WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) led a bipartisan, bicameral group of Members of Congress and officials from disability advocacy groups in outlining the ABLE Act at a Capitol Hill news conference on Tuesday afternoon (11/15). The legislation, to create tax free-savings accounts for individuals with disabilities, was introduced in the House Tuesday afternoon and was expected to be introduced in the Senate later Tuesday afternoon. 

Crenshaw, Congressman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Congressman Pete Sesssions (R-TX), Senator Robert Casey, Jr., (D-Pa), Peter V. Berns, CEO of The Arc, Peter Bell, Executive Vice President for programs and services for Autism Speaks, Sara Wolff, Member of National Down Syndrome Society Board of Directors, and officials from other disability advocacy groups spoke at the House Triangle press conference where a large group of supporters had gathered. Twenty-eight Members of the House and two Members of the Senate have to date signed on as original co-sponsors.

“Our tax code currently provides advantages to help Americans save for college and retirement, yet people with disabilities do not enjoy those same financial planning tools. These individuals and their families face enormous financial struggles that most of us cannot imagine,” said Crenshaw, a member of the House Appropriation Committee. “The ABLE Act helps ease those strains by making tax-free savings accounts available to cover qualified expenses such as education, housing, and transportation. No longer would individuals with disabilities have to stand aside and watch others use IRS-sanctioned tools to lay the groundwork for a brighter future. They would be able to as well, and that’s an accomplishment we all can be proud of.”

Additionally, Crenshaw submitted the following remarks into the official Congressional Record:

I rise today to introduce the bipartisan, bicameral Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2011. The ABLE Act is a much needed, long overdue, savings tool for individuals with disabilities.

I would like to thank my colleagues in the Senate, Senator Casey and Senator Burr for their tireless efforts to introduce a companion bill in the U.S. Senate. I would also like to thank Representative McMorris Rodgers for her pivotal role in crafting this meaningful legislation.

The federal government gives American families a helping hand in saving for the future. Accounts with special tax advantages help people save for college, retirement, healthcare and other life events - but people with disabilities have different challenges for the future, some face decades of expenses that most of us cannot even imagine. Yet, they do not have access to the same advantages that our tax code provides others.

The average cost of raising a child with a significant medical disability is more than $1 million over the course of the child’s lifetime. Continuing education, transportation, housing and medical care make up some of the predictable costs on that staggering bill. ABLE accounts would relieve some of that burden by allowing parents with disabled children or family members of disabled individuals to invest through a tax-deferred 529 account that could be drawn from for these future expenses. No longer would parents have to stand aside and watch as others use IRS-sanctioned tools to lay the groundwork for a brighter future. They would be able to do so for their children as well.

The ABLE Act amends Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the establishment of ABLE accounts for the care of family members with disabilities through tax-free savings accounts.

Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan, bicameral legislation tackles the unfairness in our tax code head-on by creating tax free savings accounts for individuals with disabilities. ABLE accounts will make long-term health, greater independence, and a fuller quality of life a possibility. No longer would individual with disabilities have to stand on the sidelines and watch others use IRS-sanctioned tools to lay the groundwork for a brighter future.

The cost to reform the U.S. Tax Code to offer ABLE accounts would be minimal, but the positive impact for individuals with disabilities, their families and others who are struggling to cope with an uncertain future would be sizable.

We must move beyond the policies of the past that force individuals with disabilities to live in poverty. The ABLE Act allows individuals with disabilities to save, work, and earn just like any other American. As citizens of this great and prosperous country, we must speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Helping disabled Americans “achieve a better life experience” is a step forward toward equality with every other American – and it’s a step worth taking. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

ABLE Act Supporters

Members of Congress (All original co-sponsors)

Senator Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA)

Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)

Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-FL)

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)

Congressman Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA)

Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)

Congressman Greg Harper (D-MS)

Congressman Bill Young (R-FL)

Congressman Harold Rogers (R-KY)

Congressman Theodore Deutch (D-FL)

Congressman Russ Carnahan (D-MO)

-more-

Congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY)

Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ)

Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX)

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA)

Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN)

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

Congressman Michael Michaud (D-ME)

Congressman Edolphus Towns (D-NY)

Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)

Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA)

Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

Congressman James R. Langevin (D-RI)

Congressman John Kline (R-MN)

Congressman Pete Visclosky (D-IN)

Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX)

Congressman Peter King (D-NY)

Congressman Steven Rothman (D-NJ)

Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-CA)

Organizations

National Down Syndrome Society

Autism Speaks

The Arc

Collaborations to Promote Self Determination

National Disability Institute

The National Fragile X Foundation

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