Posted on 03/24/2014 6:31:38 PM PDT by mdittmar
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell co-sponsored bipartisan legislation today to assist Kentuckians with disabilities and parents who have children with disabilities by creating a tax-deferred savings account to be used for education, housing, transportation, employment support, and other qualified disability-related expenses.
The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2013, creates a tax-deferred savings account (529 plan) for individuals and families to help pay disability-related expenses without jeopardizing access to their federal and state disability benefits. Previously, Senator McConnell led a bipartisan effort to enact legislation to offer federal tax relief for college savings plans through creation of the 529 plan.
“I have heard from many parents across Kentucky who have children with disabilities who find it difficult to encourage their independence and save money for the future,” Senator McConnell said. “I proudly support the ABLE Act on behalf of the Kentucky families, children, and individuals living with disabilities, and I look forward to working with Kentucky families and organizations to help get this legislation through the Senate.”
National Down Syndrome Society DS-Ambassador Lynn Braker of Lexington, Kentucky said, “It really means so much to my family and the Down syndrome community as a whole that Senator McConnell has cosponsored the ABLE Act. His leadership and willingness to sign on to this monumental bill means a much better life for my son, Anderson, and the millions of people with Down syndrome and other disabilities in the US. The ABLE Act will help individuals with disabilities realize and achieve their own hopes, dreams, and aspirations, and we are thrilled that Senator McConnell is committed to helping us make that happen.”
Anne Gregory, from Louisville and the Kentucky Autism Speaks state coordinator, who advocated on behalf of the ABLE bill during a visit to Senator McConnell’s office said, “I am so pleased to learn that Senator McConnell is co-sponsoring this critical legislation benefiting families affected by autism and other disabilities. A family can save tax-free college funds for their children under a 529 PLAN; it is only equitable they should be able to do the same for the life-long expenses of their loved ones with disabilities, which typically far exceed the average college tuition."
Senator McConnell has heard from and met with a number of individuals regarding the issue, including Rachel Putnam of Frankfort, Kentucky, who visited Senator McConnell on February 27, 2014 to present the senator with the National Down Syndrome Society’s Champion of Change Award.
Does that include people handicapped by being born with no backbone, no guts and no testicles like him????
Well, McConnell, if you want to help the folks with disabilities in Kentucky, quit the US Legislature, run for office in Kentucky, and raise the taxes of Kentuckians to help Kentuckians.
LoL!
***Courage in Action Alert***
For those who live in Kentucky, this restores using pre-tax dollars to pay for medication, assistance and other needs which Obamacare ELIMINATED, creating a huge tax burden on families of those with disabled children or chronic health conditions.
Great for Kentucky -- but what about the rest of us Mitch? Better yet, why not champion the bill to REPEAL that piece of shit called Obamacare!?
No he's a politician, for them it's considered an advantage not a disability.
Pathetic election-year pandering
Sad to see,guess that’s what happens.
McConnell is blatantly buying votes. What a creep. Kentucky — throw his butt out of the Senate.
I’m not really sure how allowing people to keep more of the money they earn, in order to spend that money on services for dependents (the same dependents they can spend untaxed dollars on for significantly less necessary items such as Band-aids) is “buying votes.”
Your heart is in the right place, making sure we’re not giving people others money so they vote for you, but this is not one of those cases - people are simply being allowed to keep more of their own money.
Sounds like the plan from a while back, that would allow people to keep their Social Security taxes and invest it on their own.
“simply being allowed to keep more of their own money.”
Mighty white of old Mitch to propose that..
A politician who will run again expects to be voted for...
how ghastly.
Yup. McConnell is ghastly...no spine, no guts, no principles, and no good.
Perhaps, but I don’t see how it is conservative to resist allowing people to keep more of their own money. Again, McConnell isn’t taking one groups money to give it to another group, he is trying to allow people to keep more of their own money to use as they please. In this case, to pay for services for individuals with disabilities. Without this, insurance and Social Security Disability are left to pay the entire bill (i.e., taking money from one group to give to another ONLY). This reduces that, slightly, allowing people to pay from their own money without the government having to first touch it.
Regardless of his “intent” (which we will never truly know and can only assume), it seems counter-productive to resist implementing what we constantly call for (letting people keep more of their own money to spend as they please) simply because, in one case, a politician has to agree.
I trust Mitch McConnell to do something positive out of his compassion for his constituents about as far as I can throw the RMS Queen Mary’s anchor. I believe your trust in him is truly misplaced; it assumes a fact not in evidence.
I believe that Mitch McConnell is totally without a moral or ethical compass to guide him and sees this legislation only as a way to keep himself at the public trough, gorging on the taxpayer’s money.
However, you are free to your opinion. We will see if his Kentucky constituents buy it at primary election time.
I never said, one way or the other, whether I “trusted” McConnell. Again, regardless of his intent, do you have so much hate that you will betray your own principles (letting people keep more of their OWN money) simply to try to “harm” a single person?
I don’t understand why this is so difficult. You seem to be more interested in letting the government keep more of everyone’s money (and thus maintain their current power and practices) than actually reducing the power and money held by the federal government, all so you can “harm” McConnell.
As for me, I've got the albatross of Dickie Durbin to contend with. I want Durbin gone AND McConnell gone from the scene. The legislation McConnell's pushing is smoke and mirrors — boob-bait for the bubbas.
Mark Twain opined that, “If you see a man approaching you with the obvious intent of doing you good, you should run for your life.”
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