Trent Lott: “there is a clear, strong majority in the Senate who want to pass the Coverdell-Torricelli education savings account…”

“there is a clear, strong majority in the Senate who want to pass the Coverdell-Torricelli education savings account bill. It is bipartisan; I want to emphasize that. I believe every Republican is going to be for ending the debate. They are not dragging this out and having a full-fledged filibuster. I think there are several Democrats who agree we should get to the substance, too, and I hope we are going to have a broad--and I believe we will--a majority will vote for this legislation when we get to final passage. And there is a reason for that. The legislation would benefit some 14 million families who could use the education savings accounts. I have said it before and I emphasize it again, I think one of the problems with elementary and secondary education in America today is there is no opportunity for financial assistance, no way to save your own money to help your children a little bit. It does not have to be $2,000 a year; it could be $200 a year or less. But that money then could be accumulated and get the tax benefits and then used to buy uniforms or books or computers or to choose another school. So I think this is a major step in the right direction in dealing with the problems of elementary and secondary education in America. This bill would help 1 million students with tax relief on their State prepaid-tuition plans. This is a good idea. We ought to allow people to be able to pay in advance for the impact of tuition when they go to college.”