Delegate Filler-Corn Receives Award for Disability Advocacy Work

The Virginia Rehabilitation Association (VRA), vaACCSES - Virginia Association of Community Rehabilitation Programs and the Virginia Association of People Supporting Employment First (Virginia APSE) selected Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn to be the recipient of their annual 2016 Collaborations Leadership Award for her passionate advocacy for people with disabilities for her passage of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act in 2015.

The award is a joint award by these three statewide associations in Virginia to recognize an individual for outstanding leadership in making a difference in the lives of Virginians with disabilities. This year they chose to honor both Delegate Filler-Corn and Speaker of the House of Delegates, William “Bill” Howell. Howell’s Chief of Staff, Kathy Roberts, was in attendance to accept the award on his behalf.

“As a legislator it is important to actively give a voice to those who either might not have one or maybe speak in a non-traditional way. That is why I introduced the ABLE Act, because I believe that we must advocate for all Virginians to ensure that everyone can succeed,” said Filler-Corn upon accepting the award. The 2015 law, introduced by Filler-Corn creates 529 savings accounts for people with disabilities. She followed this in 2016 with an additional bill that ensured the accounts were exempt from means testing, as well as advocating to ensure there was an income tax deduction for contributions to these accounts. “I love that this award recognizes ‘collaboration.’ That is the core of my legislative strategy and agenda.” she added.

Filler-Corn then told the story of how the ABLE Act came to be, from the kitchen table of Burke residents Catherine and Stephen Beck to the halls of Congress in Washington and the General Assembly in Richmond. Commenting on the tremendous work of so many for this process, Filler-Corn added, “It’s truly incredible what you can accomplish when you work collaboratively. While sometimes progress can be incremental, by working together we can move the ball forward for everyone—and do our best to ensure no one gets left behind.”

ABLE Accounts will become available for Virginians next month.