Treasury Response on Use-It-Or-Lose-It Rule

Treasury Response on Use-It-Or-Lose-It Rule

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, last August asked the Treasury Department to improve the use-it-or-lose-it rule for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). He made the following comment today on the Treasury Department's response.

"I'm glad the Treasury Department is looking at ways to improve the use-it-or-lose-it rule, but I'm disappointed that the department seems reluctant to make changes to a proposed rule that's never been finalized. That rule doesn't pass the common sense test, and it's hurt taxpayers for more than 20 years. I also don't understand the argument that the Treasury Department and the IRS don't have the power to change the rule. If they wrote it, surely they have the power to change it. Regardless, I want to resolve this issue, and I'm looking for the best way to do that. Americans need every possible tool to meet their health care expenses. I hope they don't have to wait another 20 years before someone writes a more common sense rule."

Grassley's initial request to the Treasury Department follows. A copy of the Treasury Department's response is available on the Finance Committee website at http://finance.senate.gov.

http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=4865&Month=1&Year=2005