An open letter to the U.S. House of Representatives
Stand On Business: Stop This Assault on Disabled Americans NOW
143 so far! Help us get to 250 signers!
I am appalled by the proposed House budget framework directing the Energy and Commerce Committee to slash at least $880 billion—gutting Medicaid and eviscerating home and community-based services (HCBS). If you support this, you are endorsing a policy that will strip people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) of their right to live with dignity.
Make no mistake: these cuts will force disabled individuals into institutions, robbing them of their independence and subjecting them to conditions most Americans would never tolerate. The evidence is clear—community-based care is more effective, more affordable, and overwhelmingly preferred—yet this proposal prioritizes cruelty over common sense. The consequences will be devastating:
• Increased forced institutionalization, disregarding the rights and autonomy of people with disabilities.
• Severe reductions in essential services, leaving families struggling to access even the most basic care.
• A worsening workforce crisis, making it impossible to maintain the already fragile disability support system.
People with disabilities are not expendable. This is not just a budgetary decision—it is a moral failure. If you have any regard for human rights, you will reject these cuts and defend Medicaid’s role in funding HCBS. Anything less is a blatant betrayal of disabled Americans and their families.
I am watching your vote. Do the right thing.