LD-2 Disclosure Form

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (Section 5) - All Filers Are Required to Complete This Page

1. Registrant Name Organization/Lobbying Firm Self Employed Individual

United Spinal Association

2. Address

Address1

120-34 Queens Blvd., #320

Address2

City

Kew Gardens

State

Zip Code

11415

Country

USA

3. Principal place of business (if different than line 2)

City

State

Zip Code

Country

4a. Contact Name		b. Telephone Number	c. E-mail
Ms.	ALEXANDRA BENNEWITH	2025562076	abennewith@unitedspinal.org

5. Senate ID#

12994-12

7. Client Name	Self	Check if client is a state or local government or instrumentality
UNITED SPINAL ASSOCIATION

6. House ID#

334210000

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.

Support H.R. 8581/S. 4343, the Assistive Technology and Devices for Americans Study Act (Triple A Study Act).

Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities - Vaccine Allocation Comments
United Spinal signed onto a CCD letter to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding vaccine allocation for the disability community. In short, we urge the committee to: 1. Include all residents of congregate facilities in Phase 1 along with long term care residents. Protect the civil rights of people with disabilities in allocation decisions 3. Ensure that the physical distribution and administration of the vaccine is accessible to people with disabilities.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
United Spinal advocacy and policy staff and Resource Center staff met with NIH personnel and shared our suggestions for research priorities for the SCI/D community related to functional and quality of life issues.

Advocate for the need for increased funding for Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems as well as restoring the number of federally-funded Model Systems back to 18, as it was in 2000, from the present 14.

United Spinal advocacy and policy staff met with staff from the Administration for Community Living to discuss funding issues.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (PCHAlliance) - Chronic Disease Management
Landscape Analysis to Leverage Novel Technologies for Chronic Disease Management for Aging Underserved Populations
United Spinal, as a member of the Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance), supported comments to Health and Suman Services Department submitted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the PCHAlliance on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Request for Information - Landscape Analysis to Leverage Novel Technologies for Chronic Disease Management for Aging Underserved Populations.

Over 60 national organizations representing all ages and disabilities, including United Spinal supported increased funding, $10 million for FY 2021, for the Lifespan Respite Care Program, administered by the Administration on Aging, Administration for Community Living.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, U.S. SENATE, Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Natl Institutes of Health (NIH), Health & Human Services - Dept of (HHS)

19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None

Reviewed and discussed H.R. 8506 (House Version of TEAM Act).

Discussed strategy for H.R. 5701, Care for the Veteran Caregiver Act and reintroduction in the 117th Congress as H.R. 110.

Discussed VAs Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.

Support of Omnibus Veterans Bill (HR 7105).

With the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities: Support the CHAMPVA Childrens Protection Act - Young dependents of catastrophically disabled veterans can be covered for health insurance under this program operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Support legislation to restore reproductive rights of service-disabled veterans - Veterans who have lost the ability to have children through their service to the nation should not be denied the opportunity to have a family.

Support legislation to improve mental health care for veterans - the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act in the 116th Congress.

Support legislation to remove work disincentives and barriers to employment for veterans with significant disabilities - Veterans with significant service-connected disabilities do not receive adequate transition guidance concerning their rights as persons with disabilities
when retiring from the military and the VA vocational rehabilitation program often fails to serve these veterans other than preparing them for a life outside the workforce. Legislation such as the Veterans Economic Recovery Act would strengthen the VA Veterans Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program to provide consistent and predictable benefits for veterans with disabilities.

Modernizing the VA Automobile Adaptive Grant program - Congress authorizes VA to provide one-time grants in the amount of $21,058.69 to service-connected disabled veterans to purchase a new or used automobile with appropriate adaptive equipment to accommodate their disability. On average, the cost to replace modified vehicles ranges from $40,000 to $65,000 when the vehicle is new and $21,000 to $35,000 when the vehicle is used.

Establish DIC equity with other federal survivor benefits - Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a benefit paid to surviving spouses of service members who die in the line of duty or veterans who die from service-related injuries or diseases, and includes additional payments for dependent children.

Reduce the 10-Year Rule for DIC - For the survivor of a veteran with a 100 percent disability rating to receive DIC, the veteran must have had that rating for 10 consecutive years. However, if the veteran passes away due to a nonservice-connected condition before reaching 10 consecutive years of being totally disabled, the dependents are not eligible for any DIC benefit.
Toxic Exposure in American Military (TEAM) Act

Clinical TEAM Culture Act - Provisions like those contained in the Clinical TEAM Culture Act would require VA to develop standards for the provision of care by non-VA providers through the Community Care Program, and require community care providers to complete specified training, including training on suicide and military sexual trauma.

