SOURCE: Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA)
SILVER SPRING, MD (July 12, 2018) – Today, the top congressional tax committee, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways & Means, approved the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act, by a vote of 28-6. The PHIT Act was passed through the committee, and will be part of a larger package of health savings account (HSA) reform measures that the full House will vote on later this month.
“We are very encouraged by the progress the PHIT Act made today in Congress; this is the closest PHIT has come to becoming law since its inception,” said SFIA President and CEO, Tom Cove. “While the positive vote today has left us very hopeful that it will pass this year, we still have work to do. SFIA remains committed to leading the effort to increase activity in America.”
The Sports &Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) recognized the impact of cost on the decline of physical activity early on, and drafted the PHIT bill in 2006. In 2007, former Ways & Means Committee member Jerry Weller (D-IL) introduced PHIT, and the support has been building ever since. The Ways & Means Committee giving PHIT the nod on a bipartisan basis is a huge step in the process.
SFIA will continue to work with our partners and Congress to further refine the bill to ensure that it maximizes the incentive for individuals to be physically active. Cost has become a barrier to activity for too many families and the PHIT Act will lower this barrier to help move more kids from inactive to active. A culture change in America to more active lifestyles is crucial to improving the health of our country and our economy, and it starts with getting children off the couch.
ABOUT SFIA:
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visitwww.sfia.org.
