QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES

Many positions in Wisconsin will be up for election in November 2026, including offices for Governor, all 8 members of Congress, all members of The Wisconsin Assembly and a third of State Senate seats.

Now is a great time for you and members of your community to come together and invite candidates to discuss the issues most pressing to you and other members of the disability community. Your questions are a great way to educate both the candidates and your communities about how policies make real impacts on you and your loved ones’ lives.

Below are a series of questions to get you started, but feel free to ask your own. Consider talking by phone or asking to meet with candidates who have announced or are considering running for an elected seat in Wisconsin. Now is a great time, when candidates are trying to gather input on what is most important to potential constituents and before their calendars fill up.

QUESTIONS

• Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and SNAP have all come under fire in past years, weakening the safety net for seniors, people with disabilities and low-income Wisconsinites. What will you do to guarantee people can get the help they need to remain in their homes instead of being forced into expensive Medicaid-funded institutions? Will you put these ideas on your campaign website?
• What are your ideas to ensure people with disabilities in Wisconsin will not be forced back into institutions, What will you do to community based services  will continue to have access to Medicaid programs with optional community based waiver services at current levels? Will you put your ideas on your campaign website?
• What steps will you take to reduce barriers to public programs and make sure people with disabilities have access to community-based services and other supports they are entitled to? Will you put those ideas on your campaign website?
• n  What are your ideas to address the ongoing community based direct care professional workforce shortage?   Will you put those ideas on your campaign website?
• What steps will you take to ensure equal education for disabled children in light of eliminated federal education programs and the dismantling of the Department of Education? Will you put position statements on education on your website?
• What are your ideas to improve public education in Wisconsin? Will you put your ideas on your campaign website?
• What steps will you take to increase safe, affordable, accessible housing for people with disabilities? Will you put those ideas on your campaign website?
• What are your ideas to improve transportation for people with disabilities and other non-drivers in Wisconsin (more than 1 in 4 Wisconsinites are non-drivers)?  Will you put those ideas on your campaign website?
• What is your position on mail-in voting and use of accessible machines in Wisconsin? Will you put those positions on your campaign website?

 FEDERAL CANDIDATES ONLY

• What are you going to do if elected to address my concerns and the real problems that are going to impact myself and my family.

CURRENT FEDERAL LAWMAKERS

• What steps will you take to undo cuts to critical programs for people with disabilities and  make a better, easier system for the people who use it.

CURRENT OR POTENTIAL STATE LAWMAKERS

• How are you planning to address the state budget shortfalls that are coming?
• How will you advocate with federal lawmakers to change federal law so states aren’t hurt?
• How are you willing to use your bully pulpit to explain how people and communities are being harmed by these changes.

PDF here.

July 3, 2025

Contact: Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations, Co-Chairs

Beth Swedeen, beth.swedeen@wisconsin.gov; (608) 220-2924

Patti Becker, beckerp@clanet.org; (608) 240-8503

Jason Glozier, jglozier@wcilc.org (608) 422-0525

The Survival Coalition of more than 20 statewide disability organizations supports the state budget passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Evers overnight that continues to invest in the current levels of Medicaid supports and significantly increases special education funding. Survival also strongly supports the Medicaid rate increases for personal care, home health care, and private duty nursing: three critical supports that allow people with disabilities and older adults to remain in their homes and communities and out of institutional care.

The budget includes added Medicaid funding that allows the program “cost to continue” in spite of increases in the number of people projected to be in Medicaid, as well as increasing costs for Medicaid-covered health care, including rising prescription drug costs.

Survival Coalition also supports the budget’s continued funding for a Family Care minimum fee schedule. This ensures all residential providers will receive at least a base rate. Wisconsin’s Medicaid provider network is fragile, and many providers have of home and community-based services have struggled to stay in business

Survival Coalition has long been concerned about the inadequate reimbursement rate for special education. The state currently reimburses local public school districts at just 32.1% of their costs. This budget makes progress in getting to the 90% state reimbursement that Survival Coalition supports. The Governor’s budget would have reimbursed at 60%. This budget increases reimbursement to 42% the first year, and 45% the second year of the budget.

Survival Coalition continues to be concerned about potential devastating cuts to Medicaid and other public programs at the federal level that would impact Wisconsin’s disability community. This state budget shows the state’s commitment to investments that allow people with disabilities to be safe, healthy, and contributing members of their communities. Press release doc

Survival Coalition co-chairs have submitted comments to The federal Department of Energy (DOE), which  has issued a “direct final rule” that will eliminate a long-standing requirement of Section 504 requiring new buildings constructed with federal funds to be accessible to people with disabilities. The Department now calls this rule “unnecessary” and burdensome.” Removing this rule would:

• Eliminate enforceable accessibility standards for new federally funded buildings.

• Allow renovations that leave out ramps, elevators, accessible restrooms, and more.

• Undermine the civil rights protections of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Survival co-chairs encourage each Survival organization to submit comments BY SUNDAY to these 3 locations:

1. Docket #1 – Go to DOE-HQ-2025-0015 and click “Comment”: https://bit.ly/4kuX2R2
2. Docket #2 – Go to DOE-HQ-2025-0024 and click “Comment” : https://bit.ly/4mGKgjY
3. Also email your comments to: DOEGeneralCounsel@hq.doe.gov

Your comments do not need to be long: You can simply say you oppose the elimination or weakening of the long-standing requirement of Section 504 which requires new buildings constructed with federal funds to be accessible to people with disabilities. You can also share why you oppose the proposal. Read Full Survival Comments Here.

Please share widely in your networks.