President Biden’s American Jobs Plan , the American Families Plan, and the recently introduced Better Care Better Jobs Act, present an historic opportunity to significantly improve the lives of our families and all Americans with complex medical needs and disabilities.
By recognizing that caregiving is infrastructure, investing in home and community based services (HCBS), getting eligible people off of Medicaid waiting lists, and providing better support for family caregivers and better pay for home health workers, a brighter future is within our reach …
… we just need Congress to pass it.
The Senate just passed a bipartisan infrastructure deal that included funding for improvements to transportation, broadband, drinking water, and more. BUT it left the needs of our families and caregivers - who provide the HUMAN infrastructure we rely on - completely OUT of the deal.
Fortunately, hours after completing the bipartisan bill, Senate Democrats took the first step to correct this. They plan to fund the rest of President Biden’s priorities - the “human infrastructure” we need, through budget reconciliation.
Senators are now negotiating funding for many important priorities in the reconciliation bill, including health care, child care, support for the elderly and people with disabilities, and more. Now is the time for people with complex medical needs and disabilities to be LOUD about what we need, to demand our Senators insure full funding for our families through the Better Care Better Jobs Act as part of the reconciliation bill, because #CareCantWait.
We need your help! For the remainder of August, Congress is on recess. That means Federal legislators are back home, ready to listen to their constituents. Throughout this month, we’re asking all our families, friends, and allies to reach out to their legislators and tell them to include our families’ needs in the budget reconciliation bill – because Caregiving IS Infrastructure!
Here’s how you can participate:
Learn more about the Better Care Better Jobs Act! The BCBJA represents an historic, life changing investment in the lives of people with complex medical needs and disabilities, their families, and caregivers. If fully funded, it will support home and community-based services (HCBS), instead of institutionalization, for an additional 2.3 million people who are elderly or disabled (a 300% increase!). It will also allow 1 million informal family caregivers to return to the workforce knowing their loved ones have the care they need, and it will create more than 500,000 new, good paying, jobs for direct care workers. To learn more, here’s an info sheet on the Better Care Better Jobs Act as well as a full analysis of the bill’s impact prepared by Harvard and MIT researchers.
Make a phone call: Our stories are powerful and your legislators need to hear from you. Next to visiting in person, a phone call is THE most impactful way to connect with your legislators. Call your federal legislators - Representatives AND Senators, and tell them why caregiving is critical for your family to survive and thrive. Let them know we NEED to pass the Better Care Better Jobs Act in order to get people with complex medical needs and disabilities - including kids - off of years-long Medicaid waitings lists and into the home and community based services and supports (HCBS) they need to thrive. To reach your legislator’s offices, call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. All you need is your zip code to be connected directly!
Share our Open Letter to Congress: Little Lobbyists recently joined 300+ organizations to send an open letter to congress supporting the inclusion of home and community based services and workforce recovery in the infrastructure plan. Click here to read our letter and share it with your legislators by reading it to them over the phone, emailing it to them, or by sharing a link on social media and tagging them in your post! Click here to find your federal legislator’s contact information.
Send your own letter! Print out our coloring page and letter template and customize it to let your legislators know why we need them to pass the American Jobs Plan, the American Families Plan, and the Better Care Better Jobs Act, and tell them exactly what YOUR family needs to survive and thrive. This is a great activity to do with your kids – it’s never too soon to get involved in self-advocacy! Find your federal legislator’s address here.
Attend a Town Hall! To find a town hall event in your area, visit: https://townhallproject.com/ If you don’t see any listed, don’t give up! Visit your legislators websites and/or give your legislators’ offices a call and ask them how they’re planning to reach constituents during recess. Some legislators are holding alternate, virtual events in light of the recent COVID surge. At the town hall (or alternate event), plan to ask your legislators if they support the Better Care Better Jobs Act and have a sentence or two ready explaining why this bill is important to you and the people you care about.
Let us know how it went! Tell us about your phone call, share a photo of your coloring page, and share YOUR story with us! Connect with us on social media (find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @littlelobbyists) or contact us here.
Want to do more? Deepen your advocacy by signing up for Little Lobbyists NEW advocacy training, where we’ll share our tips and best practices on meeting with legislators and advocating effectively. This training will be free and held virtually - the first one is planned for August 18th! Click here to sign up for more info.