Disabilities and the Supercommittee Failure

From Autism Speaks:

Autism Speaks is a member of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, which released the following statement on the deadlock of the Super Committee from Donna Meltzer, CCD Board Chair:

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), a coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations, shares its disappointment today that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction has failed to come up with a deficit reduction package that addresses the nation’s debt in a manner that is balanced and fair. While the CCD is very pleased that members of the Super Committee worked to protect entitlement programs that are critically necessary for people with disabilities such as Medicaid and Social Security, the failure to complete a comprehensive package leaves consortium member organizations very concerned about how sequestration will impact the nation’s 54 million Americans who live with disabilities and their families.

CCD knows that people with disabilities and their families depend on a safety net of programs that include both entitlement and discretionary spending. Because the Committee was unable to enact a thoughtful, balanced and collaboratively developed deficit reduction package, we now face devastating mandatory cuts to many critical programs serving people with disabilities in sequestration. The nation’s budget cannot be balanced on the backs of those with disabilities and chronic health conditions.