This week President Donald Trump attempted to institute a freeze on federal spending that would have wide ranging impacts for the disability community, if ultimately implemented.
"There is not a single aspect of the disability community that is not deliberately affected by this. The question is, you know, nobody knows what will happen next, and when no one knows what will happen next, anxiety runs high with everyone," Todd Vaarwerk, chief policy officer for Western New York Independent Living, told WBFO Tuesday.
The freeze was initially supposed to go into effect at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, but was put on hold by a federal court. Then, on Wednesday, the memo ordering the freeze was rescinded.
However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X regarding the rescinded memo: “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo."
This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 29, 2025
It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo.
Why? To end any confusion created by the court's injunction.
The President's EO's on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.
Vaarwerk works for an independent living center, or ILC. ILCs are funded by federal dollars and by law must be run by at least 51 percent people with disabilities. They serve as a central support for people with disabilities, connecting people to housing, employment, and education resources, benefits advisement, home care services and advocating for the concerns of the community. But ILCs aren't the only disability service that could suffer if a freeze did go through, according to Vaarwerk.
"The federal government funds a great deal of disability programming in every aspect of endeavor: from people with mental illness, to people with developmental disabilities, to independent living centers, to senior programs, to de-institutionalization programs, to the Medicaid waivers that were previously approved and are now funded in collaboration with the states," Vaarwerk said. "To do this with no warning and with no conception of how long such a temporary review would take, is very concerning."
Vaarwerk says he is concerned some programs are being mischaracterized by the current administration.
"I would ask [the current administration] for more forethought and less reaction, because a lot of programs that are funded by the federal government are being mischaracterized, right?" Vaarwerk said. "And I think those mischaracterizations can hurt a lot of people and confuse a lot of people, and I think it's a simple matter to clear up mischaracterization."
When asked how he would characterize these programs to someone with little prior knowledge of them, Vaarwerk had this to say.
"Independent Living's job is to assist people with disabilities in becoming as independent as possible, become self sufficient to the greatest extent that their abilities allow them, right? That is a notable program, that in the past, has been supported more by Republican administrations than by Democratic administrations. To then suddenly be tagged with this belief that we are somehow a 'woke agenda item' is vastly misleading," Vaarwerk said.
Vaarwerk says a pause would be especially concerning for disabled and older adult Americans who receive home care, personal care or direct support services.
"Services provided by DSPs, direct support professionals, for developmentally disabled people, are critical services that don't have anything to do with a woke policy agenda," Vaarwerk added. "This is just about people with disabilities living their lives on an equal level with their non-disabled peers."
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a press conference Wednesday and also acknowledged the fear a potential funding freeze is causing for disabled people.
"The disability community is terrified because many states cannot access their Medicaid portals and can't access their Medicaid benefits, which, as you know, pays for a lot of our assisted living and pays for a lot of our disability communities care. And so without the resources under Medicaid, they would not be able to survive," Gillibrand said. States' Medicaid portals were briefly down on Tuesday. This sparked confusion and concern that Medicaid could be severely impacted by a funding freeze.
