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LOBBYING REPORT |
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (Section 5) - All Filers Are Required to Complete This Page
2. Address
| Address1 | 102 Duane Road |
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| City | Fort Totten |
State | NY |
Zip Code | 11359 |
Country | USA |
3. Principal place of business (if different than line 2)
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5. Senate ID# 12994-12
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6. House ID# 334210000
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| TYPE OF REPORT | 8. Year | 2025 |
Q1 (1/1 - 3/31) | Q2 (4/1 - 6/30) | Q3 (7/1 - 9/30) | Q4 (10/1 - 12/31) |
9. Check if this filing amends a previously filed version of this report
| 10. Check if this is a Termination Report | Termination Date |
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11. No Lobbying Issue Activity |
| INCOME OR EXPENSES - YOU MUST complete either Line 12 or Line 13 | |||||||||
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| 12. Lobbying | 13. Organizations | ||||||||
| INCOME relating to lobbying activities for this reporting period was: | EXPENSE relating to lobbying activities for this reporting period were: | ||||||||
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| Provide a good faith estimate, rounded to the nearest $10,000, of all lobbying related income for the client (including all payments to the registrant by any other entity for lobbying activities on behalf of the client). | 14. REPORTING Check box to indicate expense accounting method. See instructions for description of options. | ||||||||
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Method A.
Reporting amounts using LDA definitions only
Method B. Reporting amounts under section 6033(b)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code Method C. Reporting amounts under section 162(e) of the Internal Revenue Code |
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| Signature | Digitally Signed By: Alexandra Bennewith |
Date | 4/21/2025 6:02:42 PM |
LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.
15. General issue area code AVI
16. Specific lobbying issues
United Spinal, along with veterans service organizations, disability organizations, and other aviation stakeholders wrote to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to express support of the U.S. Department of Transportations efforts to improve the safety and dignity of the air travel experience for disabled veterans and all passengers with disabilities.
United Spinal Association supported and participated in the U.S. Department of Transportations Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) ongoing efforts to launch a new database, Aviation Complaint, Enforcement, and Reporting System (ACERS).
17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None
Transportation - Dept of (DOT)
18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area
| First Name | Last Name | Suffix | Covered Official Position (if applicable) | New |
Alexandra |
Bennewith |
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Kent |
Keyser |
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19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None
LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.
15. General issue area code MMM
16. Specific lobbying issues
United Spinal policy staff provided feedback to a member of Congress on potential legislation that would improve the timeliness of repairs made to individually customized, medically prescribed wheelchairs.
United Spinal endorsed the reintroduction of the CONNECT for Health Act in the 119th Congress. The CONNECT for Health Act will expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, make COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities permanent, improve health outcomes, and make it easier for patients to connect with their doctors. Current flexibilities are set to expire on September 30 unless Congress extends them.
Engage with House and Senate and CMS to ensure a benefciary coding decision for transanal irrigation devices to be categorized as prosthetic devices.
Met with CMS to discuss access to ostomy supplies.
As a member of the Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation Steering Committee
- Support coverage of anti-obesity medications for people with disabilities.
- Provided comments to the 2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D proposed rule.
- Submitted New Policy Statement on Public Comment for Agency Rulemaking.
17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None
U.S. SENATE, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), White House Office
18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area
| First Name | Last Name | Suffix | Covered Official Position (if applicable) | New |
Alexandra |
Bennewith |
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Kent |
Keyser |
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Stephen |
Lieberman |
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19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None
LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.
15. General issue area code HCR
16. Specific lobbying issues
United Spinal advocated against Medicaid cuts.
United Spinal asked members of Congress to sign onto letters of support with their colleagues, as part of United Spinal's virtual advocacy day urging bipartisan congressional leadership on the respective appropriations subcommittee to support increased federal funding for Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems as well as at the Burn Model Systems and the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems. Increased funding at all three Model Systems, including the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center is needed to translate data, research, and clinical knowledge into resources to benefit the SCI, TBI and burn injury communities.
Advocate to save DOD CDMRP Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP). The Federal Budget Resolution that was passed on 3.14.25 cut 57% - approximately $850 million - out of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). This is a Department of Defense program that funds biomedical research programs, including spinal cord injury.
