Paul Writes Colleagues Promoting Education Agenda PDF Print E-mail
FOR RELEASE: May 17, 2000

Paul Writes Colleagues Promoting Education Agenda

Washington, D.C. - On Tuesday, Congressman Ron Paul asked all of his colleagues in the House to join him in supporting top quality education for America's youth. Paul outlined several key pieces of legislation he has proposed that is designed to take control of the education dollar away from bureaucrats in Washington and put it back in the hands of parents.
Paul said, "Over the last thirty years, we have seen increasing centralization of education which has given federal bureaucrats more and more control and parents less and less. If we truly want to reform the system, we need to let parents keep more of their hard earned money to educate their children as they see fit."
The cornerstone of Paul's education agenda is the "Family Education Freedom Act" (HR 935). The bill will give parents a $3,000 per year tax credit for each child's education related expenses. It would allow parents the maximum amount of freedom in determining how to educate their children. It would also be free of guidelines and restrictions that only dilute the actual number of dollars spent directly on a child.
Paul also introduced the "Agriculture Education Freedom Act." The bill was written to address the undue taxation of students who participate in programs such as 4-H or the Future Farmers of America. Currently, students are forced to pay federal income tax when they sell livestock raised as part of an agriculture education program. The bill will remove the tax and allow high school students to save more for future college costs.
Paul said, "It is truly amazing with all the talk in this Congress over the need to increase the size of the federal government 'for the children' that we would continue to tax students who are trying to do the right thing and further their education."
Other key elements of Paul's education proposals are the "Teacher Tax Cut" (HR 937) and the "Education Improvement Tax Cut" (HR 936). The "Teacher Tax Cut" will give a $1,000 tax credit for every teacher in America, the equivalent of a $1,000 pay raise. The "Education Improvement Tax Cut" provides $3,000 tax credit for cash or in-kind donations to public schools to support academic or extracurricular programs.
"My education agenda of returning control over the education dollar to the American people is the best way to strengthen public education," said Paul. "I call upon my colleagues to help strengthen public schools by returning control over the education dollar to parents and other concerned citizens, as well as raising teacher salaries by cutting their taxes, so that the American people can once again make the American education system the envy of the world."