[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 24, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S7010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PASSAGE OF A+ SAVINGS ACCOUNT BILL

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I was necessarily absent this morning 
and I missed the vote on the Conference Report for H.R. 1882 the A+ 
Savings Account for Public and Private Schools.
  I am pleased that this bill was approved by the Senate by a vote of 
59-36. This legislation has my wholehearted support.
  Several significant reforms in the bill are based, in part, on 
findings of a Senate Task Force on Education that I was privileged to 
be a part of. These include testing and merit pay incentives of 
teachers, and tax incentives for parents who save for their children's 
K-12 education needs.
  The President should look at the merits of this bill and sign it into 
law. It is time that the federal government stops enabling an 
entrenched education bureaucracy that resists every attempt at 
exponential change.
  New Mexicans, I believe, are ready to embrace such change, and this 
legislation is the vehicle to begin making our schools ready for the 
twenty-first century.
  I am pleased this bill includes a provision to provide incentive 
funds to states that establish periodic assessments of elementary and 
secondary school teachers, including a merit pay system to reward 
teachers based on merit and proven performance. The provision permits 
the use of federal education dollars to establish and administer these 
programs.
  Teacher testing and merit pay is an important philosophical shift. It 
is reasonable to expect teachers to know the subject matter they are 
responsible for imparting to our young people.
  The centerpiece of the bill is the establishment of tax-free savings 
accounts that can be used for qualified education expenses from 
kindergarten through twelfth grade.
  Main provisions in the bill, beyond the merit pay and block grant 
provisions, are:
  A+ Savings Accounts.--These accounts are similar to the current 
Education IRA for college tuition. Under this bill, the annual 
contribution limit will be increased from $500 to $2,000 a year. This 
gives millions of famlies the opportunity to save tax-free for their 
children's education.
  Extend employer-provided education benefits to 1 million employees--
The bill extends this popular provision that allows employees to accept 
employer-provided education assistance without having to declare it as 
income (up to $5,250 a year). The tax exclusion will apply to 
assistance for undergraduate courses.
  Allow 1 million students to benefit from tax-free state pre-paid 
tuition plans--Many states have established pre-paid tuition plans to 
make it more affordable to attend state colleges in the future, and to 
help families save for this important expenses. The bill goes a step 
beyond tax deferral of such savings as currently allowed--this bill 
makes such savings tax-free. (The New Mexico legislature is expected to 
consider a pre-paid tuition plan.)
  School Construction: Assists local governments in issuing tax-exempt 
bonds for school construction by increasing the small-issuer exception 
from $10 million to $15 million, provided that at least $10 million of 
the bonds are issued to finance public schools.
  Health Scholarships: Provides tax-free treatment for National Health 
Corps Scholarships. In addition, the conferees extended tax free 
treatment to Hebert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarships.
  Student Improvement Incentive Awards: Allows State education agencies 
to make awards to public schools that demonstrate a high level of 
academic achievement.
  State Incentives for Teacher Testing and Merit Pay: Authorizes the 
Department of Education to provide awards to states that test their K-
12 teachers every three to five years in the subjects they teach and 
that have a merit pay program.
  Same Gender Schools and Classrooms: Allows federal funding for 
education reform projects that provide same-gender schools and 
classrooms, as long as comparable opportunities are afforded both 
sexes.
  Reading Excellence: Authorizes a literacy program that focuses on 
training teachers to teach reading using scientifically proven methods 
such as phonics. The President supports the program and $210 million 
was appropriated by Congress last year to establish a literacy program.
  Safer Schools: Includes language providing that weapons brought to 
school are admissible as evidence in any internal school disciplinary 
proceedings.
  I genuinely hope that the President will sign this bill.

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