George Holding: “I thank the gentleman for the time. Earlier today I had the privilege of meeting with Kenneth Kelty and his mother…”

“I thank the gentleman for the time. Earlier today I had the privilege of meeting with Kenneth Kelty and his mother, Jacqueline. They are from my district, and this is a family who would benefit directly from the ABLE Act and who shared their support of this important bill with me just this afternoon. Kenneth recently graduated from the University Participant Program at Western Carolina University, a program that allows students with disabilities to study side-by-side with other students at the university. In Kenneth's words, it was ``a chance to do all the same things as everyone else with nothing holding us back.'' Kenneth joined a fraternity, had a good time, learned a lot, was able to come back, has a job. Mr. Speaker, just as the University Participant Program helps people with disabilities like Kenneth, so will this bipartisan ABLE Act. This bill will allow tax-free savings accounts for expenses such as housing, education, employment training. Similar to a 529 program college savings account, these accounts will help provide families with some peace of mind when trying to save for their children's long-term expenses. So, Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support the ABLE Act.”