December 2021 Advocacy Update

Public Meeting Regarding Onboard Wheelchair on Single-Aisle Aircraft

December 16, 9:30 AM EST

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Access Board will hold a virtual public meeting on December 16 to collect information on wheelchairs that are specifically designed for use on aircraft during flights. The agencies will use this information to finalize performance standards and advisory guidelines for aircraft onboard wheelchairs.

Attendance to the meeting requires registration by December 9, 2021. Requests to submit written materials to be reviewed at the meeting or to provide oral testimony at the meeting must also be sent via email to OBWpublicmeeting@dot.gov by December 9, 2021. Communication access real-time translation and sign language interpretation will be provided, but requests for additional accommodations because of a disability must be submitted to OBWpublicmeeting@dot.gov by December 9, 2021.

To join the public meeting Register Here!

Restore Our SCI Model Systems

A message from United Spinal Association’s national office:

We've come a long way in our advocacy this year. We are now so close to getting increased federal funding for spinal cord injury rehabilitation and research at the SCI Model Systems for the first time in 16 years and restoring the program to its previous capacity, but we need your help to get it over the finish line.

Over the past two decades, federal funding for SCI Model Systems has not kept pace with the SCI community's needs. There were once 18 SCI Model Systems receiving funding from the federal government. Today, there are only 14, and the amount of funding they receive has not changed since 2006. The purchasing power of these federal funds has not kept up with inflation or the growth of the SCI community.

Due to our advocacy, in July the House of Representatives passed a funding bill for fiscal year 2022 that provided more funding for this program, including $2 million in funding specifically to increase the number of federally-funded SCI Model Systems. In October, the Senate Appropriations Committee also provided increased funding for the SCI Model Systems program, including the additional $2 million for additional SCI Model Systems, in their version of the bill. The Senate now needs to vote on this bill and come to an agreement with the House of Representatives so that this funding increase can become law.

This request is even more urgent because the SCI Model Systems program operates on a 5-year funding cycle with a competitive application process, and a new funding cycle began on October 1. As a result, five previously-funded SCI Model Systems are no longer part of the program. If this funding is approved, the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) may award funding to the next highest-scoring applicants that did not make their initial list of 14 for the current funding cycle.

United Spinal is asking the Senate to support the increased funding for SCI Model Systems passed by the House and included by the Senate Appropriations Committee in their fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill, with the overall funding level for NIDILRR that is included in the House bill. Please contact your U.S. Senators and ask them to support this funding request.

Thanks,

Steve Lieberman

Director, Policy & Advocacy, United Spinal Association