Education

Education is the key by which we can each open the doors of opportunity.  A quality public education for every American creates stronger communities and ensures that our nation is thoroughly prepared for the challenges of the 21st century.  I am deeply committed to ensuring that our public education system functions effectively and successfully serves our students.   That includes supporting federal funding to make schools safer, increasing and expanding Pell Grants for low-income students, and making college and vocational trade schools more affordable.

In the 116th Congress, I have co-sponsored and supported several important bills to help the nation continue to strive for educational equity and excellence for all.

H.R.4180 — The Teacher Tax Deduction Enhancement Act of 2019, which would allow teachers to deduct higher levels of their out of pocket expenses for classroom supplies on their federal income tax returns.  Teachers who often reach into their own wallets to help our kids in class should not have to bear that burden on their own.

H.R.3511 — Transforming Student Debt to Home Equity Act of 2019, which would establish and implement a pilot demostration program to provide eligible applicants with student loan debt help in purchasing a home.  Specifically, the program may provide for discounts on the appraised value of eligible properties; flexibility in certain underwriting standards; the development of new mortgage products specifically targeted to eligible applicants and other appropriate assistance.  Especially important is a provision of the bill that would determine how the repayment of a federal student loan could be rolled into a mortage repayment schedule.

H.R.3257 — The Student Loan Fairness Act of 2019, which would change student loan law so that if you are still paying off your debt after making ten years of payments at 10% of your discretionary income, your remaining federal student loan debt would be forgiven.  The bill would also cap federal student loan interest rates at 3.4% and allow existing borrowers whose educational loan debt exceeds their income to convert their private loan debt into federal Direct Loans and then convert those new federal loans into the 10-10 standard. The bill also requires the U.S. Department of Education to incorpoate regional variations in the cost of living when calculating monthly student loan repayment amounts.