Capital Insider 12-16 (fwd)

[F. Pennell]

Here is the weekly "Capital Insider" from the Arc of Washington, D.C.
Francie Pennell

Subject: Capital Insider 12-16

THE CAPITOL INSIDER
Weekly news and information from our Nation's Capital
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Weekly Publication Produced Through The Arc's Governmental Affairs =
Enhancement Program,
1730 K Street NW, Suite 1212, Washington, DC 20006.  Phone =
(202)785-3388; Fax (202) 467-4179; E-mail :  arcga at radix.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 16, 1996: Volume 1, Issue 31

MAJOR ACTIONS LAST WEEK:

* Senator Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.), who will be the new Chair of the Senate
Labor and Human Resources Committee in 1997, announced that as part of the
restructuring of the Committee, there will no longer be a Disability
Policy Subcommittee. 
 Instead, Senator Jeffords indicated that he wants to deal with issues
like IDEA and the ADA at the full committee level.  In a conversation with
The Arc's Paul Marchand, Senator Jeffords promised that there would be a
staffperson at the committee level dedicated solely to disability policy. 
Senator Jeffords also promised that the first hearing before the full
committee will be on the reauthorization of IDEA. 

* It was announced this past week that Rep. Frank Riggs (R-Calif.) will be
the new Chair of the Early Childhood, Youth and Families Subcommittee of
the House Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee.  This
subcommittee has jurisdiction over the reauthorization of IDEA in the
House, so Rep. Riggs will play a crucial role in that process.  Paul
Marchand met with Rep. Riggs last week and was assured that IDEA would be
a top priority in the 105th Congress and that the IDEA reauthorization
bill will not include any provisions which would allow the complete
cessation of educational services to students with disabilities. 

* The new President of The Arc, Quincy Abbot, announced his appointments
for the new Governmental Affairs Committee.  Lorraine Sheehan of Maryland
will be the new Chairperson, with Joan Thompson of Ohio (the former
chairperson) and Matt Schwarz of North Dakota returning as committee
members. New members include Brenda Doss of Alabama, Bev Adcock from Utah,
James Meadours from Oklahoma and Robert Downs from the District of
Columbia.  The GAC will hold its first meeting in Arlington Texas in early
January. At this meeting, the members will draft the Legislative Goals for
1997. 

* The makeup of the 105th Congress is finally settled, following three
special elections in Texas.  The elections were needed after a court
ordered that several Congressional districts be redrawn.  Hence, the final
make up of the House will be 227 Republicans, 207 Democrats and 1
Independent, while the Senate will have 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats. 

* President Clinton is reported to be starting work on his FY 1998 budget,
which is expected to be released in early February.  The President has
stated that achieving a balanced budget is his top priority, which leaves
many advocates very concerned about the future of entitlement programs
such as Medicaid, Medicare and SSI.  In related news, the President is
expected to make more appointments to his new Cabinet this week. 

* The White House still continues their silence about new eligibility
standards for children's SSI, leading many to speculate about a possible
announcement over the Christmas holidays.  Local chapters of The Arc
should continue to be on the lookout for families who have received
notices of an eligibility review and are willing to speak with a reporter
about their situation.  Please pass their names on to The Arc's
Governmental Affairs.