Boozman, Schmitt, Van Hollen champion bipartisan legislation to support Americans with disabilities

WASHINGTON––U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) partnered with Senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to introduce the Ensuring Nationwide Access to Better Life Experience (ENABLE) Act, bipartisan legislation to make several provisions related to Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) savings accounts permanent.

ABLE accounts allow Americans with disabilities and their families to utilize tax-free savings programs without losing eligibility for federal programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income.

“Individuals with disabilities and their loved ones need flexibility to help meet financial needs. Giving them that opportunity is common sense and I’m pleased to support a bipartisan effort to ensure they can continue to save for the future and achieve financial security free from costly penalties,” said Boozman.

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“I was proud to lead the introduction of the ENABLE Act in the 118th Congress, where this critical legislation passed the Senate. I entered public service to fight for people like my son Stephen. Stephen was born with a rare genetic disease, is on the autism spectrum, has epilepsy, and is non-verbal. I know firsthand how critical ABLE accounts are to individuals with disabilities and their families. ABLE accounts allow individuals with disabilities to save for their future and ease burdens on their families. It’s a common-sense solution that provides an easy fix for those who depend on ABLE accounts, and I’m proud to have bipartisan, bicameral support for this important piece of legislation,” said Schmitt.

“I worked alongside a bipartisan coalition to create the ABLE Program over a decade ago to expand financial tools for people with disabilities and their families. Since then, it has helped empower more than a hundred thousand Americans and provide greater flexibility for families to support loved ones with disabilities. Making these key ABLE provisions permanent will build on the success of the ABLE Act and allow these Americans and many more to continue growing their savings and strengthening their economic independence,” said Van Hollen.

The ENABLE Act will make the below provisions that are set to expire this year permanent:

• 529 to ABLE Rollover: Permits an individual with a disability to rollover savings from a 529 education savings account to an ABLE account that are less than or equal to the annual ABLE contribution limit tax and penalty free;

• ABLE Saver’s Credit: Permits an individual with a disability who makes qualified contributions to an ABLE account eligible for a nonrefundable saver’s credit of up to $1,000; and

• ABLE to Work: Permits an individual with a disability who is employed to contribute an additional amount to his or her ABLE account provided it is not greater than either the prior year’s federal poverty level for a one-person household ($15,060 in 2024), or the beneficiary’s yearly compensation.

The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Katie Britt (R-AL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Fetterman (D-PA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chris Coons (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ). 

Congressmen Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11) and Don Beyer (D-VA-08) have introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Click here to view the text of the bill

Boozman, Sheehy, Van Hollen introduce Bipartisan Legislation to assist veterans with home ownership

WASHINGTON––U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the bipartisan VA Home Loan Awareness Act to help more veterans take advantage of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Loan program and achieve home ownership. 

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The VA Home Loan program offers veterans no down payment, no private mortgage insurance and interest rates that are often lower than rates for conventional FHA loans. Despite these benefits, only 13 percent of veterans access the VA Home Loan program. Among veterans who don’t use the VA Home Loan program, 33 percent say they are not aware of the program.

“By making extra effort to inform veterans of the benefits they have earned, we can help the men and women who have served fulfill the American dream of home ownership,” said Boozman. “The VA Home Loan program has been historically underutilized, and I am pleased to see bipartisan support to increase awareness about its potential to help improve the lives of our veterans and their families.”

“For decades, owning a home has been the bedrock of the American Dream, but too often, those who have put their lives on the line for our country have been hampered by a lack of information from their own government. I’m proud to join Senator Van Hollen and my other colleagues in introducing this commonsense measure to empower our veterans with the knowledge and resources necessary to secure a VA Home Loan and achieve the same dream they fought to defend,” said Sheehy.

“After serving our country in uniform, our veterans deserve the support of a grateful nation. The VA Home Loan Program is one way we provide that support – by helping veterans purchase homes. But far too many of our veterans are unaware of this program and what it has to offer. Our bipartisan bill will help ensure more veterans and their families have the opportunity to use it to achieve their goal of homeownership,” said Van Hollen.

