Join us on Tuesday, July 11th at Uptown Bill’s for this month’s Expressive Art Group!
This month we will be painting salt fireworks, so bring your July 4th enthusiasm!
Location:
Uptown Bill’s Coffee House
730 South Dubuque Street
Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Date/Time:
Tuesday, July 11th
4:30PM – 6:00PM
Access 2 Independence is participating in a national effort to make the DISABILITY VOTE more influential. This effort, known as the REV UP Campaign, has designated July 17-21, 2017 as National Disability Voter Registration Week in advance of the November elections.
Access 2 Independence will be participating in this effort by holding two voter registration drives, one in Linn County on July 18th and the other in Johnson County on July 20th. Additional information about each event can be found below. We will have both regular and the new large print voter registration documents available. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Location:
Cedar Rapids Public Library
450 5th Ave. SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Date/Time:
July 18th
1:00PM to 4:00PM
We will be located on the main floor in the children’s area
Location:
Coralville Public Library
1401 5th St.
Coralville, IA 52241
Date/Time:
July 20th
10:00AM to 1:00PM
We will be located on the main floor in the lobby area
Hello everyone,
As many of you know, there is a bill (the American Health Care Act) being pushed through the Senate that would both cap benefits and cut over $800 billion of Medicaid, leading to a decrease in necessary community services that support independent living, as well as making healthcare unavailable to millions of people.
Decimates Medicaid with $834 billion in cuts over the next decade(Center for Budget and Policy Priorities)
Results in 23 million people losing their health care by 2026
Does not protect people with pre-existing conditions
Increases the likelihood of more people with disabilities going into nursing homes and institutions
Reduces or eliminates essential health benefits including: prescription drugs, mental health services, rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices, and more.
The Senate plans on putting this bill to a vote before the 4th of July, so we must act quickly to stop this bill now. While we do have limited time, we can make a difference. We only need one or two more Senators to say “NO” in order to stop this bill. If you are able, please set up a meeting with your Senator’s staff, or call them and follow up with an email if possible.
To make this as easy as possible, we are including contact information for Iowa Senators, and a script in case you want something to go off of when talking with your Senator’s staff.
Also, it is important for all US Senators to know that we the people demand hearings be scheduled for this bill with appropriate time for bipartisan input. To directly ask for hearings, call the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions) Committee and the Senate Finance Committee (contact information below).
Joni Ernst – (R – IA)
111 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3254
Contact: www.ernst.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
Chuck Grassley – (R – IA)
135 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3744
Contact: www.grassley.senate.gov/contact
Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions) Committee
(202) 224-5375
Senate Finance Committee
(202) 224-4515
Below is a sample script to use when talking with your Senators. Please personalize your message as much as possible to show your Senators just how much this bill will affect you and your loved ones.
“My name is (NAME) and I am a constituent of Senator (NAME).
I oppose the “American Health Care Act” because it cuts Medicaid support services for people with disabilities living in the community. Without these community services, people will be forced to move into nursing facilities which actually costs Medicaid *$300,000 more per person and is a step backwards in protecting disability rights. Additionally, this bill will make healthcare unavailable to millions of people.
People (like me / in the disability community) rely on Medicaid for our health and independence, and this bill would be detrimental to people with disabilities in (STATE). I hope I can count on you to stand up and protect the rights of the disability community in (STATE) and around the country!”
*Referenced from the National Council on Disability (an independent federal agency that makes policy recommendations to the President, Congress and federal agencies).
While it is important to talk with our Iowa Senators, there are some key Senators in other states that may be more receptive to our message. If you have any family/friends in these states, let them know how they can make a difference by forwarding them this message and/or asking them to call their Senators. A list of priority Senators can be found below:
Alaska: Murkowski and Sullivan
Arkansas: Cotton
Arizona: Flake
Colorado: Gardner
Georgia: Isakson
Indiana: Young
Louisiana: Cassidy
Maine: Collins
Missouri: Blunt
Montana: Daines
Nebraska: Fischer and Sasse
Nevada: Heller
Ohio: Portman
Pennsylvania: Toomey
South Carolina: Graham
Tennessee: Alexander and Corker
West Virginia: Capito
Wisconsin: Johnson
Finally, remember to spread the word.
The more people involved, the louder our voice!
Thank you in advance for your hard work.
Together we can stop this bill and make our voices heard!
