History of the ABLE Act
The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2013 (S. 313/H.R.647) was introduced in the 113th Congress by a bipartisan, bicameral set of Congressional Champions including Sens. Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA) and Richard Burr (R-NC), and Reps. Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), and Pete Sessions (R-TX). On December 3, 2014, the ABLE Act passed in the US House of Representatives (404-17). Two weeks later, on December 16, the US Senate voted to pass the ABLE Act as a part of the Tax Extenders package. On Friday, December 19, 2014, the President of the United States signed the Tax Extenders package, making the ABLE Act the law of the land.
The ABLE Act amends Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986 to create tax-free savings accounts for individuals with disabilities. The bill aims to ease financial strains faced by individuals with disabilities by making tax-free savings accounts available to cover qualified expenses such as education, housing, and transportation. The bill supplements, but does not supplant, benefits provided through private insurances, the Medicaid program, the Supplemental Security Income program, the beneficiary’s employment, and other sources.
You can view the legislative summary of H.R. 647 here, and find you if your senators and representative cosponsored the ABLE Act of 2013 by clicking the links below: