On November 24, National Disability Institute (NDI) Executive Director Michael Morris issued the following statement on the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2013 (H.R. 647 / S. 313):
“We at NDI wanted to reaffirm our position on the need for and passage of the ABLE Act. After eight years of hard work, we are closer than ever to getting the ABLE Act through Congress and on the President’s desk. A major victory for the disability community, ABLE, for the very first time in our country’s policy on disability, recognizes that there are added costs to living with a disability related to accessible housing, transportation, personal assistance services, healthcare, and technology. While the bill is far from perfect, as is the vast majority of legislation, the ABLE Act lays the groundwork for greater financial independence and quality-of-life experience among people and families living with disabilities. Although we are disappointed individuals over the age of 26 will be unable to access ABLE accounts at this time, please rest assured we will continue to work closely with Congress and the Obama administration to identify, develop, and open more economic pathways to all people with disabilities-including expanded access to ABLE accounts.”
For more information on the ABLE Act and to learn how you can help, visit www.realeconomicimpact.org/Public-Policy/ABLE-Act.aspx.