[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17698-17699]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              THE ABLE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Crenshaw) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to make my colleagues aware 
of some legislation that I filed this week, along with 28 original 
cosponsors, Democrats and Republicans. The legislation was filed in the 
Senate, as well, so it's a bipartisan, bicameral effort. It's going to 
be known as the ABLE Act, Achieving a Better Life Experience. This is 
legislation that will paint a brighter future, make a brighter pathway 
for individuals with disabilities to meet the uncertainties that they 
face.

[[Page 17699]]

  I think we all recognize that individuals with disabilities, be it 
autism, be it Down's syndrome, they face tremendous challenges today. 
They face struggles, both financial struggles and personal struggles, 
that most of us can't even imagine. And they face those struggles 
without the advantage that our Tax Code offers for a lot of people in 
our society.
  For instance, if you want to save for college, you can set up a tax-
free savings account. The proceeds grow tax free, and you can use those 
moneys to pay your college tuition. If you want to save for retirement, 
you can set up a tax-free savings account. Those proceeds grow tax 
free, and you can use those dollars in your retirement years. If you 
want to save for medical insurance premiums, you can set up a health 
savings account and that account has tax advantages. And yet there are 
no vehicles like that for individuals with disabilities.
  You can imagine, there are real-world examples where individuals with 
disabilities, they receive certain government benefits; but if they 
accumulate more than $2,000 of assets in their own name, then they're 
penalized. We have examples of individuals who have had to say ``no'' 
when somebody wanted to give them a birthday check, to say ``no'' when 
somebody said I'd like to help you with your housing.
  We have to ask ourselves, is this any way to treat those among us who 
are the most disadvantaged? Of course it's not. The answer is, no. 
That's why we have created this legislation. That's why we proposed 
this ABLE Act. It's very simple; it's very straightforward. It's 
understandable. What it does is allow individuals with disabilities to 
set up a tax-free savings account as long as those proceeds are used 
for qualified expenses like maybe special equipment, maybe educational 
needs, maybe transportation or housing. It's only fair that we make our 
Tax Code deal with the injustice that goes on today. It's trying to 
make that Tax Code more fair to treat everyone more equal.
  I think those of us who are more fortunate have an obligation to help 
those who are less fortunate. So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to 
take a look at this. Again, it is bicameral, bipartisan; and it shows 
that we can work together to meet the needs of those among us who need 
our help. It is much needed and it's long overdue, and I hope we can 
pass it this year.

                          ____________________