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The Washington Connection 9-16-25

Welcome to the Washington Connection, the legislative and information service of the American Council of the Blind. The Washington Connection is brought to you by the ACB national office. If you have any questions or comments on the information provided, don’t hesitate to contact us and ask to speak with Claire Stanley.

The Washington Connection is updated any time we have new information to share with you. The following articles are available as of September 16, 2025. Messages 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 are new.

Thank you for calling the Washington Connection.

Justice Department Sues Uber for Denying Rides to Passengers with Service Dogs, Wheelchairs

 

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2025 — Yesterday, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. for discriminating against passengers with disabilities, including those who use service animals and mobility devices such as stowable wheelchairs. Uber is the largest provider of ride-hailing services in the United States. The lawsuit seeks $125 million for individuals who have been subject to discrimination and previously submitted complaints to Uber or the Department.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges Uber violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability by private transportation companies like Uber. The ADA also requires Uber to allow service animals to accompany individuals with disabilities in vehicles and to provide rides to, and assist, riders with stowable wheelchairs and mobility devices.

The Department’s civil complaint alleges that Uber and its drivers routinely refuse to serve individuals with disabilities; impose impermissible surcharges by charging cleaning fees for service animal shedding and cancellation fees to riders whom Uber has unlawfully denied service; and refuse to reasonably modify Uber’s policies, practices, or procedures, where necessary, to avoid discriminating against riders with disabilities, including by denying individuals with mobility disabilities the option to sit in the front seat when needed. Due to Uber’s ride denials, individuals with disabilities have experienced significant delays, missed appointments, and have been left stranded in inclement weather.

“For too long, blind riders have suffered repeated ride denials by Uber because they are traveling with a service dog,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This lawsuit seeks to end this persistent discrimination and allow riders with disabilities to use Uber. We will enforce the ADA’s guarantee that people with disabilities have equal opportunity and full participation in all aspects of American society, including transportation.”

“Rideshare companies like Uber are prohibited from denying riders with disabilities the same access to transportation that riders without disabilities enjoy,” said U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian of the Northern District of California. “This complaint underscores the United States’ commitment to enforcing the ADA’s promise of equal access.”

The lawsuit seeks a court order to force Uber to stop discriminating against individuals with disabilities, to modify its policies to comply with the ADA, and to train its staff and drivers on the ADA. In addition to the monetary damages to compensate aggrieved individuals subjected to Uber’s discrimination, the lawsuit demands that Uber pay a civil penalty to vindicate the public’s interest in eliminating disability discrimination.

To learn more about the Civil Rights Division, visit www.justice.gov/crt, and to report possible violations of federal civil rights laws, go to www.civilrights.justice.gov. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) or visit www.ada.gov.

 

Department of Energy Extends Implementation of Direct Final Rule

 

The U.S. Department of Energy has once again extended the implementation of an earlier proposed Direct Final Rule (DFR) for an additional 90 days. ACB submitted comments to the Department on the DFR back in July. The DFR wants to dramatically impact the regulations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; builders would not be held to the same standards to make structures accessible for people with disabilities.

In response, numerous individuals submitted comments in response to the rule. As a result of the significant number of responses, the implementation of the rule was postponed for 60 days. Now the Department has once again postponed the implementation. We don’t know what the final result will be, but it is still exciting to see the impact active advocacy can have.

 

Warnock Leads Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Seniors’ Access to Lab Testing


WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2025 – Today, U.S. Senators Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the bipartisan Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services (RESULTS) Act. The legislation would update Medicare’s payment system for clinical diagnostic laboratory services, ensuring seniors have access to the most innovative tests and subsequently more timely treatments.

“Access to quality clinical labs is essential to keeping our seniors living long, healthy lives,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “I’m proud to partner with my colleague Senator Tillis to put forward this legislative fix that will help ensure Georgia seniors will continue to have access to high-quality diagnostic services.”

“It is critically important that seniors have uninterrupted access to innovative diagnostic tests,” said Senator Tillis. “The Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services Act is a necessary step toward ensuring this access and supporting seniors’ health care needs. I’m proud to work with my colleagues to permanently fix flawed data collection and reporting methods which will allow Medicare beneficiaries to continue receiving quality and affordable lab services.”    

