[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 86 (Thursday, June 19, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H4072-H4073]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF THE LIFETIME LEARNING AFFORDABILITY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Rothman] is recognized for 5 minutes.

[[Page H4073]]

  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, today is the day that we from Bergen and 
Hudson Counties in New Jersey are putting forth a plan to solve the 
education crisis we face as a Nation.
  Yesterday's headlines could not have been more timely nor more 
accurate in describing the hardship our families are experiencing in 
affording their children's college education and the importance of a 
college education itself. The New York Times put it best: ``Rising 
college costs imperil the Nation.''
  A report commissioned by a private company said that at the current 
rate, tuition will double by the year 2015, effectively shutting off 
higher education to half of those who are qualified and wish to pursue 
one.
  This report only echoes what I have been hearing around my district 
for the last 6 months from parents, students, teachers, and college 
administrators in Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey.
  Lisa Kelly, an employment counselor at Hackensack High School, came 
to a college finance workshop I hosted because she has a young boy 3 
years old, and she is scared, scared about how she is going to afford 
college for him, and scared about the next 15 years and about her 
ability to save money for his education. But her son is fortunate 
because Mrs. Kelly is starting to save for college right now.
  I met with students in Wallington, New Jersey, like Conrad 
Sopeelnikov, who finished number one in his class in high school, is a 
star football player, and has already spoken with Yale's football coach 
about that school. But that conversation will be in vain if Conrad is 
not given scholarships and financial aid.
  I met with students in North Bergen, New Jersey, like Dana Maurici, 
who had dreamed of going to Seton Hall University, close to home, but 
she did not even apply because her family could not afford 4 years of 
tuition. As she told me in her own words, she said it would be like, 
here is a bite of candy, but you cannot finish it.
  Then there was Judy Hyde, the PTA President of Hudson County, New 
Jersey, who understands that an education is not just for young people. 
She organized a parents summit for me in Kearny, New Jersey, where 
parents told me that in addition to saving for their children's college 
education, they, the parents, also need help to save for their own 
retraining and for advanced degrees.
  Mr. Speaker, these parents and students understand, as do I, that 
everyone in America deserves an equal opportunity for a higher 
education. They know that we rise or sink as a nation together, and 
that if anyone is left behind, if any child is denied an equal 
opportunity to learn, then we have failed. We have failed them, we have 
failed their parents, and we have failed our country. We have failed 
the ideal of America to provide every American with the equal 
opportunity to achieve and earn the American dream.
  That is why I have produced the Lifetime Learning Affordability Act. 
This bill would allow working and middle-class parents the ability to 
set up IRA-like savings accounts for each of their children. They, 
their parents, their grandparents, their aunts and uncles, could set up 
tax-deductible accounts up to $4,000 per year until the account has 
achieved $100,000 in it. That money could then be only withdrawn to pay 
for tuition and specific education-related expenses.
  Here is the unique aspect of my Lifetime Learning Affordability Act. 
After the student reaches the age of 22 and is earning a living, he or 
she can then put additional monies into that account, up to $2,000 a 
year, so if he or she is ever laid off of their job, wants to learn new 
skills or just wants to go back to school later in life, there will be 
a nest egg for that person, that older student, to go back to school 
and to use for that purpose.
  To make sure these accounts are not abused as tax shelters for the 
very rich, there will be a significant penalty for the early withdrawal 
of those monies, or if the money is spent on something other than 
education.

                              {time}  2200

  Yet even with this tax deductible IRA account of mine, we know that 
not every family can afford to save for college and not every family 
can take advantage of a tax deduction. That is why the bill also calls 
for increasing the Pell grants, not only in the number of Pell grants 
we issue but in the amount we give to each student. A modest increase 
such as the one we propose in our bill will help 75,000 low income 
students in New Jersey alone get a head start on life. The bill also 
restores the much-needed tax deduction for interest on student loans.
  We, as a nation, Mr. Speaker, must understand that investing in 
education is the best investment we can make as a country and the best 
investment we can make as individual families.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Lifetime Learning 
Affordability Act so that we can unlock the doors of opportunity for 
every American, the lifetime of opportunities that a college education 
provides. I urge my colleagues to support me in this adventure.

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