Political Quotes

“today, as part of the Working Families Tax Relief Act, the Senate will pass legislation that I authored to extend for another 2 years an important tax relief provision aimed at America's teachers. The teacher tax relief benefit in this legislation will provide almost a half a billion dollars worth of tax relief targeted directly at our Nation's teachers. Why do teachers need this kind of specific tax relief? It is estimated that the average teacher, who is already underpaid, is spending $521 out of their own pocket each year on classroom materials--materials such as pens, pencils and books. First-year teachers, who typically earn less than the average teacher, spend even more, averaging $701 a year on classroom expenses. Why do they do this? Simply because school budgets are not adequate to meet the costs of education. Our teachers are picking up the slack. The Teacher Tax Relief Act is a small, yet important sign of recognition by the Federal Government of the many sacrifices that our teachers make.”