ASAE hosted its annual Legislative Fly-In on March 5-6 in Washington, DC, with association professionals from across the country in town to build support for a pro-association, pro-credentialing workforce development bill. IHMM’s Executive Director Gene Guilford participated and visited with the Maryland Congressional Delegation.
The bipartisan, bicameral Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act (H.R. 1477/S. 722) would expand qualified expenses under 529 savings plans to include postsecondary training and credentialing programs, such as licenses and voluntary certifications offered by many associations.
- By the numbers: The bill has been gaining traction over the past year – the House version has 121 bipartisan cosponsors, up from zero when it was introduced in March 2023; the Senate bill has 19 bipartisan cosponsors.
U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA), who leads H.R. 1477 in the House, helped educate fly-in attendees about his bill during an education session on March 5, speaking alongside Jay Karen, CAE, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association and an ASAE Board member.
Go deeper: Read more about ASAE’s 2024 Fly-In
