Achieving a Better Life Experience Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I think everyone here would agree that the goals of the ABLE Act are worthy. The bill's title stands for achieving better life experience, and it would allow for the creation of tax-free savings accounts to benefit individuals with disabilities. These accounts would provide a way for families raising children with disabilities to set aside savings for their child's care.

What I am concerned about is the offsets. The bill before us today uses Medicare cuts to pay for a tax break. Medicare is a program that seniors and people with disabilities depend upon for their health care, and we should not be cutting Medicare to pay for this bill.

Meanwhile, we all know that our efforts to permanently repeal and replace the SGR in the lameduck are, unfortunately, falling flat. And while I hope we can still pass SGR this month, if it does not get done, we are going to have a Medicare bill that will cost tens of billions of dollars in March, and Republicans will force us to pay for every last dime, and here we are, using $1.2 billion in health offsets for non-health bills.

In addition to the Medicare offsets, there are other offsets included in this bill that are troublesome. The provision on certified professional employer organizations could have a negative effect on worker rights, including collective bargaining and organizing and worker protections.

I say again, the goals of the ABLE Act are laudable. I hope that our Senate colleagues will send the bill back to us without these offensive offsets so that we can enact a good law that we can all be proud of.

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