The recent passage of the ABLE Act and its forthcoming signature by the President will represent a significant step forward to building a meaningful pathway into the middle class for people with disabilities. The ABLE Act allows people with disabilities to save money without losing access to Medicaid and other means-tested public programs. ASAN applauds Congressional leaders and our champions in Congress for advancing ABLE and looks forward to working with our partners in the executive branch to see it implemented in a fashion consistent with the integration of people with disabilities into the workforce.
At the same time, we affirm the importance of working to lift the Supplemental Security Income asset cap for all people with disabilities. Since the 1980s, the SSI asset cap has prevented people with disabilities from saving more than $2,000, a number that has not been adjusted for inflation. While ABLE provides those with disabilities that manifest prior to age 26 with a new tool to save money, it does not remove the underlying need for broad-based reforms to the SSI and SSDI programs to open up a pathway for Americans with disabilities to enter the workforce. We urge our Congressional champions to continue to work with the disability community on these critical issues.