United Spinal, as a member of the Disability & Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC), supported a letter the DRRC co-coordinators submitted to the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget about the deep concerns the members of the Coalition had with the OMB Memorandum Pausing Federal Financial Assistance (M-25-13).
United Spinal, as a member of the Disability & Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC), signed onto a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health about major concerns with cuts to NIH funding through indirect cost cap. The letter read in part, The Disability & Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC) appreciates and supports maximizing the federal return on investment in medical research but has serious concerns about the recently published Supplemental Guidance from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) capping indirect costs for grantees at 15 percent. This unprecedented policy change will have significant and permanent negative consequences on biomedical research, particularly the science of medical rehabilitation, disability, and chronic illness. We strongly urge you to reconsider this announcement and work with our coalition and other research organizations to chart an alternative path forward.
United Spinal joined the American Association of People with Disabilities, along with numerous disability, civil rights, aging, and mental health organizations, in submitting a letter expressing deep concerns about the plan to re-organize the Department of Health and Human Services. especially the plan to eliminate the Administration for CommunityLiving (ACL) and split its functions across three other agencies, as well as the consolidation of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA).
United Spinal, as a member of the Disability & Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC), signed onto a letter to urge and meet with HHS Secretary Kennedy to reconsider plans to dismantle the Administration for Community Living (ACL), including the National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), in order to meet with national disability, rehabilitation, and other stakeholder organizations to discuss the future of ACL, and seriously reconsider the reorganization of this essential government agency for older Americans and individuals with disabilities.
As a member of the Disability & Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC), United Spinal endorsed comments submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) about OMB Memorandum Pausing Federal Financial Assistance (M-25-13).
United Spinal, as a member of the Disability & Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC), wrote to commend the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) for their work to improve disability research across NIH on behalf of the one in four Americans with disabilities. Supporting disability research and investing in training the next generation of disability researchers must be a central goal at NIH given the critical need for biomedical, functional, and outcomes research.
United Spinal, as members of the Disability and Aging Collaborative (DAC), the Health and Long-Term Services and Supports Task Forces of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD), and allied organizations wrote to the bipartisan leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to urge excluding Medicaid cuts, work requirements, or any changes that limit funding or eligibility, from budget reconciliation or other legislation. The letter read in part, People with disabilities, older adults, family caregivers and their children, direct care workers, and other low-income individuals and families depend on Medicaid every day for their health, safety, and independence. Medicaid enables them to go to work and to care for their loved ones. It is our communities' lifeline, and we cannot afford for any part of it to be cut.
United Spinal advocacy and policy staff met with staff for Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to discuss legislation to address wheelchair repair issues, as well as an appropriations letter for the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.
United Spinal advocacy and policy staff met with House and Senate to discuss signing an appropriations letter in support of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.
United Spinal advocacy and policy staff signed a CCD co-chairs statement expressing dismay and concern about the reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services.
United Spinal supports H.R. 2320, the Mobility Means Freedom Tax Credit Act.
17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None
U.S. SENATE, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Office of Management & Budget (OMB), Health & Human Services - Dept of (HHS), Natl Institutes of Health (NIH)
18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area
| First Name | Last Name | Suffix | Covered Official Position (if applicable) | New |
Alexandra |
Bennewith |
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Kent |
Keyser |
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Stephen |
Lieberman |
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19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None
LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.
15. General issue area code TEC
16. Specific lobbying issues
United Spinal submitted supportive comments to the Federal Communications Commission in response to CG Docket Nos. 10-213, 03-123, and 23-16, the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, on the need for additional accessibility features in video conferencing services, including: text-to-speech, and speech-to-speech functionality; automatic sign language interpretation; audio description and other functionality for participants who are blind or have low vision; and functionality needed by people with cognitive or mobility disabilities.
17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area
| First Name | Last Name | Suffix | Covered Official Position (if applicable) | New |
Alexandra |
Bennewith |
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Kent |
Keyser |
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19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None
LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.
15. General issue area code INS
16. Specific lobbying issues
United Spinal policy staff, along with other members of the Consortium of Constituents with Disabilities Social Security Task Force, met with congressional staff to advocate for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and for the reintroduction of legislation to help eliminate the programs savings penalty outdated financial limits.
