[Nfbf-l] {Disarmed} Fw: UCP Action Alert: Super Committee to Hold First Organizational Meeting and Public Hearing

[Carlos J MontasAS]

UCP Action Alert: Super Committee to Hold First Organizational Meeting and Public Hearing    
----- Original Message ----- 
From: United Cerebral Palsy 
To: carlos.montas at gmail.com 
Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 1:00 PM
Subject: UCP Action Alert: Super Committee to Hold First Organizational Meeting and Public Hearing



  September 7, 2011

  It was announced that the super committee will hold its first organizational meeting on Thursday, September 8, followed by its first public hearing Tuesday, September 13. Both hearings will be open to the media and the general public. At the first meeting, on Thursday, September 8 at 10:30 am EST in 2123 Rayburn Building, members will consider committee rules. The second hearing, also at 10:30 am on the 13th, will include testimony from Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf on “The History and Drivers of Our Nation’s Debt and Its Threats.” That hearing will be located in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building.


  BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE SUPER COMMITTEE

  The committee, created by the law that raised the debt limit in early August, is tasked with proposing at least $1.2 trillion in debt reduction by November 23, which both houses of Congress are required to vote on by December 23. Sources say that health care and entitlement spending cuts will be on the table for the committee.
   
  Below is a list of important dates for the super committee:
  * September 8: Organizational meeting of joint committee.
  * September 13: First hearing of joint committee.
  * October 14: Deadline for standing committees to forward their recommendations to joint committee.
  * November 23: Deadline for joint committee to vote on legislative proposals, with a 10-year deficit reduction goal of $1.5 trillion.
  * December 2: Deadline for joint committee to formally report proposals.
  * December 23: Deadline for House and Senate to vote on proposals, without amendment.
  * January 15: Deadline for enactment of at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, or across-the-board spending cuts will be triggered.
  * January 2, 2013: If triggered, across-the-board cuts will take effect.
   
  Click here to get more information on the super committee's meetings from the National Journal.
   

  NOW IS THE TIME TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS
   
  We are hearing that the only voices that are truly going to matter with members of the super committee are from the constituents they serve,  Make your voice heard with some tips, including:

  * Contact your Representatives and Senators NOW. Urge them to consider action, before it is too late.
   
  * Call the national offices of your Representatives and Senators by using the Capitol Switchboard phone number: 202-224-3121. Ask to speak to the person that works on health and disability-related issues.
          a. Start with your stats: Who you are, where you are located, what services you provide, the number of people you serve, and the number of employees you have.
          b. Note that you recognize that there are many difficult decisions ahead for our nation and that you share the goal of getting the nation’s finances on the right path without causing irreparable harm to our most vulnerable citizens. The budget must not be balanced on the backs of people with disabilities, for whom government services and supports are vital to their ability to remain healthy, employed, educated and independent in their communities.
   
  * Here is a sampling of actions the federal government could take to realize savings within the Medicaid and Medicare programs:
         a. Expand the utilization of Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) and support implementation of the CLASS Act.
         b. Increase utilization of technology in services to seniors and people with disabilities by using telecare options. The utilization of  technology bears immediate savings, fosters independence, reduces costly hospital stays, doctor visits, or time in institutional settings, and helps manage workforce issues.
   
  * Ask tough questions: What is your plan for providing services to people with disabilities and seniors? If the super committee makes dramatic cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security, what will happen to vulnerable citizens who lose those services?
   
  * Make sure you say that you think the process undertaken by the Joint Special Committee should be transparent with the opportunity for public input.
   
  * Offer to be a resource: Welcome the opportunity to be a sounding board for any reforms or changes to long-term supports and services put forward during the super committee's work.


  As always, if you have any questions, please contact Connie Garner at CGarner at ucp.org.   © United Cerebral Palsy  |  1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington D.C. 20036  |  800.872.5827 / 202.776.0406 view email in browser | Forward this email | Unsubscribe carlos.montas at gmail.com 
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