Swiftly implement the DOL VETS Disabled Veterans Outreach Program - In 2019, Congress created a Disabled Veterans Outreach Program within DOL VETS to focus on the particular challenges faced by veterans with significant disabilities in returning to the workforce. Unfortunately, the agency has been slow in filling this position.

Reverse FCC policy governing automated voice recognition technology and Preserve the Lifeline Program - In mid-2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved an application from MachineGenius to provide Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS), also known as captioned telephone service, using automatic speech recognition (ASR) only technology. ASR can be problematic for many veterans and others with disabilities.

Make improvements in Social Security Administration processing of Wounded Warrior/VAPT disability insurance claims - Claims for SSDI by service members and veterans with catastrophic disabilities are supposed to receive expedited processing by the Social Security Administration. However, an SSA Inspector General report in July 2019 found that the Social Security Administration had no consistent processes in place for handling SSDI claims of service-injured service members or veterans with 100% permanent and total disability ratings from the VA.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, White House Office, Veterans Affairs - Dept of (VA)

19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None

As a member of ITEM Coalition's Steering Committee, support and advocate for Medicare coverage of seat elevation and standing systems. The ITEM Coalition is engaging in multiple virtual Congressional Hill visits on this issue and has met with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services along with United Spinal advocates. The Coalition submitted comments to CMS urging coverage of these features.

Support expanding telehealth to Medicare beneficiaries for in the home evaluations of customized wheelchairs by clinicians.

United Spinal provided comments on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed rule on the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (MCIT) pathway and the definition of reasonable and necessary for items and services furnished under the Medicare program. United Spinal also supported concerns with the Department of Health and Human Services wanting to sunset HHS regulations after ten years unless the Dept. reviews and approves them.

Raised concerns in the CMS DMEPOS final rule around:
Revisions to the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) application process;
Revisions to the Benefit Category Determination (BCD) and payment determination process;
Adjustments to the DMEPOS fee schedule;
Revisions to the in the home requirement for certain DMEPOS items;
Exclusion of manual CRT wheelchairs from the Competitive Bidding Program; and
Coverage of low vision aids under the Medicare program.

United Spinal signed onto a CCD/Disability and Aging Collaborative letter to House and Senate leadership outlining the disability communitys priorities in a COVID relief package, namely greater funding for Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS), an extension of the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program etc.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), U.S. SENATE

19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None

Raised concerns in two letters to the Senate, led by the Bazelon Center, about the views of Judge Amy Coney Barrett regarding the Affordable Care Act, her dissent from a decision in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that concluded that the Trump administrations public charge rule discriminates against people with disabilities, and her decision finding that Wisconsin didnt discriminate against children with learning disabilities by forcing them to apply for placement in school districts separately from other children and allowing their exclusion on the basis of their service needs.

Discussed with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development the accessibility of their website.

Department of Labor - Office of Disability Employment Policy
Proposed Transfer of Ticket to Work Program
Raised concerns regarding the Presidents budget proposal to transfer the Ticket to Work Program from the Social Security Administration to the U.S. Department of Labor. United Spinal has raised concerns with the moving of the program due to limited staff expertise on the TTW Program at DOL and other issues.

Department of Health and Human Services - Office for Civil Rights
United Spinal endorsed a letter to OCR, facilitated by Not Dead Yet, regarding the need for nondiscrimination regulations in organ transplants and suicide prevention.
Health Innovation Alliance coalition - United Spinal signed on to a Congressional letter in support of the need to build on and clarify existing statute to modernize public health data collection, transmission, and reporting systems, through specific partnerships with expertise in the private sector, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make necessary data available for public health officials, policy makers, and frontline providers to improve decision making, care delivery, and patient outcomes.

United Spinal Association signed onto a letter led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to the EEOC, asking them to extend the comment period on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would significantly change their conciliation procedures and potentially make it harder for people experiencing workplace discrimination from seeking redress.

United Spinal signed onto a petition to the Federal Communications Commission, along with many in the disability community, (the National Disability Leadership Alliance) urging FCC to reconsider and revise its Order in this proceeding to mandate that, by July 16, 2022 - i.e., the same deadline that applies to the covered providers implementation of voice calling to 988 - wireless carriers and covered text providers, as defined in the Text-to-911 proceeding, also must implement text-to-988 capability to communicate with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) and its trained counselors, so that the benefits of the easy-to-remember and -dial 988 code will be equally available to deaf, hard-of-hearing, late-deafened, deafblind, speech-disabled, or deaf with other disabilities people in crisis and to others in crisis for whom texting is the predominant mode of mobile communication.

