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Washington Update - By Art Terrazas, Guila Todd & Dillon Harp
A partial list of priorities for 2015
As we begin a new year, your ACA Government Affairs team wants to make sure we
are keeping you updated concerning
our agenda for 2015. Although other items may come up as we move forward, this column is aimed at articulating
some of the priorities we will be working on in the next year. These priorities include reintroducing the Medicare
bill during this session of Congress, pushing for funding and increased awareness of school counseling from Congress and strengthening our advocacy for licensed professional counselors (LPCs) in the states.
This past year, we were fortunate
to have bills introduced in both the House of Representatives (H.R. 3662) and the Senate (S. 562) that would
have allowed LPCs to receive Medicare reimbursements. Although we were unsuccessful in having Congress pass either of those bills, we are determined
to take up this fight again. We will be working to ensure that similar legislation affecting Medicare reimbursement will be introduced in the new Congress.
With Republicans now the majority
in both the House and Senate, it is absolutely imperative that we have strong Republican support for the Medicare
bill this year. Inclusion of LPCs under the Medicare program has never been a partisan issue in the past, so we know we can lock in that support if we are vigilant and aggressive. Please take time to reach out to your members of Congress, especially if they are Republicans, and explain to them why this bill is so important. Senators and representatives
will only move this bill forward if they know that their constituents consider it a priority.
With the start of the new Congress in Washington, we have seen some of our champions retire from public service, including Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa. Harkin was a staunch supporter of
the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP), and as a leader on the Appropriations Committee, he was also the person most responsible for maintaining the program’s funding. With Harkin gone, maintaining that funding will be a bigger challenge this year.
In an effort to highlight the importance of school counseling programs, ACA
will be hosting a congressional briefing later this year on Capitol Hill. We will
be bringing school counselors in to speak about the important work that they do and why funding of ESSCP needs to be maintained. If you are a school counselor, it is also key to let your senators and representatives know that the work you do is crucial to creating a positive, safe and productive learning environment
in which students can excel and build a successful academic career. It is critical for legislators and other decision-makers to understand that success in the classroom translates to future success in the workforce and beyond.
While a substantial amount of work needs to be done in Washington, ACA also understands that the counseling profession is facing many challenges on the state level. In an effort to become more responsive to our members, ACA has created a new staff position for a state legislative representative, and we will be
bringing on someone to focus exclusively on state issues. Some of these issues include the recent repeal of Ohio’s “5 of 8” rule (which required school districts to have at least five full-time staff from eight specialties, including school counseling, for every 1,000 students), a bill in the Oregon Legislature that would prevent minors from being subjected to so-called “reparative therapy” and efforts to make state laws more congruent with federal policies. Some of our members have also discussed the fact that LPCs in New York state are not allowed to diagnose. Not having this ability leaves them at a serious disadvantage.
As your professional association, ACA looks forward to engaging in a great deal of pertinent public policy debate in 2015. We welcome the challenges that lie ahead of us and are committed to fighting for the issues that affect the counseling profession. But as we begin this important work, we all need to remember that ACA can’t do it alone. We can’t do it without you! You need to contact your elected officials whenever possible and become aware of political events in your area. Although the team here at ACA is made up of talented and passionate individuals, only you, the constituents, have a true impact when it comes to influencing public policy. You are the most compelling and powerful advocates for the profession, and you can make the biggest difference in these fights. By moving forward together,
we can begin to exert a real and lasting impact on the public policy debates that affect the counseling profession. u
10 | ct.counseling.org | January 2015