[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 50 (Thursday, April 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3025-S3026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU:
  S. 2479. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
a refundable credit against income tax to certain elementary and 
secondary school teachers who receive advanced certification and to 
exclude from gross income certain amounts received by such teachers; to 
the Committee on Finance.


                     certified teacher's tax credit

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to introduce a 
bill. We are going to be discussing, I hope, next week the 
reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which is 
a very important act for the country, that provides the ways in which 
the Federal Government supports our local school systems throughout the 
country. There are a few of us here who believe very strongly we need 
to change some of the ways we do that, to really focus on results and 
not process, so we can stop funding failure and begin rewarding 
success.
  So I come to the floor today to introduce a bill because there are so 
many ways we can help improve our schools. Because my time is limited, 
I cannot

[[Page S3026]]

list them. But one of the ways we can do that is by helping to 
encourage good people to go into the field of teaching and to help 
raise teachers' salaries, if we can, in appropriate ways, to encourage 
good, qualified teachers to stay in the classrooms.
  As you know, Mr. President, we do not fund teachers' salaries 
directly. The bill I am introducing will provide a tax credit for those 
teachers who become nationally board certified. Currently, there are 
over 4,000 teachers who are nationally board certified. This will 
provide a $5,000 tax credit. It is the least we can do to help 
encourage the States to continue the way they are encouraging good, 
qualified people to stay in the classroom and to help raise the 
salaries of teachers in this Nation.
  Just for the record, beginning teachers make $7,000 less than their 
peers, but, more tragically, teachers with a master's degree make about 
$35,000 less.
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