Rep. Doggett Introduces Amendment to Restore Education Deductions

Rep. Doggett Introduces Amendment to Restore Education Deductions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee, introduced an amendment to restore critical education deductions – including the Student Loan Interest deduction, Teacher Expenses deduction, and Tuition and Fees deduction – that the Republican tax bill (H.R. 1) would eliminate. Rep. Doggett's amendment would also simplify and expand the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). A portion of Rep. Doggett's remarks in Committee are below and a link to his full remarks follow:

"With the economic evidence so clear, that the Republican tax bill is a job killer – that it will not grow our economy – we look to alternatives to accomplish growth in our economy and create jobs here. My alternative centers on investing in people. Instead of investing in people and education, this Republican bill takes away those education tax incentives and benefits.

"If you look at the class of 2016, proud graduates throwing their caps in the air, two-thirds of them graduated not only with a diploma, but with a burden of debt. The average debt for those students in 2016 is $35,000 – those are the students who benefit from being able to deduct the interest on their loans that Republicans would deny them.

"In addition to getting us back to even and restoring the $65-67 billion in cuts Republicans make, we adopt the same simplification program to the American Opportunity Tax Credit that I have worked on since 2009. Instead of taking away from that program, we use the savings from simplification to expand and enhance the program so that more students will have genuine opportunity, and that we will not see financial burden as a reason that every young person does not get the education for which they are willing to work."

H.R. 1 would repeal above-the-line deductions for interest payments on qualified education loans and tuition and related expenses. It would also eliminate the $250 above-the-line deduction for teachers' out-of-pocket expenses, the employer-provided education assistance deduction, and the U.S. Savings Bonds interest deduction. It would further eliminate $17.3 billion in tax relief from the AOTC.

You may view Rep. Doggett's full speech on his amendment, here. The full text of the amendment can be found here.

You may view Rep. Doggett's full speech on his Stop Outsourcing of American Jobs amendment, introduced yesterday, here.

You may view Rep. Doggett's full speech on his Motion to Postpone amendment, introduced yesterday, here.