Provided recommendations to the Community-Based Response Act, S. 4791, legislation that would provide grants to establish non-police emergency response for certain crisis interventions. The disability community is seeking to engage Congressional offices interested in this area to ensure that the disability perspective is considered in the development of such legislation.

Opposed H.R. 8478, the Online Accessibility Act. This bill would significantly weaken the ADAs protections regarding website accessibility.

U.S. SENATE, Housing & Urban Development - Dept of (HUD), Labor - Dept of (DOL), Health & Human Services - Dept of (HHS), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None

District of Columbia Homeland Security Emergency Management Agency - Emergency Management
United Spinal and DC CIL litigation against the District.

United Spinal advocacy and policy staff participate in bi-weekly calls with DC HSEMA and DC Office of Disability Rights on DCs COVID-19 response.

District of Columbia Homeland Security Emergency Management Agency
Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, DCs work on deliverables as part of United Spinals and the District of Columbia Center for Independent Livings emergency management litigation was on pause but started back up at the end of the year.

19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None

Discussed Tester Amendment to NDAA FY 2021 S. 4049 regarding support for adding 3 presumptive diseases for VA disability compensation based on exposure to Agent Orange.

Discussed NDAA FY 2021 H.R. 6395 regarding support for adding 3 presumptive diseases for VA disability compensation based on exposure to Agent Orange.

19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None

SSA
Waiver of Recovery of Certain Overpayment Debts Accruing During the COVID-19 Pandemic Period
United Spinal, along with numerous other members of the Social Security Task Force of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), submitted comments on the Interim Final Rule to expedite the waiver process for beneficiaries who experience overpayments through no fault of their own during the pandemic due to SSAs reprioritizing of manual workloads that could have resulted in a reduction, suspension or termination of benefits.

Continuing Disability Review (CDR)
United Spinal, along with numerous other members of the Social Security Task Force of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), submitted comments about the Social Security Administration (SSA) re-starting its Continuing Disability Review (CDR) workload to share some ideas and recommendations so that CDRs are conducted efficiently and with appropriate regard for the rights and needs of beneficiaries. United Spinal also met with OMB on this issue.

Marriage Penalties for Disabled Adult Child (DAC) Beneficiaries
United Spinal supported a Congressional memo on this important issue. People with disabilities who rely on Social Security DAC benefits are often penalized or lose their benefits entirely if they marry. These marriage penalties also place access to Medicare and Medicaid at risk.

Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Social Security Task Force
Congressional letter on minimum Social Security withholding
United Spinal, as a member of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Social Security Task Force, along with numerous other disability organizations, wrote members of Congress in response to proposals to use changes to the minimum Social Security withholding to pay for other improvements to the Social Security program.

Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Social Security Task Force comments to the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) concerning Social Security concerning disability benefits reviews.

United Spinal supported Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities comments opposing SSA scheduling beneficiaries for continuing disability reviews differently depending on whether their claims were awarded at Step 3 or Step 5 of the sequential evaluation process. Also submitted our own comments and met with OMB to discuss.

Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of Management & Budget (OMB), U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, U.S. SENATE

19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None

Discussed the reintroduction of the Disability Access to Transportation Act, with staff in Congressman Langevin's office in the 117th Congress. This is legislation which United Spinal took the lead in advocating which addresses improvements in paratransit and other issues.

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.

23. Name of each previously reported individual who is no longer expected to act as a lobbyist for the client

26. Name of each previously reported organization that is no longer affiliated with the registrant or client

28. Name of each previously reported foreign entity that no longer owns, or controls, or is affiliated with the registrant, client or affiliated organization

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?
No Yes

First Name	Last Name	Suffix	Covered Official Position (if applicable)	New
Alexandra	Bennewith
Kent	Keyser
Stephen	Lieberman

First Name	Last Name	Suffix	Covered Official Position (if applicable)	New
Kenneth	Greenberg

First Name	Last Name	Suffix	Covered Official Position (if applicable)	New
Alexandra	Bennewith

First Name	Last Name	Suffix	Covered Official Position (if applicable)	New
Alexandra	Bennewith
Stephen	Lieberman
Kent	Keyser

First Name	Last Name	Suffix	Covered Official Position (if applicable)	New
Alexandra	Bennewith	United
Stephen	Lieberman