[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11047]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               IMPROVING THE HOPE SCHOLARSHIP TAX CREDIT

  (Mr. CAMP asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, the passage of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 
1997 contained a signature initiative, the HOPE Scholarship Tax Credit. 
The HOPE Scholarship provides annual scholarship benefits to students. 
However, many of the students who need the most help do not benefit 
from the program.
  The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) and I are introducing 
legislation that would address these shortcomings. Currently, the HOPE 
tax credit can be used only for tuition and some expenses. However, 
college students must pay for much more than just tuition. Our 
legislation would allow the scholarships to cover required fees, books, 
supplies and equipment.
  Additionally, a student's eligibility is currently reduced by any 
other grants they receive. As a result, benefits have been limited 
primarily to middle and upper-middle income taxpayers. That explains 
why fewer than one-fifth of all full-time students attending community 
colleges qualify for maximum HOPE Scholarship benefits. Our legislation 
would ensure that any Pell Grants and other grants a student receives 
are not counted against the student's eligibility.
  Let us help make the HOPE Scholarship available to community college 
students. This legislation has bipartisan support and cosponsors, and 
also support from a number of higher education organizations.
  I urge the House to bring up this legislation in the near future.




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