organizations, we signed a letter about protecting DEI programs, policies, and practices.
We signed a letter from the IDEA Full Funding coalition advocating for full-funding of IDEA in FY26.