[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 16, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5018-S5019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Warner, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. 
        Cochran, Mr. Allen, and Mr. Hatch):
  S. 904. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
an above-the-line deduction for qualified professional development 
expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers and to allow a 
credit against income tax to elementary and secondary school teachers 
who provide classroom materials; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, just last week, on May 8, 2001, the Senate 
overwhelmingly passed an amendment that I offered to the education bill 
currently on the floor. This amendment, which passed by a vote of 95-3, 
stated:

       The Senate should pass legislation providing elementary and 
     secondary level educators with additional tax relief in 
     recognition of the many out of pocket, unreimbursed expenses 
     educators incur to improve the education of our Nation's 
     students.

  At that time, both Senator Collins and I were pursuing the same goal, 
obtaining much needed tax relief for our teachers. However, despite 
sharing the same goal, we each had our own bill and each had our own 
approach towards achieving this shared goal.
  Senator Collins has truly been a leader on this issue. I commend her 
for her work in highlighting this issue and for her tireless efforts to 
improve education in this country.
  I am so glad that Senator Collins and I had the opportunity to sit 
down and discuss teacher tax relief legislation in greater detail. As a 
result of these discussions, we have joined forces and agreed on an 
approach to achieve our shared goal.
  Today, I am honored to be joining Senator Collins in introducing the 
Teacher Tax Relief Act.
  This Collins/Warner bill is cosponsored by Senators Landrieu, 
Cochran, and Allen. We will be offering this bill as an amendment to 
the tax reconciliation bill that will be on the Senate floor tomorrow.
  The Collins/Warner Teacher Tax Relief Act has two components.
  First, the legislation provides a $250 tax credit to teachers for 
classroom supplies. This credit recognizes that our teachers dip into 
their own pocket in significant amounts to bring supplies into the 
classroom to better the education of our children.
  Second, this legislation provides a $500 above the line deduction for 
professional development costs that teachers incur. This deduction will 
particularly help low-income school districts that typically do not 
have the finances to pay for professional development costs for their 
teaches.
  Our teachers in this country are overworked, underpaid, and all too 
often, under-appreciated. In addition, they spend significant money out 
of their own pocket to better the education of our children.
  These out of pocket costs place lasting financial burdens on our 
teachers. This is one reason our teachers are leaving the profession. 
Little wonder that our country is in the midst of a teacher shortage.
  While the primary responsibility rests with the states, I believe the 
Federal Government can and should play a role in helping to alleviate 
the nation's teaching shortage.
  On a Federal level, we can encourage individuals to enter the 
teaching profession and remain in the teaching profession by providing 
tax relief to teachers for the costs that they incur as part of the 
profession. This incentive will help financially strapped urban and 
rural school systems as they recruit new teachers and struggle to keep 
those teachers that are currently in the system.
  Our teachers have made a personal commitment to educate the next 
generation and to strengthen America. While many people spend their 
lives building careers, our teachers spend their careers building 
lives.
  The Teacher Tax Relief Act goes a long way towards providing our 
teachers with the recognition they deserve by providing teachers with 
important and much needed tax relief.
  It is important to note that providing a specific profession with tax 
relief is not without precedent. Title 26, United States Code, Section 
62(a) allows an above the line deduction to performing artists in 
connection with their performances.
  I believe teachers in this country deserve similar treatment under 
the tax code. I look forward to a vote on the teacher Tax Relief Act in 
the next few days.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise this evening, along with my good 
friend, the distinguished senior Senator from Virginia, Mr. Warner, to 
introduce the Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2001. We are very pleased to be 
joined by the Presiding Officer, the Senator from Virginia, Mr. Allen, 
and Senators Cochran and Landrieu, as original cosponsors of our 
legislation. All of these Senators are strong advocates for education 
and for our Nation's teachers.
  It would be difficult to script a more appropriate time for us to 
introduce this important legislation. We stand now at the summit of an 
education debate that began over 2 weeks ago. At the same time, we 
anticipate a major tax relief bill to which we will turn our attention 
as early as tomorrow.
  Our bill is related to both. It is both sound education policy and 
sensible tax policy. We plan on offering it as an amendment to the tax 
bill as soon as feasible on the Senate floor.
  For that reason, Senator Warner and I wanted to take advantage of 
this time this evening to talk a little bit about our bill and the 
ensuing amendment. In the midst of the education and tax debates, we 
are asking the Senate not to overlook the selfless efforts of our 
teachers and the many financial sacrifices they make to improve their 
instructional skills and the classrooms where they teach. Senator 
Warner deserves tremendous credit for focusing our attention, through a 
sense-of-the-Senate amendment to the education bill, on the need to 
provide tax relief for our Nation's teachers.
  Our teachers serve such a critical role in the education and 
development of our children. In fact, study after study demonstrates 
that other than involved parents, a high-quality, dedicated teacher is 
the single most important prerequisite for student success.
  The amendment which Senator Warner offered earlier this past week, 
and which I was proud to cosponsor, expressed the sense of the Senate 
that Congress should pass legislation providing teachers with tax 
relief in recognition of the many out-of-pocket expenses, unreimbursed 
expenses they incur to improve the education of our children. The bill 
we introduce today is legislation very similar to Senator Warner's 
amendment which was adopted by the Senate by a vote of 95-3.
  The bill we introduce today is targeted to support the expenditures 
of teachers who strive for excellence beyond the constraints of what 
their schools can provide.
  Earlier this year, Senator Warner, Senator Hatch, and I each 
introduced

