David Price: “the bill before us has many positive features for working and middle-class families. But I am personally proudest of the…”

“the bill before us has many positive features for working and middle-class families. But I am personally proudest of the inclusion of the main provisions of the Education Affordability Act, introduced by the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Etheridge] and myself and cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 56 colleagues. These provisions will restore income tax deductibility of interest on student loans and permit penalty-free withdrawals of IRA savings for educational expenses--common sense ideas to make higher education more accessible for American families. Today is the culmination of an effort former Representative Martin Lancaster and I began some 10 years ago, soon after we first came to the Congress. We said then that if you can deduct the interest on your home mortgage or even on a second home at the beach, you surely ought to be able to deduct interest on something as basic as a student loan. That is still true today, and I am proud to see it recognized in this tax bill. There is more good news in this bill for Americans seeking to get the training the modern workplace requires, especially the Hope Scholarship which will provide a $1,500 tax credit for the first 2 years past high school and a 20-percent credit for succeeding years. I am also pleased that this conference agreement removes the notorious tax on the tuition waivers earned by graduate students that was included in the House-passed bill.”