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ASAN June Newsletter
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Dear friend,

June has been a difficult month for so many in our community. It is impossible to celebrate pride month without also grieving the harm and injustice autistic people, trans people, immigrants, and so many others in our community continue to face. Pride is a reminder that our struggles are connected — when one of us is harmed, we all are. We keep each other safe, and we keep fighting, together. Read on to see what we’ve been doing and how you can join in this month.

Both parts of Congress, the House and the Senate, passed their budget resolutions. The House also passed their budget reconciliation bill. There are big cuts to Medicaid in the House budget reconciliation bill. ASAN knows that any cuts to Medicaid are very bad [[link removed]]. Congress wants to make these cuts to Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for rich people. This is wrong! Now, the Senate will decide what to change in the House's budget reconciliation bill. The Senate Finance Committee is in charge of Medicaid. The bill they put out has even bigger Medicaid cuts than the House’s bill. Some Senators and Representatives say they do not like the cuts to Medicaid and do not want more cuts — we need them to fight to remove these cuts! The Senate wants to vote on the bill before the 4th of July. We need to tell them to take Medicaid cuts out of the budget reconciliation bill. After the budget reconciliation bill passes the Senate, the House needs to vote on the bill again. We need to tell Senators and Representatives right now: no cuts to Medicaid.

The most recent version of the House budget reconciliation bill added some new rules [[link removed]]. These rules are about getting health insurance to pay for gender-affirming care. Gender-affirming care (GAC for short) is a type of health care. GAC helps people’ bodies look and feel like the gender they want to be seen as. GAC can mean things like hormone replacement therapy, top surgery, and more. Many people who get GAC are transgender, nonbinary, or intersex [[link removed]]. The House version of the budget reconciliation bill talks about Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the ACA. It says that Medicaid and CHIP can not pay for GAC for minors or adults. It is wrong for the House to stop people from using Medicaid or CHIP to pay for GAC. It also changes how and if ACA health insurance plans cover GAC. The choice to get GAC should be made as a team. That team should be the person who wants the medical care, their caregivers, and their doctors. GAC is medically necessary. That means if someone can’t get the GAC they need, their mental and physical health will be hurt badly. Even though the House passed their bill, the fight isn’t over. The Senate has not passed their version of the budget reconciliation bill yet. We have to take action now to stop cuts to Medicaid and gender-affirming care.

This month, there was a decision from the Supreme Court called United States v. Skrmetti [[link removed]]. The Supreme Court agreed with Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. That means transgender youth in Tennessee and 24 other states will not have the health care they need. This is also a step towards more bans on gender-affirming care. It is a fact that many autistic people are transgender. Autistic people are more likely to be transgender. These facts are sometimes used to justify bans of gender-affirming care. State governments make ableist arguments against gender-affirming care [[link removed]]. They think autistic people cannot really know if we are transgender. They say we are being tricked or we are confused. They think we should not be allowed to get gender-affirming care. The government has tried to stop disabled people from making decisions about our bodies for a long time. Everyone should be able to make our own medical decisions. Autistic people should be able to make our own medical decisions. Now is a good time to learn how to fight for transgender rights in your state. Organizations like Advocates 4 Transgender Equality [[link removed]], Transgender Law Center [[link removed]], Lambda Legal [[link removed]], and the ACLU [[link removed]] do good work. They can also help you find organizations in your state and town. ASAN will continue to fight for the rights of autistic transgender people until we all are free. If you are in crisis or thinking about trying suicide, you can call or text Trans Lifeline [[link removed]] at (877) 565-8860.

The White House put out a report this month called “The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Report”. We call it the MAHA Report for short. The MAHA report had a lot of problems in it. ASAN does not think the MAHA report was good or helpful to people [[link removed]]. The MAHA Report was made by a group of people called the MAHA Commission. The person who leads the MAHA Commission is RFK Jr. We already know RFK Jr. does not know a lot about health care. We know he lies about things like what causes autism. To learn more about RFK Jr., you can read our other plain language statements here [[link removed]] and here [[link removed]]. The MAHA Commission was made to try and lower the amount of people getting certain health problems. But the MAHA Commission said autism was one of the main problems they wanted to solve. We already know that lowering the rate of autism is not possible [[link removed]]. People are born autistic, and will stay autistic their whole lives. There are a lot of problems with the MAHA report.

