Please contact your U.S. Representative today, tomorrow and throughout Monday - the Senate has passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which seeks to overhaul the tax code but has provisions that could affect IDD services. The bill is now going back to the House for a final vote, since it is a different bill than the tax bill the House voted on, before going to the President for his signature so it becomes law. After the House votes on it there will be no more opportunities to stop the bill. While ANCOR does not have a position on tax reform, we have key positions on how tax reform may impact our services. Given these principles and the passage of the bill out of the Senate, we believe it is important to speak up about the importance of Medicaid to people with I/DD before the House votes on this legislation for the final time.
Please contact your U.S. Representative TODAY to say that you cannot support the legislation in its current form because:
The changes proposed to the charitable tax deduction reduce the ability of nonprofit disability service providers to fund important services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).As the only other federal support for Medicaid long-term services and supports, the House passed legislation removing the medical expense deduction could put significant strain on the Medicaid program that serves people with I/DD.The changes to the unrelated business income tax (UBIT) impact the ability of nonprofit providers and their associations to maintain limited but important revenues.
The changes to state and local taxes would have a negative impact on certain states that obtain significant funding from these taxes for services for people with I/DD.
The House legislation's elimination of tax breaks on bond financing could significantly undermine the financing for affordable housing for people with I/DD.The addition of $1.5 trillion to the national debt may be used to justify future cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security which are the main federal programs that support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Click here to send an email directly to your U.S. Representative! Please do not put this off - a full House vote is expected the evening of Monday, December 4.
Given the short turnaround time before the vote, we also highly encourage you to call your U.S. Representative. The Congressional Switchboard can help you identify your Members of Congress and will connect you directly to their office - dial it at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY). A short script you can use is: "I am a constituent who cares deeply about issues affecting people with disabilities. If you do not already oppose the tax reform bill coming for a vote today, please do so because it has provisions that would harm services for people with disabilities. Thank you for your hard work answering the phones."