Statement on HHS Budget Leak
April 18, 2025
Recently, an internal budget document called a “passback” was leaked from the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Fiscal Year 2026 budget. This document outlined the movement of programs reorganized within HHS and the proposed elimination of many vital programs such as state Developmental Disabilities Councils, Protection & Advocacy Agencies and University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities that are essential to the rights and well-being of our community. These draft documents are usually internal and not shared at this point in the budgeting process. HHS will still need to respond to the OMB and there are typically several internal rounds of negotiations prior to the public debates in the House and Senate for congressional approval.
Once again, we know these are not ultimate budget decisions. We still want to highlight conversations about budget cuts at the federal level that affect our organization and other disability-focused groups. Nationally, our membership organization the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) is working with other national partners to organize a response, including continuing to speak to the value of the Administration for Community Living and its programs and the importance of including longstanding bipartisan programs for people with disabilities in the federal appropriations process.
Our national leaders are skilled, savvy, smart, and connected. They are developing a strategic approach to ensure the voice of the developmental disability community is heard during this time. Locally, our Council staff has met and will continue to collaborate with Arizona Developmental Disability network partners and state agencies to share information across our network. We are deeply committed to supporting our disability community and each other in this work. We will continue to educate, advocate and elevate the importance of vital services and systems to support people with disabilities.
The Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council will keep our community informed as new information becomes available.
