Minnesotans, lawmakers in St. Paul protest federal cuts to disability funding

Disability rights advocates rallied at the Minnesota Capitol on Saturday to protest cuts to programs and services Demonstrators declared President Donald Trump has proposed actions that would jeopardize access to housing healthcare care and instruction for people with disabilities This is an attack on human rights explained Rep Kim Hicks a DFLer from Rochester It is an attack that is coordinated to ensure that people with disabilities go away We re staying in the region and we re going to fight for the aid we need to do that The rally was organized by Arc Minnesota a nonprofit dedicated to supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities The group worries budget cuts could impact or eliminate the Governor s Council on Developmental Disabilities the Minnesota Disability Law Center the Institute on Region Integration at the University of Minnesota and Head Start All of these institutions have been built up over decades to help people with disabilities live a more independent life declared Maren Christenson Hofer an Arc Minnesota board member And what we re seeing now is really this tidal wave of cuts to programs that is moving us in the wrong direction This is not a political matter Sen Jim Abeler a Republican from Anoka also spoke at the rally He is one of several lawmakers committed to bipartisanship around funding disability services and programs This is not a political matter he stated It s a matter of priorities Several people with disabilities echoed concerns that Trump s actions will roll back progress made since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in A specific concern is around the dismantling of the Administration on Locality Living a federal agency that supports public living for older adults and people with disabilities Prior to its existence people with disabilities had inadequate options outside large state-run institutions We just want to be respected Claudia Fuglie of Robbinsdale attended the rally with two friends They all have spina bifida a condition affecting the spine There s a lot of times society does not respect us and all we re trying to do is be a part of the society she announced We re not doing anything different We don t want anything different We just want to be respected From left Kari Sheldon Linda Bailey and Claudia Fuglie hold signs at a disability rights rally Saturday May at the state Capitol in St Paul Feven Gerezgiher MPR News Sumukha Terakanambi serves on the Governor s Council on Developmental Disabilities He was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at a young age and requires assistance with majority of physical tasks It is really tiring to constantly have this conversation about how pivotal these programs are and how they promote the well-being independence and inclusion of people with disabilities he stated Related Articles Trump Administration Slashes Research Into LGBTQ Soundness New tax cuts mostly favor the rich across states this year Mexico s president says she rejected Trump s plan to send US troops across the boundary Trump draws criticism with AI image of himself as the pope ahead of the papal conclave Debate on unemployment benefits for school workers derails key MN budget piece Terakanambi noted that on top of the proposed cuts the disability region has already been harmed by cuts to investments like rare ailment research and special mentoring These threats signal to us that several of our leaders in Washington believe that we are expendable that we do not matter he stated Instead of letting these emotions stop us we have decided to take a stand and come together and send a clear message to these federal lawmakers that people with disabilities do matter and we deserve to live a life a fulfilling life with dignity