As the ADA turns 35, groups fighting for disability rights could see their federal dollars slashed
Nancy Jensen believes she’d still be living in an abusive group home if it wasn’t shut down in 2004 with the help of the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, which for decades has received federal money to look out for Americans with disabilities.
But the flow of funding under the Trump administration is now in question, disability rights groups nationwide say, dampening their mood as Saturday marks the 35th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. Federal dollars pay for much of their work, including helping people who seek government-funded services and lawsuits now pushing Iowa and Texas toward better community services.
Documents outlining President Donald Trump’s budget proposals show they would zero out funds earmarked for three grants to disability rights centers and slash funding for a fourth. Congress’ first discussion of them, by the Senate Appropriations Committee, is set for Thursday, but the centers fear losing more than 60% of their federal dollars.
The threat of cuts comes as the groups expect more demand for help after Republicans’ tax and budget law complicated Medicaid health coverage with a new work-reporting requirement.
There’s also the sting of the timing: this year is the 50th anniversary of another federal law that created the network of state groups to protect people with disabilities, and Trump’s proposals represent the largest potential cuts in that half-century, advocates said. The groups are authorized to make unannounced visits to group homes and interview residents alone.
“You’re going to have lots of people with disabilities lost,” said Jensen, now president of Colorado’s advisory council for federal funding of efforts to protect people with mental illnesses. She worries people with disabilities will have “no backstop” for fighting housing discrimination or seeking services at school or accommodations at work.
The potential budget savings are a shaving of copper from each federal tax penny. The groups receive not quite $180 million a year — versus $1.8 trillion in discretionary spending.
Trump’s administration touts flexibility for sta tes
The president’s Office of Management and Budget didn’t respond to an email seeking a response to the disability rights groups’ criticism. But in budget documents, the administration argued its proposals would give states needed flexibility.
The U.S. Department of Education said earmarking funds for disability rights centers created an unnecessary administrative burden for states. Trump’s top budget adviser, Russell Vought, told senators in a letter that a review of 2025 spending showed too much went to “niche” groups outside government.
“We also considered, for each program, whether the governmental service provided could be provided better by State or local governments (if provided at all),” Vought wrote.
Disability rights advocates doubt that state protection and advocacy groups — known as P&As — would see any dollar not specifically earmarked for them.
They sue states, so the advocates don’t want states deciding whether their work gets funded. The 1975 federal law setting up P&As declared them independent of the states, and newer laws reinforced that.
“We do need an independent system that can hold them and other wrongdoers accountable,” said Rocky Nichols, the Kansas center’s executive director.
