Policy Pulse | Federal funding in focus: IDEA, Medicaid & CARES

May 30, 2025

Policy Pulse Newsletter - Highlighting May 2025 Advocacy Activity

In this newsletter:

Advocating for special education
Support of Autism CARES Act funding
Budget reconciliation and Medicaid
Bills that are making progress through Congress
State updates as many state legislative sessions wind down
Recent webinar update

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Advocating for special education

Georgianna Junco-Kelman, special education attorney and chair of the Autism Speaks Executive Leadership Council for Southern California, recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for stronger support of special education services.

Georgianna urged lawmakers to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as promised—so every student, including those with autism, can access the services they need to succeed in school.

Support the IDEA Full Funding Act

Support of Autism CARES Act funding

Each year, Congress decides how much funding federal programs will receive in the upcoming fiscal year through the appropriations process. As part of this, lawmakers can sign letters supporting key funding priorities—like those under the Autism CARES Act.

color graphic of someone signing their name with their finger on a tablet. Spectrum colored background has symbols for test tubes, money, DNA, a chart and puzzle piece surrounding the tablet.

With less than a week for members to sign-on to letters of support for Autism CARES Act programs, our community rose to the challenge in making our voices heard. Together, we sent thousands of messages to Congress and ensured strong support for funding of the countless training, data and research programs under the Autism CARES Act.

Thanks to your advocacy, 70 bipartisan lawmakers signed on to support continued investments in vital training, research, and data initiatives.

These letters have been sent to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, helping ensure the needs of the autism community are prioritized as budget decisions take shape.

Read the House letter for support

Budget reconciliation and Medicaid

There has been a lot of news about House and Senate Republicans (who control majorities in both chambers) trying to pass a large bill to advance a number of President Trump’s priorities through a process known as “budget reconciliation”. This is a complicated process, but the reason it is sometimes used is to allow for a bill with large changes to federal spending and revenue to pass in the Senate with a simple majority (51 votes), rather than the 60 vote threshold needed for most bills. The current proposal for a budget reconciliation bill includes extensions and changes to tax provisions and reductions to spending across a number of areas, including Medicaid and a number of other programs. On May 22, the House passed its version of the bill, and the Senate is now working on their version.

Because of the importance of Medicaid to autistic people, Autism Speaks is closely monitoring the process and urging lawmakers to not make changes that will negatively impact the autism community. It is not too late to have your voice heard as negotiations on this continue.

Join us in asking lawmakers to protect Medicaid and reject changes that could harm access to critical services for autistic individuals and their families.

Take action!

Bills make progress in Congress

Autism Speaks is proud to support a number of bills that have advanced onto their next stage of consideration in Congress. A full list of the federal legislation that we have officially endorsed is available online.

HEADs UP Act - Introduced in Congress

The Healthcare Extension and Accessibility for Developmentally Disabled and Underserved Population (HEADs UP Act) would help improve access to behavioral, medical and dental care for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, including autism. Read more.

Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Act - Passed US House Committee & Introduced in US Senate

"Charlotte's Bill" passed the House Energy & Commerce Committee and was introduced in the Senate. It would prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities in the organ transplant system by strengthening protections and ensuring adequate supports and accommodations. Read more.

Employment-related legislation - Passed the US House

The Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Reporting Act would require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to submit a report to Congress identifying the challenges that small business entrepreneurs and employees with disabilities face.

ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act would help provide resources and assistance for individuals with disabilities who want to start their own small business or find employment, aid small businesses in hiring people with disabilities, and address accessibility concerns within small business environments.

Many state legislative sessions wind down

Autism Speaks has supported a number of policy issues in states across the country this year. While some states have already finished their legislative sessions, others are winding down with some critical decisions yet to be made.

Colorado - In addition to the state budget passing without any cuts to ABA or other autism services, we also supported the enactment of bills which bolster mental health parity enforcement, secure waiver services, broaden vocational rehabilitative services and improve the delivery of services in integrated settings.

Illinois - We supported two successful bills that await the governor’s signature. One enhances the state’s behavioral health crisis response system training for staff (to better understand autism or other intellectual and developmental disabilities or IDD). The second enhances the emergency/AMBER alert system for when a person with IDD goes missing. We also supported the highest possible direct support professional (DSP) wage increase and lowest possible number of DSP hour reductions (a cost saving measure) in the state budget. An 80 cent per hour wage increase passed.

Iowa - HF 330 was signed into law, removing dollar caps from the state's autism insurance coverage mandate and improving access to autism services, including ABA.

Texas - As part of the Time to Care state coalition, we continue to advocate for state budget funding to address the staffing shortages for direct support professionals (DSPs) who provide hands-on and person-centered supports that empower people with autism to avoid institutional care and thrive in their communities.

Did you miss our webinar?

Autism Speaks leadership addressed where things stand in Washington, D.C. and how the autistic community and their allies can get involved in advocating for the necessary supports and services for autistic people nationwide. We discussed critical issues, including the need to protect research, funding and access to quality healthcare and education, among other topics. Watch the recording.