November 13, 2025

Berkeley, CA — For more than forty days, the federal government has been shut down, halting essential services and placing millions of Americans in economic and medical jeopardy. On November 10, the U.S. Senate voted to end the shutdown — but advanced a funding package that fails to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies, threatening access to health coverage for millions of low- and middle-income families.

According to the Urban Institute, if these enhanced ACA subsidies expire after 2025, up to 4.8 million people could become uninsured in 2026, and more than 7 million would face sharply higher insurance costs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) likewise projects that the uninsured population would increase by at least 2.2 million people in 2026 if the subsidies are not renewed. These programs are lifelines for working-class families, older adults, and people with disabilities, helping them afford vital medical care and prescriptions.

At the same time, the ongoing shutdown has put Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at risk for roughly 42 million Americans, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities who depend on food assistance each month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has warned that contingency funds are insufficient to cover upcoming payments without new congressional appropriations, threatening to deepen food insecurity nationwide.

The Center for Independent Living (CIL) strongly condemns any policy or political maneuver that undermines the health, safety, or independence of our communities. As the nation’s first disability-led independent living center, founded in 1972 in Berkeley, California, CIL helped launch a global movement that redefined civil rights, access, and inclusion.

“Part of the problem is that we tend to think that equality is about treating everyone the same, when it’s not,” said the late Judith Heumann, disability rights pioneer and longtime CIL ally. “It’s about fairness. It’s about equity of access.”

CIL echoes Heumann’s vision for fairness and access. Cuts or delays to health and nutrition programs are not just fiscal decisions — they are moral failures that reveal misplaced national priorities and deepen structural inequality.

CIL calls on Congress and the Administration to immediately restore full funding for ACA subsidies and SNAP, and to protect Medicaid, housing assistance, and disability-related supports from cuts or administrative delays.

CIL urges community members to take action:

• Contact your elected representatives to demand restoration of these life-saving programs.
• Join peaceful actions opposing attacks on the social safety net.
• Support disability-led organizations advancing justice, access, and inclusion.

For over five decades, CIL has stood with those who refuse to be left behind — people with disabilities, immigrants, workers, and families fighting for dignity, justice, and independence. Today, as ever, CIL stands united and undeterred, pressing forward toward a future rooted in compassion, access, and disability justice.