Time to pass the ABLE Act and let families impacted by disability save for the future

For the past eight years, the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), Autism Speaks and dozens of other national disabilities groups have been at the forefront of the advocacy effort to pass the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act. No other bill before this Congress has the ABLE Act’s bipartisan and bicameral support – 74 US Senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and 381 US Representatives have offered their cosponsorship to the ABLE Act.

In addition to its vast bicameral, bipartisan support, the ABLE Act is being spearheaded by a dedicated set of Congressional champions – Sens. Robert Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) as well as their counterparts in the House, Reps. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

Currently, people with disabilities cannot have more than $2,000 worth of assets before the government support that they need is cut off. In this day and age, $2,000 is not a lot of money. With the costs of employment supports, transportation and healthcare all rising,  it is nearly impossible for families to save for the future,  forcing a vicious cycle of poverty for millions of people with disabilities in this country. 

It’s organizations like NDSS and Autism Speaks that have come to the table and offered up solutions like the ABLE Act, that allow families and individuals with disabilities to save their own funds in an ABLE account rather than ask Congress for another new program  for the disability community. The ABLE Act is a hand up, not a handout for millions of people with disabilities.

The ABLE Act is a moving vehicle – in July, the Senate Finance Committee (Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS) held a hearing on the bill, then a week later the House Ways & Means Committee unanimously approved the ABLE Act. Now, it’s time for both the House and Senate to bring the ABLE Act up for a vote in this Lame Duck session.  

People with disabilities can’t wait any longer for the ABLE Act. The time is now.

Weir, MS, is the vice president of the National Down Syndrome Society in Washington, DC; and Spielman is the senior policy adviser and counsel of Autism Speaks in Washington, DC.