Autism+Update+Letter

Dear fellow members of the autism community:

The budget battle is far from done. Now, it has moved from the Pennsylvania Senate to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Our community has more work to do.

First, an update. As you probably saw on the Internet or in newspapers, the Senate passed the so-called “alternative” budget even with all the voices from the autism community and other groups who fought against it. But even if we didn’t win the battle, there were signs our strategy worked. As the Senate debate began, there were many who were worried that even Senate Democrats would vote for the “alternative” budget. But, they didn’t, with only one exception. The vote was almost entirely along party lines and, since the Republicans have the majority in the Senate, the bill passed. In other words, our efforts made a difference. The word around the Capitol was that legislators were inundated with calls and messages from the autism community. The first battle did not go our way, but make no mistake the Pennsylvania autism community spoke with one loud and insistent voice, and legislators heard it.

What does that tell us about the coming battle in the House? For one thing, the Democrats are in the majority in the House, so if the vote is along party lines, the “alternative” budget will fail. Second, our strategy. The House will stay in session until just before Memorial Day. We need to work together again, to use our collective voice to be sure that, between now and the end of May, every member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives hears repeatedly about why Senate Bill 850 would be devastating to the autism community. There is every reason to believe that pressure from our community and others can bring about the defeat of this “alternative” budget in the House. But we need to do more than that. We need to remind everyone involved in the budget process that when they sit down to compromise about what will go in the final version of the budget they must remember how important our (relatively inexpensive) autism programs are, how many of us there are in the autism community and how many of us vote. Remember what is at stake. The “alternative” budget that passed in the Senate would slash millions of dollars from the autism budget. That means that many of the programs we’ve worked so hard to get started would lose their funding: the waiver for adults with autism, the Adult Community Autism Program, and the regional centers that aim to bring the best knowledge about autism treatment into our neighborhoods.

(At least one legislator has been telling her constituents that Senate Bill 850 would actually provide an increase in the autism budget. She’s mistaken, and her statement is based on faulty math that compares the wrong numbers. Considering state funding only, Senate Bill 850 would cut the autism budget by 24 percent compared to 2008-09 numbers and by 34 percent compared to Gov. Rendell’s proposed 2009-10 budget. Considering both state and federal funding, Senate Bill 850 would cut the autism budget by 11 percent compared to the 2008-09 budget and by 27 percent compared to Gov. Rendell’s proposed 2009-10 budget. Those are the real numbers.)

With these critical issues in mind, our suggested strategy is a series of coordinated messages. In the next few weeks, we will send out alerts every few days with a new, suggested message for our community to relay to members of the House. Our goal is two-fold. First, we want every member of the House to receive repeated, personalized messages so that the needs of the autism community are front and center in their thoughts about the budget. Second, we want to be organized as a community so that we maximize the message while minimizing the demands on all of us. Persons with autism and their families have enough demands on their time and energy, and we want to add as few as possible.

So, here is the first wave. If you don’t yet know who your state representative is (or how to contact that person), please go to []. There’s a search box at the upper right corner of the screen that will connect you to the information you need. Call or e-mail your representative immediately. Please urge that person to vote against the House version of Senate Bill 850 and explain that the bill, if made a part of the budget, would devastate programs our community has worked for years to create. Those programs, which are already underfunded, serve many of the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians - people who might have no other support to live in the community. The Bureau of Autism Services has used its budget carefully and stretched its dollars to do a lot with a little. But the proposed “alternative” budget would so decimate that budget that whole programs would simply lose their funding. Our people are too important, their rights too hard-won, their value to the community too clear for anyone to make them pawns in political games over the budget. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve worked together to make the voice of the autism community heard in the halls of the Capitol. It demonstrates yet again that the Pennsylvania autism community has incredible energy and dedication. We’ll be in touch again in a few days with another update and our suggestion for the second wave in our strategy. We can and must protect our services. Remember: There can be no steps backwards.

Your colleagues in the Pennsylvania autism community.

For more information: Autism Society of America | 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 300 | Bethesda, Maryland 20814-3067

This information was submitted to us by crocmei11@gmail.com