Durbin Says Bush-Cheney Administration Gets an F for Putting the Interests of Big Oil Ahead of the Future of College Students

DURBIN SAYS BUSH-CHENEY ADMINISTRATION GETS AN F FOR PUTTING THE INTERESTS OF BIG OIL
AHEAD OF THE FUTURE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS

At a time when the rising cost of college tuition is squeezing the budgets of millions of families, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called the Bush-Cheney administration's $5 billion tax giveaway to Big Oil, paid for by not extending the College Tuition Tax Deduction, "irresponsible and shameful." President Bush signed the tax bill today that included the Big Oil tax break and additional cuts mostly for millionaires and special interests.

"Republicans had to make a choice between working families and students who need to go to college on one hand and Big Oil on the other. They made their choice clear when the President signed the tax bill today," Durbin said. "The Bush-Cheney administration deserves a big F when it comes to putting the interests of Big Oil ahead of the interests of students and the families that send them to school."

Durbin said the provision, which would allow families to deduct a large percentage of college tuition costs from their taxes, would have been partially paid for by eliminating almost $5 billion in tax breaks that favor Big Oil. In 2004, 6.4 million American families took advantage of the deduction, saving them about $4.5 billion. Since President Bush took office, tuition and fees are up 32% at four-year private colleges and 57% at public colleges, while the maximum Pell Grant has remained frozen at $4,050.

"This administration is not only short-changing college students who need a helping hand to pay for school. It's creating a debt -- the largest in the history of the United States of America -- for generations to come. This is the height of irresponsibility from an administration which once touted itself as fiscally conservative."

Durbin noted that oil companies have made record profits last year, toping more than $100 billion. He said that after covering all their costs last year, Big Oil took profits from consumers that amounted to $908 from every household in America.

The 2001 tax bill contained a provision that made college tuition tax deductible for the first time ever. The deduction makes $3,000 in college tuition costs tax deductible by 2002 and $4,000 tax deductible by 2004. Specifically, the college tuition tax deduction allowed single filers with taxable income of up to $65,000 and joint filers with income of up to $130,000 to deduct $3,000 in tuition costs from their taxable income in 2002 and 2003. Single filers and joint filers were able to deduct $4,000 in tuition costs from their taxable income in 2004 and 2005. Single filers earning between $65,000 and $80,000 and joint filers earning between $130,000 and $160,000 were able to deduct $2,000 in tuition costs, in 2004 and 2005.

In addition to eliminating the College Tuition Tax Deduction, the $70 billion tax bill will deliver to middle-income households an average tax cut of just $20. On the other hand, households with incomes over $1 million would get average tax cuts of $42,000.

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=255805&&