Issue Position: Affordable College

Issue Position

Making Permanent and Enhancing Tax Credits for Higher Education

The 2009 Recovery Act included my proposal for a "More Education" tax cut, also known as the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), of up to $2,500 of the cost of tuition, fees, and course materials for higher education. Forty percent of the tax credit (up to $1000) is refundable, which means that families that need help the most benefit from this tax credit. Congress has extended this important tax credit through 2017, but I agree with President Obama that this provision should be a permanent part of our tax code. That's why I have introduced legislation to make the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent, to improve it so it works better for students who receive Pell Grants, and to make it simpler to claim. My proposal also increases the annual refundable amount from $1,000 to $1,500 and allows taxpayers to claim a maximum lifetime amount of $15,000, instead of being limited to the four years claimable under current law. More than 145 of my colleagues are cosponsoring this bill, H.R. 1260.

Keeping College an Attainable Dream through PELL Grants

The Pell Grant program is the nation's central federal financial aid program, providing scholarship aid to more than 9 million low and moderate-income students annually. I have supported increasing the maximum Pell award and have supported efforts to prevent the interest rate on many student loans from doubling. I also support legislation to prevent students whose loans are discharged through programs like public service forgiveness from facing a five-digit tax bill.

San Antonio and Austin were recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the top five cities in the nation in increases in Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates. More than half of San Antonio students graduating from high school now apply for federal financial aid to help assist with the high costs of college. I am leading efforts in the U.S. House of Representatives to simplify the FAFSA application process in order to help students apply earlier and more efficiently.

About 30% of students at San Antonio College, 45% of students at UTSA, 37% of students at Texas State, and 28% of students at Austin Community College receive Pell grants.I have worked to expand and protect Pell Grants, which serve as an equalizer for college students and make the dream of a college degree a reality for millions of students each year. I also supported the legislation that provided $17 billion to protect the maximum Pell Grant award and the 2010 Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which invested $36 billion in the Pell Grant program to increase the maximum Pell Grant scholarship

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