[[Page S5019]]

our own version of our teacher tax relief bills. Last year Senator Kyl 
and I teamed up in a similar way. We have now all come together behind 
the Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2001, which enjoys bipartisan support 
from our colleagues as well as the endorsement of the National 
Education Association.
  Our bill has two major provisions. First, it will allow teachers, 
teachers' aides, principals, and counselors to take an above-the-line 
deduction for their professional development expenses. I have talked 
with teachers in Maine who have financed continuing education courses 
at the master's and doctoral level as well as seminars out of their 
pocket. They then came back to their schools and shared their knowledge 
with their colleagues, and that additional course work has made them 
better teachers.
  Some school districts reimburse for those kinds of professional 
development expenses. It would be great if they all did. But some 
school districts simply don't have the resources to help teachers who 
are striving to improve their skills.

  What our bill will do is help those teachers who are financing those 
educational expenses out of their own pockets by giving them an above-
the-line tax deduction.
  The second provision of our bill will grant educators a tax credit of 
up to $250 for books, supplies, and equipment they purchase for their 
students. The tax credit would be set at 50 percent of such 
expenditures so that teachers would receive 50 cents of tax relief for 
every dollar of their own money they spend for supplies for their 
classroom.
  It is remarkable how much the average teacher spends every year out 
of his or her own pocket to buy supplies and other materials for their 
students. According to a study by the National Education Association, 
the average public school teacher spends more than $400 annually on 
classroom materials.
  Just recently, I met with Idella Harter, president of the Maine 
Education Association. She told me of the books, rewards for student 
behavior, and other materials she routinely purchases for her 
classroom. One year Idella decided to save her receipts to see how much 
she actually was spending. She said she started adding up the receipts 
and was startled to discover they totaled over $1,000. When they got 
that high, she decided to stop counting. But she continues to this day 
to purchase supplies and materials for her students.
  When you think that the average teacher is not particularly well 
paid, it speaks volumes about their dedication that they are willing to 
make that kind of investment to improve the teaching for their 
students.
  Idella is not alone. Maureen Marshall, who handles education issues 
for me in my office, taught public school for several years in Hawaii 
and Virginia. In her first year as a teacher, she, too, spent more than 
$1,000 of her own money on educational software, books, pocket charts 
to assist with language arts instruction, and other materials. Because 
of her tax situation, she could not deduct any of these expenses from 
her taxable income.
  The ultimate beneficiaries of efforts to provide financial assistance 
to our teachers are our students. Our bill provides tax relief for up 
to $1,000 spent out of pocket by teachers for professional development 
and for supplies. These are teachers who are going the extra mile for 
our children, for our students.
  Our bill makes it a priority to reimburse educators for just a small 
part of what they invest in our children's future.
  I hope our colleagues will join us in support of this important 
initiative. I hope they will join us in a resounding vote when Senator 
Warner and I offer this proposal as an amendment to the upcoming tax 
bill.
                                 ______