Our Right to Remain

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Jocelynn Helmbrecht is a published writer, disability advocate, nonprofit leader, and mother of three boys. Her middle son, Wesley, had significant disabilities and passed away at the age of twenty-four in February 2026. Jocelynn has more than two decades of lived and professional experience navigating disability services and Medicaid HCBS. She is the founder of Our Right to Remain, where she works to make disability policy understandable, amplify the voices of people with disabilities and their families, and advocate for the right to live and receive services in the community.

H.Res. 1469

“Condemning a legal opinion issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on June 18, 2026, regarding the Olmstead v. L.C., the 1999 Supreme Court decision that recognized institutional isolation of people with disabilities as discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

H.Res. 1469 was introduced on August 3, 2026, by Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, with Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania as its sole cosponsor.

Resolutions are not legally binding but can put pressure on the Department of Justice to reconsider its recent narrowing of the interpretation of Olmstead.

The resolution matters politically and institutionally because it:

  • Signals to states and disability agencies that Congress does not consider institutionalization an acceptable default solution to disability-service needs.
  • Formally repudiates the DOJ opinion;
  • Reaffirms Congress’s understanding of the ADA’s integration mandate and Olmstead;
  • Puts congressional pressure on DOJ to withdraw or reconsider the opinion;
  • Creates a congressional record that could matter in future legislative and policy debates;

With only one sponsor and one cosponsor, the resolution will need more congressional support.

Raise your voices. Write and call your representative. Urge them to support and cosponsor House Resolution 1469.

The resolution has been referred to the Judiciary, Energy & Commerce, and Education & Workforce. You can find a list of Representatives on those committees by state here.

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