It is important for disabled people to live in the community. Part of living in the community means having the services we need, including Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS). HCBS includes things like paid helpers, transportation, or job coaches. But it is still hard for a lot of people to live in the community. We want to help all disabled people live in the community! Part of making sure all disabled people can live in the community is making sure we know our rights. That’s why we held a webinar called “Olmstead & Home and Community Based Services [[link removed]]” this month. We talked about some laws, rules, and programs that help us live in the community. Some of the laws, rules, and programs we talked about were the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Olmstead Decision. If you missed it, you can check out the recording here [[link removed]]!

Applications are open for the second year of our Teighlor McGee Mini Grant program! Applications will be open until July 31, 2025. This program has two different mini grants self-advocates can apply for: the Affiliates in Action Mini Grant and the Self-advocates Transforming Equitable Policy (STEP) Mini Grant. Affiliates in Action and STEP have different qualifications. To learn more about these grant options and apply, please visit our website [[link removed]]. In case you missed it, we held a webinar going over the application and offering support to interested applicants. You can watch the walkthrough here [[link removed]]. If you have questions, sign up for office hours [[link removed]]!

Want to support ASAN and info dump about an advocacy topic you're passionate about? We've got an opportunity for you! This August, ASAN will be hosting multiple Back to School Learning Sessions to fundraise for the organization. These sessions will go deeper into advocacy skills that can help our community take action. Whether you want to focus on equity, disability rights and justice, or other topics that fall under the big advocacy umbrella, we want to hear from you! Have an idea? Curious about the nitty-gritty details? Got a question or two? Send an email to [email protected] [[email protected]] with the subject “August Presentation Submission” by July 11th! Make sure to include your name, a quick summary about your topic, why you're the best person to present on this topic, and what you want the audience to take away from your presentation. All chosen presenters will get a small stipend for themselves or an organization of their choice. We can't wait to hear from you — make sure to get your submission in before July 11th!

As we move through this month, we recognize and honor the holidays, celebrations, and important events that hold meaning for our community and beyond.
* Eid al-Adha
* Eid al-Ghadir
* Hijra
* Juneteenth
* Martyrdom of Guru Arjan
* Pentecost
* Shavuot
* Summer Solstice
* The Feast of Corpus Christi
* Trinity Sunday
* Waqf al Arafa

We know there are more holidays that we didn't know to list here. Whether this month brings moments of joy, reflection, remembrance, or connection for you, we wish you peace and fulfillment. We hope this month brings opportunities for growth, kindness, and support.

As June heads into July, we’re reflecting on the strength of our community. Our community — all of our communities — are strongest when we show up for each other. Together we will continue to protest, to call, to fight for and with one another.

With warm wishes,
The Team at ASAN

* ASAN signed onto a letter in support of Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies in the appropriations bill.
* As a part of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) Education Task Force, we signed onto a letter opposing the budget [[link removed]].
* We signed onto a letter about Lifespan Respite Care appropriations.
* ASAN signed onto a letter [[link removed]] from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR) urging Congressional oversight of the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Civil Rights Division.
* We endorsed the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights [[link removed]].
* ASAN signed onto a letter from FamiliesUSA opposing Medicaid cuts.
* We signed onto a letter from the Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) opposing the use of Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALY)s.
* ASAN signed onto a letter [[link removed].] from LCCHR urging the Senate not adopt the House provision that imposes a 10-year ban on the enforcement of state and local laws that regulate artificial intelligence.
* We signed onto a letter [[link removed]] from Public Citizen opposing efforts to bypass the Byrd rule.
* ASAN opposed the nomination of Jonathon Berry for Solicitor for the Department of Labor (DOL).
* We submitted multiple comments to the Department of Energy (DOE), including signing onto LCCHR’s DOE [[link removed]] comments [[link removed]].
* ASAN opposed the nomination of Andrea Lucas for the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
* We signed onto a letter from the National Organization on Disability (NOD) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) in defense of Medicaid.
* ASAN signed onto a letter in support of proper funding for elections.
* We signed onto a letter from LCCHR opposing the nomination of Kimberly Richey for Assistant Secretary of the Office of Civil Rights.

autisticadvocacy.org/donate [autisticadvocacy.org/donate]

autisticadvocacy.org/2025/04/tell-your-legislators-protect-medicaid-2/ [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/04/tell-your-legislators-protect-medicaid-2/]
Tell Your Legislators: Protect Medicaid! [[link removed]]

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Explaining “The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Report” [[link removed]]

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Olmstead & Home and Community Based Services [[link removed]]

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Teighlor McGee Mini Grant [[link removed]]

Autistic Self Advocacy Network
PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035
United States
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