Bipartisan Group Responds to DOJ Memo Re: Olmstead
Bipartisan Disability Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) have introduced H.R. 1586, reaffirming the principles of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision and the right of people with disabilities to receive services in integrated community settings. The resolution follows a June 2026 memorandum from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) that raised concerns about a potential narrowing of federal enforcement of Olmstead. Representatives Tom Kean (R-NJ), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), and Lateefah Simon (D-CA) joined as cosponsors.
The OLC memorandum does not change Olmstead or existing disability rights, but it could lead the DOJ and other federal agencies to take a more limited approach to enforcing community integration requirements. Reduced federal enforcement could give states greater discretion in administering disability services while placing more responsibility on individuals and disability-rights organizations to enforce those rights through litigation.
In response, H.R. 1586 emphasizes Olmstead’s role in preventing unnecessary institutionalization and Congress’s intent that federally funded services be provided in the most integrated setting appropriate. It also calls on federal, state, and local governments to expand home- and community-based services, integrated employment, education, skills development, and other supports that promote independence and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.