[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4275]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REPAY SUPPLIES ACT OF 2013

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, every day, teachers across our Nation 
reach into their own pockets to pay for classroom supplies like books, 
software, and pencils, without ever being reimbursed by their schools; 
and since 2002, teachers could at least count on a $250 above-the-line 
tax deduction to help defray the cost of these purchases.
  But at the end of last year, this tax deduction was allowed to 
expire, meaning that teachers are not able to claim it on their 
individual returns this tax season or count on it next year, as they 
continue to purchase supplies for their classrooms and their students.
  The REPAY Supplies Act, introduced by Carol Shea-Porter and 
cosponsored by more than 50 of our colleagues from both parties, aims 
to fix this problem and make the educator expense deduction permanent.
  Ms. Shea-Porter and I were disappointed to learn that this modest 
deduction was not included in the recent tax reform proposals, and we 
will send a letter in the coming days to ask that a hearing on the 
REPAY Supplies Act be held as soon as possible.
  I hope that my colleagues will join us in signing this letter to the 
Ways and Means Committee and give teachers the opportunity to testify 
before Congress about the impact the deduction has had on their 
checkbooks and on their classrooms.
  Mr. Speaker, I am a former Florida-certified teacher, and I know how 
important it is that students come to school prepared and ready to 
learn; but without the basic supplies needed to take part in lessons, 
students are put at a disadvantage in the classroom, forced to rely on 
outdated materials and without essential learning tools, and too often, 
teachers go into their own pockets to make up the difference.
  For many educators, teaching is more than a full-time job. They 
arrive at the school while many of us are still getting ready for work. 
They stay late into the evening. They prepare lesson plans, grade 
papers, and deal with parents and grandparents, like us, who can 
admittedly be a handful when guaranteeing that their child is receiving 
the best education possible.
  Teachers care deeply about their students and are often willing to 
sacrifice personal needs in order to provide them with the best 
learning experience possible. According to the latest status of the 
American public school teacher report by the National Education 
Association, educators are spending approximately $477 per year on 
basic school supplies for their students and their classrooms.
  Mr. Speaker, we all want the best for our children. We work hard 
every day in this Congress to make sure that our children have a bright 
future; and education, we know, is a key to this success, an essential 
component of that brighter future that we are trying to create for the 
next generation.

                              {time}  1015

  But it doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense that we are 
hamstringing the very people we have entrusted with their education. 
Teachers are giving up their own time and money to help students learn 
and be engaged in school. The least we can do is to provide them with 
this modest $250 deduction to help mitigate the financial and personal 
sacrifices that they are already making.
  Every 2 years since 2002, Congress has come together in a bipartisan 
manner to extend this deduction on behalf of our country's educators. 
By making this tax deduction permanent, Congress can give teachers 
certainty that at least some of their purchases will be paid back, that 
it will improve access to essential learning materials, and that it 
will give our educators the recognition they deserve.
  I urge Members to join Ms. Shea-Porter and me in this fight, and I 
look forward to working with all of us to ensure that our Nation's 
teachers and our children have the education and the tools necessary to 
succeed.

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