The following document was provided by the DFL Disability Caucus and was produced by the Florida Democratic Disability Caucus.
An estimated 38 million eligible voters have disabilities. As Election Day approaches, we must take time to understand the multiple issues the effect people with disabilities. The following is a researched and detailed compilation of the Presidential candidates’ policies and plans for Americans with disabilities and their families.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Biden: Pledged to increase Social Security benefits. His plan would also boost payments for disabled and older Americans.
Trump: Issued an executive order in August 2020 that if he won a second term, he intended to eliminate the payroll tax that funds Social Security. The chief actuary for the Social Security Administration said the trust which supports
the Social Security would be depleted by the middle of 2023. Funds for disability payments would run out in 2021.
MEDICAID
Biden: Plans to eliminate the institutional bias, expand coverage, and eliminate surprise billing.
Trump: Proposed a budget that would cut an estimated $610 billion to $1.3 trillion from Medicaid.
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INSURANCE (SSDI)
Biden: Plans to eliminate the benefit cliff, the five-month benefit waiting period, and end the proposed changes for more frequent disability reviews.
Trump: Proposes disability reviews to happen every 2 years to redetermine eligibility for SSDI benefits.
HEALTHCARE
Biden: Plans to keep the ACA in place with improvements including adding a public option like Medicare, repeal existing laws barring Medicare from negotiating prices with drug companies, Allow consumers to buy prescription
drugs from other countries, and lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 down to 60.
Trump: Refused to reopen Obamacare enrollment in the spring 2020, leaving the uninsured with no options. Has a case before the Supreme Court to repeal the Affordable Care Act with no plan defined to replace it.
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT
Biden: Has a detailed plan for full federal funding of special education, tripling Title I school funding for low-income students, banning seclusion and more restrictions and funding for colleges to accommodate students with disabilities.
Trump: Has terminated seventy-two IDEA guidelines advising schools on how to implement their obligation to educate students with disabilities.
MEDICAID HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED WAIVERS
Biden: Has a plan to eliminate the waitlist for Medicaid waiver services while increasing support for caregivers with an increased federal funding match in order to allow the services to become more available and better pay for the
direct support professionals.
Trump: Added Medicaid waiver provisions such as work requirements, enrollment caps, and offers flexibility to
states to manage their programs with reduced need for federal approval and oversight.
DISABILITY POLICIES & PLANS
Biden: Biden Plan for Full Participation and Equality for People with Disabilities https://joebiden.com/disabilities/ and the Plan to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Prepare for Future Global Health Threats for People with Disabilities-
https://joebiden.com/covid19-disabilities/
Trump: No disability policy information available. COVID 19 Plan for people with disabilities– No plan. His 2021 budget eliminates funding for the supported employment program and Autism CARES Act training programs and
cuts respite care funding in half and cuts to Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, which tracks the prevalence of autism and other disabilities.
SOCIAL SECURITY MARRIAGE PENALTY
Biden: Plans to grant marriage equality to the disability community. Right now, they lose Medicaid, which they rely
on to survive if they legally marry
Trump: No information available.
ENDING SUB MINIMUM WAGE
Biden: Plans to end subminimum wages for workers with disabilities.
Trump: No information available.
DISABILITIES REPRESENTATION IN GOVERNMENT
Biden: Plan has greater representation of people with disabilities in government.
Trump: No information available.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON INDEPENDENT LIVING
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SURVEY
In an effort to inform the disability community of the presidential candidate’s disability policy positions, initiatives, and priorities, the American Association of People with Disabilities and the National Council on Independent Living requested the presidential candidates complete a questionnaire.
Biden: Responded written answers. https://www.aapd.com/vice-president-biden_aapd-and-ncil-presidential-
questionnaire/
Trump: No response
DISABILITY RIGHTS CENTER OF NH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SURVEY
Twenty-four New Hampshire based organizations joined together and requested that each campaign answer five
disability related questions. https://drcnh.org/2020-presidential-candidate-survey/
Biden: Responded with a video and written answers. https://drcnh.org/videos/biden-video-campaign-inclusion-and-
accessibility/
Trump: No response.
HOUSING
Biden: Calls for a Housing First strategy based on the idea that people need a safe and stable living situation before
they can deal with more complex issues like addiction and mental illness.
Trump: States the solution to homelessness for people with disabilities and those with mental health conditions is the construction of mental institutions.
SOURCES
SOURCES
https://www.donaldjtrump.com
https://joebiden.com
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/biden-disability-policy-plan/
http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/p/2020-presidential-candidates.html
https://www.aapd.com/2020-presidential-candidate-questionnaire-on-disability-policies/
http://olmstead-ddnews.org/olmstead-updates/tag/Donald+J.+Trump
https://ncd.gov/publications/2019/ncd-letter-president-trump-regarding-deinstitutionalization
https://thearc.org/the-arc-rejects-president-trumps-comments-on-bringing-back-institutions/
https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2020/02/21/hiding-the-ball-the-trump-administrations-section-1115-medicaid-waiver-policy-has-entered-a-new-and-dangerous-phase/
https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2020/07/23/biden-calls-for-end-to-waiting-lists-for-medicaid-waivers/28648/
https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2020/02/13/trump-budget-calls-for-cuts-to-disability-programs/27812/
https://thebestschools.org/magazine/devos-slashes-idea-guidelines/
https://edsource.org/2020/special-education-would-get-big-boost-under-biden-proposal/634543
https://www.exceptionalchild.com/biden-calls-for-end-to-waiting-lists-for-medicaid-waivers/
https://www.ncpssm.org/entitledtoknow/trump-ssdi-rule-a-brutal-and-vile-attack-on-disabled-americans/
https://thearcca.org/biden-campaign-releases-plans-for-americas-disability-community-trump-campaign-silent-on-the-issue