When college graduates enter the workforce today, many get an eye-opening dose of reality when their new paychecks have to stretch to cover housing, car, health insurance and student loan payments. A bachelor’s degree graduate today shoulders about $19,000 in student debt. The loan burden climbs significantly for a graduate education.

Senator Grassley has long championed tax incentives to make higher education accessible and affordable for all students who want to pursue an advanced degree. As a father of five, Grassley understands why so many parents worry about the rising costs of higher education. Double-digit tuition increases can make saving for a child’s higher education and one’s own retirement seem overwhelming. Navigating the loan application process itself can be just as intimidating.

That’s why Senator Grassley wants to make sure the college savings vehicles and tax breaks for colleges and universities written into the federal tax code are cost-effective, efficient and working as intended.

Last December Grassley chaired a congressional oversight hearing to review the tax tools leveraged to make college more affordable for working families. It concerns him that some institutions, especially tax-exempt elite colleges, are jacking up tuition rates even while they have massive endowments.

Grassley has also been the leading advocate for talented and gifted children in the United States Congress and has worked to ensure that they have access to the education needed to reach their full potential. He advanced legislation that would expand the availability of gifted education services and he was successful in expanding the benefits available for gifted students through the No Child Left Behind Act.

Tell Senator Grassley what you think about this issue.