HLS 21RS-2876 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 99
BY REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS
CONGRESS: Memorializes congress to support the ABLE Age Adjustment Act
1 A RESOLUTION
2To memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to pass the
3 ABLE Age Adjustment Act.
4 WHEREAS, the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, also known as the ABLE
5Act, was passed by Congress and subsequently signed into law in 2014; and
6 WHEREAS, the ABLE Act has created tax-advantaged savings accounts known as
7"ABLE accounts" for persons with disabilities and has allowed funds to be withdrawn from
8the accounts to cover costs of health care, employment support, housing, transportation,
9assistive technology, and lifelong education for those persons; and
10 WHEREAS, ABLE accounts are subject to the same tax treatment as the popular
11education savings accounts commonly called "529 plans"; and
12 WHEREAS, the ABLE Act has created a powerful incentive for individuals and
13families to save private funds for the purpose of supporting persons with disabilities in
14maintaining health, independence, and quality of life; and
15 WHEREAS, the ABLE Act, as enacted, stipulates that funds held in an ABLE
16account do not count toward any maximum limit on a person's assets upon which eligibility
17for a means-tested federal program may be contingent; and
18 WHEREAS, savings in an ABLE account do not jeopardize a person's eligibility for
19programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income; and
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HR NO. 99
1 WHEREAS, the asset limits of such programs had previously forced low-income
2persons into the difficult decision of whether to spend their limited resources, down to two
3thousand dollars in most cases, in order to become eligible for needed assistance; and
4 WHEREAS, the ABLE Act, as enacted, includes a fiscal safeguard for states by
5providing that if the ABLE account beneficiary dies or his disability ceases and assets
6remain in the account, the assets will first be distributed to any state Medicaid plan that
7provided assistance to the person; and
8 WHEREAS, as evidenced by the party affiliations of its seventy-eight original
9cosponsors being almost perfectly balanced, the ABLE Act legislation enjoys broad
10bipartisan support; and
11 WHEREAS, the ABLE Act embodies sound economic policy by encouraging
12savings and asset building; and
13 WHEREAS, the ABLE Act promotes important values that our nation holds dear by
14providing that every citizen living with a disability has the opportunity to attain
15independence and an improved quality of life; and
16 WHEREAS, prior to its passing, a limitation was added to the Able Act, which limits
17the benefits to persons who had the onset of disability before the age of twenty-six; and
18 WHEREAS, this age limitation has prevented many persons and families from
19receiving the many benefits of the ABLE Act; and
20 WHEREAS, the ABLE Age Adjustment Act has been introduced as S. 331 and H.R.
211219 in the One Hundred Seventeenth United States Congress; and
22 WHEREAS, the Able Age Adjustment Act would make the provisions of the ABLE
23Act available to persons who had the onset of disability before the age of forty-six; and
24 WHEREAS, if passed, the ABLE Age Adjustment Act would make six million more
25persons with disabilities eligible for ABLE accounts; and
26 WHEREAS, if passed, the ABLE Age Adjustment Act would also help states keep
27administrative costs for the state ABLE programs low; and
28 WHEREAS, as evidenced by the party affiliations of its sixty-five cosponsors, the
29ABLE Age Adjustment Act has broad bipartisan support.
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HR NO. 99
1 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
2memorialize the United States Congress to take such actions as are necessary to pass the
3ABLE Age Adjustment Act.
4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
5presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the
6United States of America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 99 Original 2021 Regular Session Davis
Memorializes Congress to pass the ABLE Age Adjustment Act.
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