History Behind the Passage of the ABLE Act
The Stephen Beck Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, best known as the “ABLE Act,” was a legislative concept that took four U.S. Congresses and almost a decade to enact into federal law.
A Kitchen Table Idea
The idea behind the ABLE Act started around a kitchen table in Northern Virginia. After a local board meeting, several parents from the Board of the Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia (DSANV) were discussing the inequities and injustice that existed in the current system as it relates to the ability for individuals with disabilities and their families to save for the future. These five parents sitting around that kitchen table developed the initial idea and were all instrumental in the introduction of the first ABLE bill, which at the time was called the Financial Savings Account for Individuals with Disabilities (FSAID) Act. This bill was introduced in 2006 by the first ABLE Act Champion Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-FL). In 2010, the bill was renamed the ABLE Act in an effort to better define the goals of the legislation. It was ultimately rewritten to place ABLE under the auspices of the 529 college and university savings program in the IRS Tax Code.
The Legislative Process: Making Bipartisan, Bicameral History
National ABLE Act Advocates Sara Wolff (Moscow, PA) and Sara Hart Weir join ABLE Act Congressional Champions Senators Richard Burr and Bob Casey Jr. for a press tour encouraging the US Senate to pass the ABLE Act in December 2014
Senators Robert Casey Jr. (D-PA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) and Representatives Crenshaw (R-FL), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Pete Sessions (R-TX), along with their Congressional staffs, ultimately led the passage of ABLE Act in the 113th Congress with disability advocates. After many years of advocacy, the momentum behind the ABLE Act intensified in the 113th Congress after the bill continued to receive record-breaking cosponsors and media attention.
“By enacting the ABLE Act, we aren’t asking Congress to create a new program or give us a hand out, we are asking Congress to give the disability community the chance to provide and save for themselves through savings tools that all other Americans have access to today.”
- Steve Beck & Sara Hart Weir in The Hill (Nov. 25, 2013)
There were several milestones that supported the passage of the ABLE Act:
In February 2014, Sara Wolff authored a change.org petition calling on Congress to pass the ABLE Act. Sara was motivated by her personal journey of losing her incredible mother to cancer. Sara’s petition garnered more than 260,000 signatures and her petition and message served as the catalyst for building national momentum and political support behind the ABLE Act, including a legislative endorsement by the New York Times.
On July 23, 2014, the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight held a Congressional hearing entitled, Saving for an Uncertain Future: How the ABLE Act can Help People with Disabilities and their Families, where Sara Wolff testified.
On July 31st, 2014, the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously passed the ABLE Act out of Committee.
On December 3, 2014, the US House of Representatives passed the ABLE Act 404-17.
The US Senate passed the ABLE Act as part of the Tax Extenders Package of 2014 on December 17, 2014.
The Stephen Beck Jr. ABLE Act (Public Law 113-295) was signed into law on December 19, 2014 by President Barack Obama as part of the end of the year tax extenders package.
The ABLE Act is named after the late Stephen Beck Jr., a father of two daughters – Mariae Rose and Natalie – who made it his life’s passion to ensure that Natalie, who happens to have Down syndrome, had the same opportunities to save as everyone else. Beck passed away just days after the US House of Representatives passed the ABLE Act and was one of the five parents around the Northern Virginia kitchen table.
Real People, Real Stories Making a Difference and Making History
The bill garnered the support of 85 percent of the entire 113th Congress – 381 of 435 US Representatives and 78 of 100 US Senators cosponsored the legislation, making it one of the most bipartisan laws ever passed in the history of any Congress. The National Down Syndrome Society and Autism Speaks led the advocacy effort behind the bill’s passage, along with almost 100 national disability organizations and other key stakeholders. On February 10, 2015, leading advocacy organizations like the National Down Syndrome Society, Autism Speaks, the Beck Family and several advocates from the disability community from around the country joined then-Vice President Joe Biden at the White House to celebrate the passage of the landmark disability rights law.
The ABLE Act stands for much more than being able to open up a tax-advantaged 529A account for people with disabilities. The ABLE Act sends a message (for the first time ever) that people with disabilities, and their families, can save their own money without jeopardizing necessary federal benefits like Medicaid and SSI. For people with disabilities and their families, this is the first major legislative victory towards greater economic self-sufficiency.
The ABLE Act and Beyond
Since 2015, 49 states have enacted state ABLE laws (and technical and tax incentive legislative changes). As a result of state level advocacy, there are 46 states and the District of Columbia currently offering ABLE Programs.
At the federal level, the Stephen Beck Jr., ABLE Act has been improved three times by Congress, these changes include:
Elimination of the state resident requirement allowing individuals with disabilities to open an account in any state (except Florida) in 2015
ABLE to Work Act, allowing an ABLE Account holder to contribute an amount equal to their current year’s gross income (up to $12,990 in 2022) in addition to the annual standard contribution limit of $16,000 (a total of $28,990 per year) in 2017
ABLE Financial Planning Act, allowing families may now roll over funds from a 529 plan to another family member's ABLE account in 2017