In 2014, Congress passed the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) to ensure Medicare’s clinical laboratory fee schedule (CLFS) aligned with the rates that were paid by private insurers. Under this legislation, many clinical labs were required to submit rate information to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to then be used to calculate rates under CLFS. Over time, the data collected and reported failed to capture a representative sample of the various segments of the clinical lab market.

Without Congressional action, analysis estimates that a cut of up to 15% will be imposed on over 800 tests on the CLFS in January 2026 and again in 2027 and 2028.

This bill aims to improve Medicare reimbursements for laboratories by:

  • Adjusting data reporting requirements and allowing CMS to work with a third-party administer to collect data
  • Remove Medicaid MCOs from the definition of private payors
  • Cap Medicare reductions at 5% instead of 15%
  • Change data reporting for widely reported tests from labs to a third-party qualifying claims database
  • Make payment rates subject to administrative or judicial review

Read the Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services HERE.

 

Tell Congress to Protect the Rights of Disabled Jurors

 

Currently, federal law prohibits courts from discriminating against potential jurors in a court setting based on factors such as race, gender, or socioeconomic status. However, no federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of age or disability. Many individuals with disabilities who are called to jury duty face some kind of discrimination. The Disability and Age in Jury Service Nondiscrimination Act will set law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of age and disability as well. Additionally, the bill will require the courts to provide accommodations for jurors to carry out their civil duty. For instance, the court must provide sign language interpreters or braille materials for deaf or blind jurors.

Please reach out to Congress using the following link: https://speak4.app/lp/h7015nuz/?ts=1756984525.

 

FCC Opens Public Comment on Modernization of Nation’s Emergency Alerting Systems

 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is asking for public input as it takes a fresh look at the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), two critical tools for delivering urgent warnings to the public.

EAS, first introduced 31 years ago, and WEA, which has been in use for 13 years, were both designed around the technology available at the time. Now, the FCC is questioning whether these systems are meeting their original goals and what changes could make them more effective in today’s fast-evolving communications landscape.

In a new notice of proposed rulemaking, the FCC is seeking comment on everything from whether the systems’ goals remain the same, to how well they currently work, to what improvements are needed to better serve the public. Officials are also looking at how modern technology could be leveraged to enhance reliability and reach while minimizing burdens on agencies and stakeholders.

Comments will be accepted until September 25, 2025, with reply comments accepted until October 10, 2025.

How to File Comments

You may submit comments, identified by PS Docket No. 25-224, by any of the following methods:

  • Federal Communications Commission's Website:https://www.fcc.gov/​ecfs. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
  • Mail/Paper Filings: See the instructions in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
  • People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: FCC504@fcc.gov or phone: (202) 418-0530.

 

Tell Congress to Keep Bookshare Free for All Students

 

Bookshare is a book distribution program that has served people with disabilities for over 20 years. It serves students with multiple disabilities across the country for no fee. It has been funded through the Education, Technology, Media, and Materials Program (Ed Tech). Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children are ensured access to accessible education materials in an accessible format.

For many years now, accessible materials for students have been provided by Bookshare. The Ed Tech program provides funding to procure the materials from Bookshare. The budget proposed by Congress will eliminate this funding. What the proposed budget would do is to split the program into a separate, fifty-state model, where each state provides the books on a state-by-state basis. Such a model will be detrimental for students with disabilities.

Please follow the link below to reach out to Congress to tell them to fund Bookshare services for students.

https://speak4.app/lp/ey01ss2s/?ts=1757949671

 

Funding for DeafBlind Services to Be Eliminated

 

The Department of Education has put out notice that funding for DeafBlind services will be eliminated. Such funding was supposed to be continued through at least 2028. The funding assists over 10,000 DeafBlind clients from childhood through young adults. The cancelation of the services sited the inclusion of diversity, equity, and inclusion language in their applications. The programs in the impacted eight states only cost just over $1 million. The services provide training and resources for the impacted community.

 

Department of Education Cuts Funding for All Three National Braille Training Programs

 

On September 5, the Department of Education announced that it would not continue the grants for all three national braille training programs. These programs are essential to train teachers of the visually impaired to ensure braille literacy and train vision rehabilitation therapists to assist adults who lose their vision later in life. With this discontinuation, funding will be cut for all federal funding that is carried out at three universities: California State University Los Angeles, University of South Carolina Upstate, and University of Massachusetts Boston. Each of the three universities is now appealing the elimination of the program. Constituents should reach out to their senators to speak out against the cuts. Constituents of the following states should especially reach out: West Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina.