ACTION NEEDED NOW to ENSURE FY 2026 FUNDING for VITAL FAMILY CAREGIVER PROGRAMS

Thank you for your unrelenting advocacy to save Medicaid and SNAP in the recently enacted Budget Reconciliation bill. We may not have won that battle, and the effects will be devastating for so many of the families we serve, but we have to keep organizing and making our voices heard. The fight is not over!

Work on House and Senate Appropriations Underway!

Most immediately, we need your help to urge Congress to fund the Lifespan Respite Care Program and the National Family Caregiver Support Program, OAA Title III-E (NFCSP) when the House and Senate consider their respective FY 2026 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations bills. We know that work has already begun in both chambers!

The House Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations has scheduled a markup of the bill on July 21, and the full House Appropriations Committee will hold their markup on July 24. The Senate has not yet scheduled subcommittee or full committee markups, but we know they are coming very soon!

The National Respite Coalition (NRC) is requesting $20 million for the Lifespan Respite Care Program, the amount requested by our bipartisan House champions, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and 7 other Members of the House, in their recent letter to the House Appropriations Committee. The NRC is also calling for meaningful increases for the NFCSP.

TAKE ACTION: Grassroots action is the most important way to ensure increased funding for Lifespan Respite and other critical programs.

• Contact your Representative and Senators. Call your Representative and Senators at 202-225-3121 and when connected to the office, ask for health, disability or appropriations staff. If you don’t reach them, leave a message!
• Find your Representative and Senators!
• Post your message on social media and be sure to tag your House member and Senators! Members of U.S. Congress Social Media Contacts (from Triage Cancer).

MESSAGE

• Include $20 million for the Lifespan Respite Care Program, and meaningful increases for the NFCSP in the FY 2026 House and Senate Labor, HHS, and Educations Appropriations bills.
• With millions of people expected to lose Medicaid HCBS services in the near future, these programs are more important than ever!
• Strengthening the Lifespan Respite Care Program and NFCSP perfectly align with the Administration for Community Living’s National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers that calls for a range of respite options to meet family caregivers’ unique needs.
• Make it personal! Share your personal caregiving or respite story about why respite is important to you or why family caregivers in your state need respite care.

NRC Actions Taken to Increase Funding

Congressional Letter. A letter to the House Appropriations Committee was sent from Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and 7 other Members of the House, requesting $20 million for the Lifespan Respite Care Program.

NRC Testimony. The NRC submitted testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee in support of this vital increase for the Lifespan Respite Care Program in the next fiscal year.

National and State Organization Letter. The NRC organized a letter from 40 national organizations and 64 state and local organizations in 23 States to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in support of $20 million for the Lifespan Respite Care Program and increased funding for the NFCSP in the FY 2026 Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill.

CCD Letter. The Developmental Disabilities, Autism, and Family Supports Task Force of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities sent a letter of support from 21 national organizations, including the National Respite Coalition, requesting $20 million for the Lifespan Respite Care Program, and funding for other vital disability programs.

For more action steps and talking points, see the most recent National Respite Coalition Alert and share with your networks.