[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 174 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 174
To put a college education within reach, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 15, 2003
Mr. Biden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To put a college education within reach, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Tuition Assistance for Families
Act''.
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF TUITION TAX DEDUCTION.
(a) In General.--Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 222(b)(2) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to dollar limitation) are
amended to read as follows:
``(A) In general.--The applicable dollar limit
shall be equal to--
``(i) in the case of a taxpayer whose
adjusted gross income for the taxable year does
not exceed $65,000 ($130,000 in the case of a
joint return), $12,000,
``(ii) with respect to any taxable year
beginning in 2004 or 2005, in the case of a
taxpayer not described in clause (i) whose
adjusted gross income for the taxable year does
not exceed $80,000 ($160,000 in the case of a
joint return), $2,000, and
``(iii) in the case of any other taxpayer,
zero.
``(B) Inflation adjustment.--
``(i) In general.--In the case of any
taxable year beginning after 2003, each dollar
amount referred to in subparagraph (A)(i) shall
be increased by an amount equal to--
``(I) such dollar amount,
multiplied by
``(II) the cost-of-living
adjustment determined under section
(1)(f)(3) for the calendar year in
which the taxable year begins, by
substituting `2002' for `1992'.
``(ii) Rounding.--If any amount as adjusted
under clause (i) is not a multiple of $100,
such amount shall be rounded to the next lowest
multiple of $100.''.
(b) Permanent Deduction.--Section 222 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (relating to qualified tuition and related expenses) is amended
by striking subsection (e).
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to payments made in taxable years beginning after December 31,
2002.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF LIFETIME LEARNING CREDIT.
(a) In General.--Section 25A(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (relating to per taxpayer credit) is amended--
(1) by striking ``20 percent'' and inserting ``25
percent'', and
(2) by striking ``$10,000 ($5,000 in the case of taxable
years beginning before January 1, 2003)'' and inserting
``$12,000''.
(b) Inflation Adjustment.--Section 25A(h) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (relating to inflation adjustments) is amended by adding
at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Dollar limitation on amount of lifetime learning
credit.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of any taxable year
beginning after 2003, the dollar amount referred to in
subsection (c)(1) shall be increased by an amount equal
to--
``(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by
``(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment
determined under section (1)(f)(3) for the
calendar year in which the taxable year begins,
by substituting `2002' for `1992'.
``(B) Rounding.--If any amount as adjusted under
subparagraph (A) is not a multiple of $100, such amount
shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple of
$100.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to payments made in taxable years beginning after December 31,
2002.
SEC. 4. INCREASE IN INCOME LIMITS FOR HOPE AND LIFETIME LEARNING
CREDITS.
(a) In General.--Section 25A(d)(2)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (relating to limitation based on modified adjusted gross
income) is amended by striking ``$40,000 ($80,000'' and inserting
``$55,000 ($110,000''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 25A(h)(2)(A) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
(1) by striking ``2001'' in the matter preceding clause (i)
and inserting ``2003'',
(2) by striking ``the $40,000 and $80,000 amounts'' in such
matter and inserting ``the $55,000 and $110,000 amounts'', and
(3) by striking ``2000'' in clause (ii) and inserting
``2002''..
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to payments made in taxable years beginning after December 31,
2002.
SEC. 5. MAXIMUM PELL GRANT AWARDS.
The Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2002 (Public Law
107-116) is amended under the heading ``Student Financial Assistance''
by striking ``$4,000'' and inserting ``$4,500''.
SEC. 6. ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIPS.
(a) Scholarships.--The Secretary of Education is authorized to
award a scholarship for academic year 2003-2004 and succeeding academic
years to each student in a State who graduated in the top 5 percent of
such student's graduating class from an accredited secondary school in
academic year 2002-2003 or a succeeding academic year to enable such
student to pay the cost of attendance at an institution of higher
education.
(b) Amount.--Each scholarship awarded under this section shall be
in the amount of $1,000.
(c) Use.--Each student awarded a scholarship under this section
shall use the funds to pay the cost of attendance at an institution of
higher education.
(d) Construction of Needs Provision.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
nothing in this section, or any other Act, shall be construed
to permit the receipt of a scholarship under this section to be
counted for any needs test in connection with the awarding of
any grant or the making of any loan under the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) or any other provision of
Federal law relating to educational assistance.
(2) Exception.--In determining the need of a student for
Federal financial assistance, an institution of higher
education may take into consideration the amount of scholarship
assistance received under this section if the total amount of
scholarship assistance received under this section plus the
amount of other financial assistance available to a student
exceeds the student's cost of attendance at the institution.
(e) Regulations.--The Secretary of Education shall promulgate
regulations regarding how scholarships awarded under this section will
be allocated to both public and private school students.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Cost of attendance.--The term `cost of attendance' has
the meaning given the term in section 472 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll).
(2) Institution of higher education.--The term `institution
of higher education' has the meaning given the term in section
101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
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