ABLE Act of 2011
Latest action · Nov 15, 2011 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 15, 2011
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2011 or the ABLE Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish tax-exempt ABLE accounts to assist an individual with a disability in building an account to pay for qualified disability expenses. Defines "qualified disability expenses" to include expenses for education, a primary residence, transportation, obtaining and maintaining employment, health and wellness, and other personal support expenses.
Treats a qualified ABLE program and an ABLE account in the same manner as a qualified tuition program for income tax purposes (i.e., allowing a tax exemption for such program and an exclusion from gross income of amounts attributable to a contributor to or a beneficiary of a program account). Defines "qualified ABLE program" as a program established and maintained by a state agency under which a person may make contributions to an ABLE account established to pay for qualified disability expenses.
Requires amounts in ABLE accounts to be disregarded in determining eligibility for Medicaid and other means-tested federal programs. Suspends the payment of supplemental security income benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to an individual during any period in which such individual has excess resources attributable to an ABLE account.
Cosponsors 40
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Nov 15, 2011 to Dec 18, 2012; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NC | Richard Burr | Original | Nov 15, 2011 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Nov 17, 2011 | |
| R-MO | Roy Blunt | Nov 17, 2011 | |
| R-MA | Scott P. Brown | Nov 17, 2011 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Nov 17, 2011 | |
| D-IA | Tom Harkin | Dec 5, 2011 | |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Dec 6, 2011 | |
| R-NV | Dean Heller | Dec 8, 2011 | |
| D-MT | Jon Tester | Jan 24, 2012 | |
| R-MS | Roger F. Wicker | Mar 6, 2012 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Boxer | Mar 12, 2012 | |
| R-FL | Marco Rubio | Mar 14, 2012 | |
| R-NE | Mike Johanns | Mar 26, 2012 | |
| R-ME | Susan M. Collins | Apr 26, 2012 | |
| D-SD | Tim Johnson | Apr 26, 2012 | |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | May 14, 2012 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | May 14, 2012 | |
| D-MN | Al Franken | May 15, 2012 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | May 21, 2012 | |
| D-NJ | Frank R. Lautenberg | May 21, 2012 | |
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | Jun 27, 2012 | |
| D-NC | Kay R. Hagan | Jul 17, 2012 | |
| R-TX | Kay Bailey Hutchison | Jul 25, 2012 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Jul 25, 2012 | |
| R-MS | Thad Cochran | Jul 25, 2012 | |
| D-WI | Herb Kohl | Aug 1, 2012 | |
| D-MD | Barbara A. Mikulski | Sep 10, 2012 | |
| R-GA | Johnny Isakson | Sep 10, 2012 | |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Sep 10, 2012 | |
| D-NM | Tom Udall | Sep 10, 2012 | |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Sep 19, 2012 | |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Sep 19, 2012 | |
| D-LA | Mary L. Landrieu | Sep 20, 2012 | |
| D-MA | John F. Kerry | Sep 21, 2012 | |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Sep 21, 2012 | |
| D-AK | Mark Begich | Nov 13, 2012 | |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Nov 14, 2012 | |
| D-VA | Jim Webb | Nov 14, 2012 | |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Nov 15, 2012 | |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Dec 18, 2012 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred Nov 15, 2011 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 15, 2011Introduced in Senate
- Nov 15, 2011Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3423 | ABLE Act of 2011 | Identical bill | Nov 18, 2011 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the tax treatment of ABLE accounts established under State programs for the care of family members with disabilities, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- ABLE Act of 2011
- Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2011
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Taxation.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 15, 2011Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
