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From Capital to CampusNEA and 50 other Organizations have signed onto a letter urging Congress to expand the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. This Act currently provides a phased-in $2,500 tax deduction for interest payments on educational loans for millions of low- and middle-income individuals. NEA and the other organizations are telling Congress that the deductions, as currently structured, provide only limited relief, or none at all, to many deserving middle income families with high student loan debt. The groups are asking Congress to eliminate the current five-year limit for the deductions, raise the income ceilings, and allow for full deduction of interest for qualified student loans. President Clinton has proposed a $200 increase in the size of the maximum Pell Grant, as part of a proposed higher education funding package that increase federal aid for needy students and broadens tax breaks for middle income families. The additional funding for Pell Grants would bring the top grant to $3,500, more in line with the level of funding NEA proposes. In all, the President's proposed budget would increase federal spending on student grant and loan programs by 5.5 percent to $54.2 billion. Another key feature of the President's plan, the College Opportunity Tax Cut, would let students or their families take a tax cut or claim a tax credit on up to $5,000 a year in college tuition and fees. The President also hopes to provide more money for work-study, GEAR UP, and other programs, including expanding tax breaks for employer-paid graduate courses. To subscribe to the NEA E-mail Legislative Alert, send to lyris@list.nea.org this message: Subscribe hecongress. Or read the Alert on this web site. Share your legislative news with us. |