United Spinal, along with over 200 organizations, signed onto a letter to the bipartisan, bicameral sponsors of the proposed Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Savings Penalty Elimination Act endorsing the legislation which is planned to be reintroduced in the 119th Congress. The proposed legislation would, for the first time in nearly 40 years, raise the amount of money Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries can save without jeopardizing vital income support from the SSI program.
United Spinal, along with numerous other disability organizations and as members of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) Social Security Task Force (SSTF), wrote to the bipartisan leadership of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance to express concerns about several ongoing developments at the Social Security Administration (SSA) that will have a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities. We urged the committee to take steps to protect Social Security beneficiaries from administrative actions that threaten the performance, integrity, and long-term stability of SSA.
United Spinal, as a member of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities Social Security Task Force, supported comments submitted by the cochairs of the Task Force supporting the Temporary Final Rule (TFR) concerning the Further Extension of the Flexibility In Evaluating Close Proximity of Time To Evaluate Ongoing Changes in Healthcare published at 90 Fed. Reg. 5582-5590.
17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None
U.S. SENATE, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Social Security Administration (SSA)
18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area
| First Name | Last Name | Suffix | Covered Official Position (if applicable) | New |
Kent |
Keyser |
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Kent |
Keyser |
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19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None
LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.
15. General issue area code TRA
16. Specific lobbying issues
United Spinal provided feedback to the National Council on Disability on autonomous vehicle accessibility for a forthcoming report on transportation.
United Spinal advocacy and policy staff participated in a quarterly call with Amtrak along with other representatives from disability organizations.
United Spinal advocacy and policy staff met with staff for Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) to discuss federal legislation to address accessible parking issues.
17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None
Natl Council on Disability, U.S. SENATE, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Transportation - Dept of (DOT), Natl Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), AMTRAK - Natl Railroad Passenger Corporation
18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area
| First Name | Last Name | Suffix | Covered Official Position (if applicable) | New |
Alexandra |
Bennewith |
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Kent |
Keyser |
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Stephen |
Lieberman |
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19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None
LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.
15. General issue area code LBR
16. Specific lobbying issues
United Spinal signed a CCD comment letter in support of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would begin phasing out the 14(c) subminimum wage program for people with disabilities.
17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None
Labor - Dept of (DOL)
18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area
| First Name | Last Name | Suffix | Covered Official Position (if applicable) | New |
Stephen |
Lieberman |
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19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None
LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.
15. General issue area code DIS
16. Specific lobbying issues
United Spinal advocacy and policy staff participated in a quarterly meeting of the Disability Community Advisory Group with DC HSEMA.
17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None
18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area
| First Name | Last Name | Suffix | Covered Official Position (if applicable) | New |
Stephen |
Lieberman |
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19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None
LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.
15. General issue area code VET
16. Specific lobbying issues
United Spinal endorses the Veterans SPORT Act - H.R. Veterans Supporting Prosthetics Opportunities and Recreational Therapy Act or the Veterans SPORT Act.
17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area
| First Name | Last Name | Suffix | Covered Official Position (if applicable) | New |
Alexandra |
Bennewith |
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19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None
Information Update Page - Complete ONLY where registration information has changed.
20. Client new address
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21. Client new principal place of business (if different than line 20)
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22. New General description of client’s business or activities
LOBBYIST UPDATE
23. Name of each previously reported individual who is no longer expected to act as a lobbyist for the client
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ISSUE UPDATE
24. General lobbying issue that no longer pertains
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AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS
25. Add the following affiliated organization(s)
Internet Address:
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26. Name of each previously reported organization that is no longer affiliated with the registrant or client
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
FOREIGN ENTITIES
27. Add the following foreign entities:
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Principal place of business (city and state or country) |
Amount of contribution for lobbying activities | Ownership percentage in client | ||||||||||
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28. Name of each previously reported foreign entity that no longer owns, or controls, or is affiliated with the registrant, client or affiliated organization
| 1 | 3 | 5 |
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CONVICTIONS DISCLOSURE
29. Have any of the lobbyists listed on this report been convicted in a Federal or State Court of an offense involving bribery,
extortion, embezzlement, an illegal kickback, tax evasion, fraud, a conflict of interest, making a false statement, perjury, or money laundering?
| Lobbyist Name | Description of Offense(s) |