President Bush’s FY04 Budget
Eliminates AT Act

To the shock of AT advocates nationwide, the President’s FY04 budget, released last month, eliminates all funding for state technology projects. This unexpected move effectively shuts down the state programs a full year before the legislative authorization for the program ends.

As you may recall, several advocates from Delaware traveled to Washington a year ago to attend a hearing of the House Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness about the future of AT funding. There seemed to be consensus at that hearing that numerous and substantial barriers to AT access still exist. Nevertheless, several members of Congress advocated elimination of AT funding on the basis that individual states should have had sufficient time to establish a state system of assistive technology. Others, however, vowed to continue supporting federal assistance for AT funding to states.

For the last three years, the state projects have been kept alive via an amendment to the appropriations bills that waived the “sunset provision” in the statue. As this issue of The AT Messenger goes to print, advocates for the continuation of AT Act programs in the 56 states and territories are urging reauthorization of the law to preserve this critical network of AT services and supports nationwide. We will share additional information as it becomes available.