(Sacramento, CA) - Disability Rights California applauds President Biden for delivering on his promises to increase essential support for individuals with disabilities. On October 28, 2021, President Biden announced the $1.75 trillion economic recovery package, Build Back Better Framework, that will guide drafting the legislative language for investments of in-home and community-based services, jobs, child care, climate, housing, and many support services that will impact the disability community.

Once Congress passes it, this framework can allocate the necessary resources to help individuals with and without disabilities. "drc commends President Biden for his commitment to building a more inclusive economy in the wake of a pandemic that has disproportionately harmed people on the margins of the economy in California and across the country. We look forward to engaging with our Congressional delegation to support policies like these that will expand opportunities and advance equity for disabled Californians and others who have been harmed first and harmed worst during the pandemic," said drc Executive Director Andy Imparato, who was appointed in February by President Biden to serve on his COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.

Some highlights from the proposal include:

• $150 billion for home and community-based services (HCBS) that will support people of all ages with and without disabilities to maintain independence, contribute to changes in long-term care policies, and higher wages and additional resources for the direct care workforce.
• Federal grants to states to assist in the transition of businesses that pay subminimum wages to pay competitive wages in an integrated environment. The proposal would not require that employers end the use of 14(c); however, states would receive grants for five years in exchange for ending the subminimum wage pay practice.  
• $105 billion for investments and incentives to address climate issues of extreme weather, wildfires, and droughts. As we have seen in recent years, disabled people are at risk when communities undergo power shutoffs and evacuations. Additionally, heatwaves have killed more people in the United States in an average year than any other weather-related hazard.  
• $150 billion for housing affordability and reducing price pressures. These funds will go toward building and improving more than a million affordable rental and single-family homes, including public housing, plus rental and down payment assistance.  

Full White House Press Release