Dave Camp: “the passage of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 contained a signature initiative, the HOPE Scholarship Tax Credit. The…”

“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.”