Congress has passed the CARES Act! What does that mean and what can you do now?

Earlier today, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). While the final bill contains some disability community priorities, there are many more that weren’t addressed that are absolutely critical. We will continue to fight to make sure the needs of people with disabilities are included in the next round of coronavirus relief legislation and will need your help to make that happen.
 
The CARES Act did take some important steps that were necessary to meet the demands of this crisis, but more must be done.  Among other things, the CARES Act ensures that direct cash assistance to people during the crisis is available to all people (including people on SSI and SSDI) and won't count against means tested programs like Medicaid; includes a short-term extension of the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program; and contains additional funding for education, housing, nutrition, Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and some aging programs.
 
Many critical disability priorities did not make it into the bill.  Those include additional grant funding for the home and community-based services (HCBS) on which many people with disabilities rely; permanent reauthorization of MFP; inclusive paid leave; recognition of direct care workers as essential personnel; and additional funding for Medicaid, Social Security, and SSI.
 
For more on what was and was not included in the CARES Act, check out the list we’ve put together here, which we will continue to update as we review the final bill, and more on the federal response to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on people with disabilities can be found on our webpage.
 
While many of our priorities that weren’t included in the CARES Act will need to be addressed in legislation, there is one that we may be able to fix now, before the next round of legislation: paid leave. The Department of Labor (DOL) is currently hosting and online dialogue about changes to paid leave made in response to the coronavirus pandemic and we urge everyone to please participate!

The deadline to submit your comments is this Sunday, March 29. Please take this opportunity to encourage DOL to use their authority to provide paid sick leave to people with disabilities who need to self-isolate and all caregivers! Instructions for participating in the online dialogue and template comments for organizations, family members, and people with disabilities prepared by CPR and The Arc can be found here.