{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/sens-warner-and-kaine-lead-senate-majority-in-effort-to-allow-rollovers-for-fsa-accounts", "Sens. Warner and Kaine Lead Senate Majority In Effort To Allow Rollovers For FSA Accounts", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Tim Kaine", "K000384", "www.kaine.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sens. Warner and Kaine Lead Senate Majority In Effort To Allow Rollovers For FSA Accounts\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThursday, December 19, 2013\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today,\u00a0U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, joined by their Senate colleagues Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), led an effort in the Senate urging Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kathleen Archuleta to allow federal workers the opportunity to take advantage of the new Treasury/IRS rule allowing a $500 rollover of unused health Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA) funds towards out-of-pocket health care costs and\u00a0help keep families and consumers in control of their health care decisions. The letter received the support of all 53 Senate Democrats and two Independents and follows a notable change by the Department of the Treasury on October 31that gives employers a choice to roll over their employees\u2019 FSA fund to the following year, or provide a grace period to use available funds in the following year.\r\n\u201cIt is unreasonable to expect health FSA participants to accurately forecast their out-of-pocket medical expenses a year in advance, and it is unfair to penalize them at the end of the plan year should their estimates prove to be inaccurate,\u201d\u00a0the Senators wrote in their letter.\u00a0 According to OPM\u2019s own data, in 2012, 30,940 federal employees \u2013 nearly 10 percent of participating employees -- forfeited an average of $392 each in contributions because of the \u201cuse-or-lose\u201d rule.\r\nThe Senators noted that the U.S. Treasury and IRS have recognized the value of providing a rollover option for employees nationwide. \u201cWe urge you to provide this benefit to federal employees without delay,\u201d they added.\r\nA copy of the letter can be found here and below.\r\nDirector Katherine Archuleta  U.S. Office of Personnel Management  1900 E Street, N.W.  Washington, DC 20415\u00a0\r\nDear Director Archuleta:\u00a0\r\nWe write to urge you to modify the \u201cuse-or-lose\u201d rule for Health Flexible Spending Arrangements available to federal employees through the FSAFEDS program to allow an annual rollover of up to $500 in unspent funds.\r\nThe health FSA is an important financial tool that permits workers to set aside up to $2,500 annually in tax-preferred accounts to pay for unreimbursed health expenses, such as copayments for doctor visits, prescription drugs, and medical supplies. Surveys of eligible participants indicate the primary reason for declining to enroll or for underfunding their accounts I concern about the \u201cuse-or-lose\u201d rule, which requires participants to spend their entire contribution before the end of their plan year or forfeit the unused funds back to their employer.\r\nAccording to OPM data, in 2012, approximately 322,700 federal workers held health FSAs, and the average election amount was $2,050. That year, 30,940 federal employees forfeited an average of $392 each in contributions because of the \u201cuse-or-lose\u201d rule. It is unreasonable to expect health FSA participants to accurately forecast their out-of-pocket medical expenses a year in advance, and it is unfair to penalize them at the end of the plan year should their estimates prove to be inaccurate.\r\nFortunately, on October 31, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issues a notice modifying the \u201cuse-or-lose\u201d rule for health FSAs, permitting employers to allow participants to carry over up to $500 of their unused balances remaining at the end of a plan year. Some plan sponsors have chosen to adopt the carryover provisions for 2013, but federal employees may only benefit from the Treasury/IRS ruling if your agency takes action. We are told that, as of last week, OPM had not yet decided whether to extend the carryover option to the federal workforce.\r\nWe urge you to provide this benefit to federal employees without delay.\r\nSincerely,\r\nBen Cardin  Barbara Mikulski  Mark Warner  Tim Kaine  Tammy Baldwin  Max Baucus  Mark Begich  Michael Bennet  Richard Blumenthal  Cory Booker  Barbara Boxer  Sherrod Brown  Maria Cantwell  Tom Carper  Robert Casey  Chris Coons  Joe Donnelly  Richard Durbin  Dianne Feinstein  Al Franken  Kirsten Gillibrand  Kay Hagan  Tom Harkin  Heidi Heitkamp  Martin Heinrich  Mazie Hirono  Tim Johnson  Angus King  Amy Klobuchar  Mary Landrieu  Patrick Leahy  Carl Levin  Joe Manchin  Claire McCaskill  Ed Markey  Robert Menendez  Jeff Merkley  Chris Murphy  Patty Murray  Bill Nelson  Mark Pryor  Jack Reed  Harry Reid  John Rockefeller  Bernie Sanders  Charles Schumer  Brian Schatz  Jeanne Shaheen  Debbie Stabenow  Jon Tester  Mark Udall  Tom Udall  Elizabeth Warren  Sheldon Whitehouse  Ron Wyden\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/sens-warner-and-kaine-lead-senate-majority-in-effort-to-allow-rollovers-for-fsa-accounts"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6896329578012228, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}