ADAPT Activists Sentenced for Protesting Medicaid Cuts in the Ryan Budget

Alliance of Disability Advocates Center for Independent Living www.alliancecil.org ADA-CIL Information Network Distributed: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Subject: Arrest made … ADAPT Activists Sentenced for Protesting Medicaid Cuts in the Ryan Budget Washington, D.C. — Fourteen of the 74 ADAPT activists arrested in April for protesting Chair of the House Budget Committee Representative Ryan's proposal to cut Medicaid funding by $800 billion were sentenced in Superior Court of the District of Columbia. After demanding that all arrestees appear in court in person, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia made a last minute reversal. Sixty were excused from appearing in person, however, the US Attorney's Office still required 14 of the protesters (from as far away as Kansas, Minnesota and Texas) to appear in court. The 14 pled guilty and were sentenced to a suspended 10 days in a DC jail, and put on six months’ probation. In addition the court required they pay $50 toward a crime victim's fund. During the six months, they can't be arrested and must stay off the Capitol grounds. During the court proceedings, Mike Oxford, an ADAPT organizer from Kansas, made a statement on behalf of the group. "People felt they had no option but to protest because the proposed Medicaid cuts are so extreme, he said. “If enacted, these cuts will leave people with disabilities without services that help them with the most basic aspects of living: getting out of bed, getting dressed, eating and going to the bathroom. For some with significant health problems, it will mean no health care. These cuts threaten our very lives." Commenting on her sentence, Jennifer McPhail, an ADAPT organizer from Texas, said, "No one is paying attention to the damage these Medicaid cuts will do to our lives and our nation's safety net. ADAPT and others in the disability rights community have repeatedly offered cost saving proposals that would save tax dollars while improving the system, but our suggestions have, for the most part, been ignored. Instead, they just decide to arbitrarily slash Medicaid. We can't just sit quietly when our own government is painting targets on us." The remaining 60 activists, including Noah Wyle, while not required at the last minute to attend court yesterday, did sign onto an agreement with similar requirements to the 14 who appeared in person. In addition to the agreement signed by the protesters, the U.S. Attorney's Office asked the judge to issue an additional court order barring them from going on Capitol grounds. The judge granted the request which potentially allows the U.S. Attorney's office to add additional charges if any of those protesters are found on the Capitol grounds. Many people in the disability rights community were stunned when the protesters were required to return to court. "At first, the US Attorney's office wasn't going to waive the personal appearance for any of the protesters, but because of the public outcry, they changed their mind at 6 PM on Friday. Had that not happened, all 74 would have been forced to return to D.C. from all over the country," ADAPT organizer Bruce Darling explained. Despite the appearance reversal, activists still incurred significant expenses because tickets, accommodations, and attendant services had been arranged at a high and sometimes non-refundable cost. ADAPT vows to continue the My Medicaid Matters Campaign and the fight for community services. # # # Alliance of Disability Advocates Center for Independent Living promotes the advancement of “People First Language.” Alliance of Disability Advocates Center for Independent Living PO Box 12988 Raleigh, NC 27605-2988 919.833.1117 V/TTY 919.833.1171 FAX alliance@alliancecil.org www.alliancecil.org

NCIL Statement on Fragrance-Free Events

NCIL Statement on Fragrance-Free Events The National Council on Independent Living has developed the following statement on the importance of attending events fragrance-free in order to ensure accessibility for all attendees, specifically at the 2012 Annual Conference on Independent Living. Fragrance can be an access barrier! To help make this conference accessible to participants for whom chemicals or fragrances are an access barrier, NCIL requests that you come fragrance-free. Please refrain from wearing any scented products or washing with them. This includes clothing that has been laundered with fragranced detergent or fabric softening products. Additionally, please completely air out any dry-cleaned clothing before wearing it to the conference. Read more information about how and why to be fragrance free. Smoke can be an access barrier! It is also essential that we maintain a smoke-free environment. If you smoke, please use the designated smoking area located outside the conference center. Please refrain from smoking near any other doorways or paths of travel. The hotel entrance at 11st Street will be the least polluted with cigarette smoke and vehicle exhaust. Unfortunately, it has steps. The Washington Center office building is attached to the Grand Hyatt and offers an accessible entrance to the hotel with minimal exposure to smoke and vehicle exhaust at the corner of 11th & G Streets NW. Cell phones can be an access barrier! Please turn off cell phones at all conference events and when requested.