The people left out of the infrastructure deal

The infrastructure bill making its way through the Senate doesn’t include money for caregivers. Today, we dive into what it’s like to take care of a partner who has a disability and to often not get compensated for that labor.

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Earlier this week, the much anticipated infrastructure bill started moving through the Senate with bipartisan support. What’s left out of the bill, though, is what’s being called “human infrastructure” — money for things like quality child care and care for elderly people and those with disabilities.

Today, we’re diving into one of these groups that’s being left out of the bill: people who care for their partners who have disabilities. 

Video editor Amber Ferguson learned that in most states, if you’re giving care to a partner with a disability, you cannot be compensated if you’re married. And those people who aren’t getting compensated for their labor are usually women.

 “It's just not sustainable for me to do this every single day in the way that I have been,” said Jane Morgan, who has been caring for her boyfriend largely by herself since he became quadriplegic in 2019.