President Bush’s proposed 2007 budget request includes an appropriation for the Assistive Technology (AT) Act of 1998, as amended. The proposed budget requests $21.3 million for the state Assistive Technology Programs and $1.0 million for National Technical Assistance and the National Internet Site. The President’s proposed budget eliminates funding for the Protection and Advocacy Assistive Technology (PAAT) Program. PAAT was authorized in the recent AT Act amendments. The President’s budget proposal does not include a separate appropriation for Title III- Alternative Financing Programs which were provided a one year continuation in the FY2005 budget.

Congress is currently considering appropriations for the AT Act and the House Bi-Partisan Disabilities Caucus, co-chaired by Representatives Jim Ramstad, MN and Jim Langevin, RI has requested $30.4 million. The request includes $23.3 million for state AT Programs; $1.1 million for National Technical Assistance and the National Internet Site; and, $6 million for the PAAT program. The request does not include a separate appropriation for Title III-Alternative Financing Programs.

The Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) proposes funding for the AT Act at the level supported by the Senate in the 2006 appropriations process. ATAP is a member of CCD and co-chairs the Technology and Telecommunications Task Force with Easter Seals, the American Federation of the Blind, and the ARC/UCP Public Policy Collaboration. The CCD requests $27.8 million for the state AT Programs; $6.0 million for PAAT; and $1.2 million for the National Technical Assistance and the National Internet Site [see CCD Appropriations Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2007 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Housing and Urban Development and Appropriation Table by the Fiscal Policy Task Force (March 2006)].

Recognizing that a variety of services is the best way to meet the individual needs of people with disabilities, Congress authorized the AT Act amendments in 2004 to require that state AT programs offer an array of services. Congress eliminated separate funding, originally intended as one-time funding, for states to establish financial loan programs and included this responsibility as part of the continuum of services offered by state AT Programs. The AT Act requires state AT programs to engage in state level activities including State Financing, Device Demonstration, Device Reutilization and Device Loan Programs. These activities are further supported by requirements to provide training and technical assistance, information and referral services, and activities to promote coordination and collaboration at the state level to increase awareness of and access to assistive technology devices and services. These programs are interdependent and integral to supporting individuals with disabilities, their families, educators, employers, and other targeted individuals. They enable people to learn about assistive technology, and gain direct access to devices through demonstration, reutilization and loan programs. When individuals use device demonstration programs to learn about and compare available technology and borrow devices through the device loan programs to “try before they buy” they are more likely to acquire the right device increasing the probability of continued usage.

Many state AT Programs have established or are exploring the feasibility of programs such as: cooperative or bulk buying programs; establishing funds of last resort for those who can’t afford to take a loan; providing individual funding assistance that provides direct, individual support to assist individuals in finding and leveraging existing funding sources such as Medicaid, vocational rehabilitation, etc. to get the devices and services they need; and, establishing centralized programs that coordinate funding between multiple state and federally funded programs.

ATAP supports funding of the AT Act as authorized by Congress because it enables states to administer and/or support the full continuum of programs. The AT Act sets the minimum state grant award at $410,000. Currently, 75% of the programs funded under the AT Act are funded below the minimum. Of the 75% of the programs receiving less than the minimum, the average state grant program allotment is under $370,000. By supporting the AT Act as authorized and increasing funding for the state AT Programs and their collaborators Congress can ensure that the continuum of services is available to consumers in an integrated manner and better enable them to make decisions that meet their needs and life circumstances.