[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Page 30746]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        EDUCATION TAX INCENTIVES

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, yesterday I offered legislation to make 
permanent a number of education-related tax relief measures. My 
legislation, S. 2851, also improves and makes permanent helpful 
provisions for 529 plans and the American opportunity tax credit for 
education.
  At the first hearing I held when I became chairman of the Finance 
Committee in 2001, I made clear that education tax policy was a 
priority of mine. As chairman, I was able to remove the 60-payment 
limit for deducting student loan interest and I was able to increase 
the income limits for that deduction. This was not the only time I 
fought hard to allow students to deduct their student loan interest. In 
1997 I was able to reinstate the student loan interest deduction that 
Congress had eliminated from our tax laws. However, the 60-payment 
limit on the deductibility of student loan interest remained. I ensured 
that the 2001 tax relief bill took care of that problem. Other 
incentives for education that I was able to enact into law in 2001 
included raising the amount that can be contributed to an education 
saving account from $500 to $2,000; making distributions from prepaid 
college savings plans and tuition plans tax-free; and making permanent 
the tax-free treatment of employer-provided educational assistance. 
These tax policies and many others, including those for school 
renovations, repairs and construction, have proven their value to Iowa 
students in dollars and cents, year after year. The tax relief has 
delivered measureable educational assistance to Iowans and students and 
families nationwide, making education more affordable and accessible.
  One drawback of enacting these provisions in the 2001 tax relief 
bill, however, is that there was a sunset provision attached to that 
entire piece of legislation. All of the tax relief needs to be made 
permanent. Especially the education-related tax provisions. And that is 
what my bill today does. My bill makes these provisions permanent.
  It is no coincidence that I introduced my education tax bill on the 
day the President of the United States talked about jobs. Our economy 
demands well-educated workers. The popularity of education tax 
incentives is good news for workers who find themselves unemployed or 
who want to go back to school to advance, or even change, their 
careers. Congress is willing to consider permanent tax relief for 
companies to buy machinery. Why isn't Congress willing to make an 
investment in people? That's what tax relief for education is. An 
investment in our future. It is just as important as job-creating tax 
incentives for businesses. Some will say we can't afford this, but we 
really can't afford to lose billions of dollars of help for Americans 
working hard to educate their kids.
  Education has made this country great. We should not let this 
opportunity pass us by. We should not let these education-related tax 
provisions expire. We should also continue to help make education 
affordable for families and students. This makes education accessible 
for all. I look forward to working with my colleagues on passing this 
bill.

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