Duckworth pushes to undo DOJ memo on Olmstead

DOJ memo – Sen. Tammy Duckworth will introduce a resolution urging the Department of Justice to rescind a recently issued memo contesting how the Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead decision is interpreted—arguing it could tilt federal agencies away from community-based living

On the day Sen. Tammy Duckworth plans to act. the stakes are personal and immediate for millions of disabled Americans who rely on community-based support to live outside nursing homes and other institutions. Duckworth is preparing to introduce a resolution that would demand the Department of Justice rescind a memo issued last week—one that. while not changing the law. contests a longstanding interpretation of the Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead v. L.C. decision.

Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, made clear what she believes is at risk. She told MISRYOUM that she won’t let the administration push the country back toward a system where people are removed from their communities and forced into institutions. “I am not going to let this administration move us back to a time when people were ripped out of their communities. ripped out of their homes against their wills. and forced into institutions. ” she said in an interview.

Olmstead is a landmark case that limits states’ power to compel people to live in psychiatric and other institutions. including nursing homes. Duckworth’s fight centers on what the DOJ memo appears to signal, not what it legally changes. The memo itself does not alter the law. but it may influence how the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services approach agreements and programs that help disabled people live in their communities rather than in institutions.

After the memo was released, HHS took down its webpage on Olmstead and community living—an action that disability advocates and legal experts took as a sign of shifting federal emphasis. The memo has also drawn fast, sharp backlash from those groups.

Disability advocates and legal experts reacted immediately to the DOJ memo after it was reported as a slip opinion. Bloomberg Law reported that the memo was allegedly driven by the demands of ultra-right Trump advisor Stephen Miller. Miller’s alleged role is part of the reason Duckworth and her allies argue this is not a technical dispute. but a political push that could echo into federal implementation.

George Washington University law professor Alison Barkoff—whose remarks Duckworth’s supporters cite from prior coverage—said the Trump administration’s interpretation is incompatible with the way courts have handled Olmstead. Barkoff argued that the administration’s reading is “completely inconsistent with virtually all courts” not only regarding the interpretation of Olmstead. but also regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. which Olmstead builds on.

That concern is central to Duckworth’s warning. She said the memo’s direction is moving the country in the wrong direction. “This is taking us back to a time when there were forced lobotomies in this country,” Duckworth said. “We just cannot let that happen.”

The resolution Duckworth will introduce on Thursday is co-sponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). It calls for the DOJ to rescind the memo and frames the DOJ’s position as a direct threat to disability integration.

The resolution says the DOJ opinion “rejects the integration mandate and threatens the hard-won progress towards full integration of individuals with disabilities into society in the United States.” It ties that concern to what it describes as additional pressure coming from GOP cuts to Medicaid-funded home and community-based services—cuts that. the resolution argues. will push more disabled people into institutions.

In the resolution, Duckworth’s coalition also calls on the federal government to recognize the importance of fulfilling Olmstead and to reverse Medicaid cuts.

For Duckworth. the memo is also wrapped into a wider critique of the administration’s approach to disability and the people affected by it. “This is clearly the ableism that exists in this administration that starts with Donald Trump, the president,” Duckworth told MISRYOUM. “He’s the guy who looked at wounded veterans, amputees, and said those guys are suckers and losers.”.

Duckworth stressed that the integration mandate from Olmstead is not just a legal doctrine—it’s the backbone of a promise that people can live as part of their communities. She called it “critically important to our society.”

She also argued that segregation, whether driven by racism or ableism, makes the United States less credible in the world. “We cannot be a leader of the free world if we continue to segregate groups of people in our own country. whether it is through racism or through ableism. ” Duckworth said. “They underestimate the willpower of the disability community.”.

The DOJ memo, officials say it does not change the law. But Duckworth’s resolution makes the case that federal interpretation and implementation can still move people—out of their communities, and away from the supports that keep them there.

Tammy Duckworth DOJ memo Olmstead v. L.C. institutionalization disability advocates Medicaid home and community-based services HHS integration mandate Stephen Miller Americans with Disabilities Act Section 504 Rehabilitation Act