The VA Home Loan Awareness Act will help better inform veterans of opportunities provided by the VA Home Loan program by adding a disclosure to the Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) informing veterans they may be eligible for a VA Home Loan, directing applicants to consult their lender for more information about the VA Home Loan program, and instructing the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a review and report to Congress on lenders’ adoption of these URLA updates.

The legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Ted Budd (R-NC), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Peter Welch (D-VT), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), John Kennedy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

Click here to read the text of the legislation.

U.S. Congressman French Hill urges Federal Reserve to make payments easier for American families and small businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. French Hill (AR-02) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell with Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Young Kim (R-CA), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA) about modernizing our nation’s existing payments infrastructure by expanding the operating days and hours of interbank settlement services to support operations over weekends and holidays, and ultimately 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

In their letter to Chair Powell, the lawmakers write:

Dear Chair Powell, 

We write to you about modernizing our nation’s existing payments infrastructure by expanding the operating days and hours of interbank settlement services to support operations over weekends and holidays, and ultimately 24x7x365.

We were pleased to see the Federal Reserve Board announce last month that it is taking steps to expand the operating days and hours of the National Settlement Service (NSS) and Fedwire Funds Service (Fedwire) to 22x7x365 in 2027.

The Federal Reserve’s 2015 report titled Strategies for Improving the U.S. Payment System acknowledged that this expansion “has the potential to empower private-sector innovation around solutions for making payments faster, safer, and more efficient” for consumers and businesses. In the last nine years since the publishing of this report, the Federal Reserve has made progress on several key priorities. Since the report’s publication, we have seen multiple expansions in the operating days and hours of interbank settlement services to accommodate faster and more efficient interbank payments.

The ACH Network currently processes and clears payments 23¼ hours every banking day, but private-sector ACH operators can only conduct interbank settlement when the wholesale payment services are open and available. Expanding the operating days and hours of the NSS and Fedwire will further allow the ACH Network to settle payments during additional days and times of the week, and it will enable the continued adoption of real-time payments.

This would benefit workers and consumers by enabling people to receive funds for payroll Direct Deposits on weekends and holidays, which is especially important for gig workers and those working shifts. It would also allow Americans to transfer money between accounts at night and on weekends and holidays, something they currently cannot do. Enabling ACH payments to settle on weekends and holidays through expanded days and hours can help consumers manage their own cash flow, pay their bills on time, and avoid late fees, as well as reduce the overall cost of payments to consumers. Expanding the days and hours of interbank settlement services would also especially benefit small businesses by allowing for quicker access to funds from card sales instead of having to wait for the next banking day.

As the Federal Reserve’s own staff memo to the Board of Governors states, expanding the operating hours would “improve the nation’s payment and settlement infrastructure … [and] support the safety and efficiency of the U.S. payments system.” Doing so would also bring other benefits such as “improving the credit risk and operational efficiency of … retail payment arrangements, spurring innovation in new or enhanced private-sector payment solutions, and supporting more efficient cross-border payment flows, among others.”

We believe it is important for the Federal Reserve to prioritize its work and act swiftly to expand the operating days and hours of the NSS and Fedwire. Please respond to the following questions by July 31, 2024:

• How did the Federal Reserve Board reach its decision to propose expanding the operating hours no sooner than 2027? Please describe the rationale in detail, including why the Board proposed a two-year delay following the implementation of the ISO 20022 message format for Fedwire in March 2025, and whether any other time periods were considered.

• What factors would the Federal Reserve consider as it potentially expands the operating hours sooner than 2027?

• How is the Federal Reserve thinking about an expansion of operating hours to the full 24x7x365 versus 22x7x365? What kind of feedback will the Federal Reserve consider regarding the constraints, preferences, and demand related to full 24x7 operating hours?

• What technological, operational, infrastructure, staffing, resource, risk, and other factors are the Federal Reserve analyzing as it considers expanding the operating days and hours of its wholesale payment services? Please expand on the “operational and technical changes” that expanded hours would impose on the Reserve Banks and participants.