A resolution designating September 2025 as "National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month".

S. 3231, the Respite CARE Act S. 3232, the Family Caregiving Research and Innovation Act S. 3233, the FINANCE Act S. Res. 440

Client expense: $112,137 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: SENATE

S. 3231, the Respite CARE Act S. 3232, the Family Caregiving Research and Innovation Act S. 3233, the FINANCE Act S. Res. 440

Client expense: $108,181 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: SENATE

Continued to meet with congressional offices following NCARTs annual Fly In. Met with members of Congress/staff on the following issues: Supported timely wheelchair repairs legislation that is currently being drafted in the Senate. Supported S.247 and H.R.1703, Improving access to lightweight carbon fiber and titanium wheelchairs will allow individuals with mobility challenges to choose the wheelchair that is best suited for their medical, functional, and lifestyle needs and preferences, without increasing costs to the Medicare program. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1703/all-info Advocated for Medicare coverage of power wheelchairs standing systems. Advocated for restoring federal appropriations for the Department of Defenses Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP). United Spinal supported S.Res.440 - A resolution designating September 2025 as National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. United Spinal continued to advocate for H.R. 4206, the CONNECT for Health Act. United Spinal continues to advocate with members of Congress for increased federal funding for the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems as well as the Burn Model Systems and the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems. Increased funding at all three Model Systems, including the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center is needed to translate data, research, and clinical knowledge into resources to benefit the SCI, TBI and burn injury communities. United Spinal continues to advocate about the concerns we have about the major restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services programs. We want to make sure that critical programs, services, and funding for the disability and aging communities, such as the Centers for Independent Living, Home and Community-Based Services and the National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) are not negatively impacted. Advocated for Congress extending the current telehealth provisions before the last deadline and also support H.R. 1614 to make physical therapists and occupational therapists permanently authorized providers of telehealth under Medicare. H.R. 1614, the Expand Practitioners Eligible to Furnish Telehealth Services Under the Medicare Program Act, introduced by Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), and Adrian Smith (R-NE) has bipartisan support to eliminate the need for continued extensions, instructing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to permanently adopt the temporary waiver of restrictions on payment for telehealth services delivered by physical therapists, occupational therapists, and other qualified healthcare. United Spinal, as a member of the Disability Rehabilitation Research Coalition, along with numerous other disability organizations, signed onto a letter to the bipartisan Senate leadership. The letter read in part, The undersigned members of the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC) write to express our strong support for passage of the bipartisan Senate Committee on Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (L-HHS) fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bill that includes sustained investment in disability and medical rehabilitation research programs that greatly benefit Americans living with disabilities. We urge you to fully fund these programs for the remainder of FY 2026 to continue the research thatdrives innovation in assistive technologies, informs evidence-based policies, advances medical treatments, and improves quality of life for the more than 70 million Americans living with disabilities. The letter may be reviewed at: https://drrc-coalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/drrc-letter-11.25.2025.pdf United Spinal participated in and supported the Administration for Community Livings (ACLs) The Power of Caregivers for a Healthy America: Building a Better Future Together event on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. Secretary Kennedy and Secretary Collins from the Department of Veterans Affairs also attended. As followup, United Spinal policy staff reached out to the Administration for Community Living staff to express our interest in collaborating with the Administration on its AI Caregiving Challenge that was announced at the event on how we can help involve our community in the challenge. United Spinal, along with numerous other organizations submitted a letter to the bipartisan leadership of the House of Representatives and the Senate. United Spinal has been advocating for appropriations being restored and continued for the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program historically funded through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The letter read in part, we urge you to work toward the enactment of the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Defense Appropriations Act, to ensure full funding levels for the Defense Health Research Programs, including the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). We collectively represent millions of American veterans, military retirees, military families, and civilians who benefit from the ongoing research funded by the CDMRP. https://www.hematology.org/-/media/hematology/files/advocacy/testimony-and-correspondence/2025/ash-joins-coalition-of-150-groups-urging-congress-to-enact-the-fy26-defense-appropriations-act.pdf

Client expense: Not reported · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS), SENATE