Support for ABLE Act Continues to Grow

from PennsNews.com:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, support continued to grow for the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE Act – S. 313/H.R. 647), introduced by U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Richard Burr (R-NC), bringing the total number of co-sponsors in the Senate to 60 members.  Introduced in the 113^th Congress in February, this bill would provide an improved quality of life for individuals with disabilities through tax-free savings accounts.

“This is a significant step forward for the ABLE Act and for the families of children with disabilities,” Senator Casey said. “Now that this bill has 60 cosponsors, I’m urging the Senate to take action on it in the new year. The fact that only 6 bills in all of Congress have this many cosponsors is a sign of the overwhelming support for this effort to make a major difference in the lives of these families.”

“The ABLE Act is a commonsense piece of legislation that allows families of disabled children to have the same access to tax preferred savings accounts as the parents of college-bound kids,” Senator Burr said.  “I am very excited that we now have 60 Senators on board and can hopefully expect swift movement on the Senate floor to send this bill to the President.”

The legislation would amend Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Service Code to 1986 to allow use of tax-free savings accounts for individuals with disabilities. The bill, first introduced in 2006, would ease financial strains faced by individuals with disabilities by making tax-free savings accounts available to cover qualified expenses such as education, housing, medical, and transportation. The bill would supplement, but not supplant, benefits provided through private insurance, the Medicaid program, the beneficiary’s employment, and other sources.

Help Us Get Senator Nelson as a Cosponsor and Pass the ABLE Act this Year!

ABLE Act Overview:

During the week of November 11th, the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) will team up with Florida Down syndrome Advocates to urge Senator Bill Nelson to join his fellow Florida Senator and ALL Florida Representatives as a cosponsor of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act (S. 313/HR. 647).This important legislation would utilize the 529 college education saving account program to establish a savings tool for individuals with disabilities.

The bill currently has 283 cosponsors in the House and 47 cosponsors in the Senate. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is being led by Reps. Van Hollen, Crenshaw, Sessions, and McMorris Rodgers and Sens. Casey and Burr.

The ABLE Act will utilize the 529 college education saving account program, and give individuals with disabilities and their families the ability to save for the future just like every other American family. The ABLE Act  will help people with disabilities live full, productive lives in their communities without losing benefits provided through private insurances, the Medicaid program, the supplemental security income program, the beneficiary’s employment, and other sources.

How to Advocate:

1)      Issue an ABLE Act action alert to your grassroots

a.       Email/Letter template

b.      Call-in template

2)      Utilize Social Media to advocate for the ABLE Act

a.       Twitter sample tweets

For more information or questions, feel free to contact NDSS VP of Advocacy & Affiliate Relations Sara Weir at sweir@ndss.org or 202-465-3222.

Will you sign the ABLE Act?

by Gina DiPietro from NBC 14:
A local organization is lobbying for rights of those with disabilities, and they're hoping you can help!
Smile on Down Syndrome says the ABLE Act, which stands for Achieving a Better Life Experience, allows those with disabilities to save money in a tax-free savings account. 
Executive Director Nikki Davis says those individuals can only save up to $2,000 at this time. If the ABLE Act passes, Davis says they can save up to $100,000 without losing benefits.
Davis says, "it's a savings account that they can use to save for healthcare expenses, educational expenses, things that sometimes we take for granted."
Congressman Larry Buschon and Senator Joe Donnelly have both come on board with the project. You can sign the act online in a matter of minutes by clicking here. 

How You Can Help Us Pass the ABLE Act Today

from the NDSS:

The "How You Can Help Us Pass the ABLE Act Today" Webinar Video is now available via YouTube. You can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEE7K3zN4lw&feature=plcp

The momentum behind the ABLE Act continues to grow in Congress! We are up to 161 cosponsors in the House and 21 in the Senate. Just a reminder, NDSS has several very simple ways you can help do your part to help us pass the ABLE Act:

1)      Call!

–     Click here  to view the call-in template

2)      Write!

–     Click here  to view the email template

3)      Meet!

–     Click here to view the Senate/House's Congressional calendar so you can find out when your members of Congress are back in your state/district

–     Click ABLE Act District Meeting Request Template for more information and a letter template to set up a district meeting. (If you cannot copy the template from the PDF, click here to visit the ABLE Act section of our website and click "ABLE Act District Meeting Request Template" for a Word version)

4)      Tweet! Post!

–     Take the dialogue to social media

As always, let me know if you have any questions or need any assistance. We are here to support you in all the advocacy work that you do.

Happy Advocating!
Sara

Sara Hart Weir

Vice President, Advocacy & Affiliate Relations

National Down Syndrome Society

Washington, DC

Email: sweir@ndss.org

Phone: 202.680.8867

ABLE Act - Update & Action Needed

From NDSS:

Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE) of 2011 (S. 1872/H.R. 3423)
The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE) of 2011 (S. 1872/H.R. 3423) was introduced on Nov. 15th in the 112th Congress (2011-2012 Congressional cycle). The bill is being led by a bipartisan,bicameral set of Congressional champions, including Senator Robert Casey, Jr., (D-PA), Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).

The ABLE Act will give individuals with disabilities and their families the ability to save for their child's future just like every other American family, and help people with disabilities live full, productive lives in their communities without losing benefits provided through private insurances, the Medicaid program, the supplemental security income program, the beneficiary’s employment, and other sources. The account could fund a variety of essential expenses for individuals, including medical and dental care, education, community based supports, employment training, assistive technology, housing, and transportation.

The ABLE Act provides individuals with disabilities the same types of flexible savings tools that all other Americans have through college savings accounts, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts. The legislation also contains Medicaid fraud protection against abuse and a Medicaid pay-back provision when the beneficiary passes away. It will eliminate barriers to work and saving by preventing dollars saved through ABLE accounts from counting against an individual’s eligibility for any federal benefits program. We currently have 6 cosponsors in the Senate and 40 in the House. If your Member hasn’t signed on, please take a few moments and email your Rep and two Senators by clicking here.
Additional Resources:

Washington Times Article: ABLE Act is a Step Worth Taking
ABLE Act of 2011 Background
ABLE Act Customizable Press Release
ABLE Act Press Conference Photos      
Actress Lauren Potter Speaks Out About the ABLE Act
Press Release: ABLE Coalition Grows to 49 Advocacy Organizations

 

Left: Sophia Pineda, a self-advocate from Fredericksburg, Virginia with Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-Florida) at the ABLE Act Introduction Press Conference

Right: Sara Wolff, self-advocate and NDSS Board Member, speaking at the ABLE Act press conference