$10,000 in Tuition Tax-Deductible, Financial Assistance for Students Who Teach After College

"In this new economy, we know that learning is the key, and I'm not satisfied when hard-working, middle-class families can't afford the college tuition that can lift their kids to a better life," said Gore. "We need middle-class tax cuts to make college more affordable. I want to make up to $10,000 a year of college tuition tax-deductible." -- Al Gore

Al Gore will help students and their families pay for college. Gore's plan would make up to $10,000 a year of college tuition tax deductible and provide financial assistance to students who pledge to teach after college. George W. Bush has no plan to provide additional tax benefits for college tuition. During his 1998 campaign for governor of Texas, Bush declared, "higher education is not my priority."

A college education is more important today than ever before. A college graduate can expect to earn $600,000 more over a lifetime, on average, than a high-school graduate. Jobs that require a college degree are growing twice as fast as others. An estimated 37 percent of college students drop out before earning a certificate or a degree. Gore has set an ambitious goal to raise college attendance rates to 75 percent by 2010 and increasing the share of college-age Americans who earn degrees to 50 percent.

$10,000 IN COLLEGE TUITION TAX DEDUCTIBLE
Gore's comprehensive education plan for life would provide families with a tax deduction or a 28-percent tax credit on up to $10,000 of tuition and fees. This credit would apply to all post-secondary education, including college, graduate school or skills training. Bush offers no tax credit to make paying for college tuition more affordable. His $1.6 trillion tax cut is targeted to benefit a wealthy few. Nearly half the benefits go to the wealthiest one percent of Americans.

FINANCIAL AID FOR STUDENTS WHO TEACH AFTER COLLEGE
To attract college students into the teaching profession, Gore's plan would provide intensive support and financial incentives, including up to $10,000 in college aid and expanded loan forgiveness. These incentives will benefit approximately 860,000 college students who commit to teach in high-need schools or subject shortage areas. Bush would eliminate the 100,000 new teachers program and has an inadequate plan to recruit new teachers. His massive tax cut leaves few resources to invest in education. In fact, Bush would give $12 of the surplus to the wealthiest one percent of Americans for every $1 he would invest in education.

Gore's plan to help students pay for college and recruit new teachers would:

• Provide Up to $10,000 in College Aid for New Talented Teachers. Gore's plan would provide up to $10,000 in college aid for 560,000 talented young people who commit to teach in high-need schools for at least four years after college.

• Expand Loan Forgiveness for Students Becoming Teachers. Gore's plan would also expand loan forgiveness for 300,000 students who agree to teach in high-need areas or to teach subjects with a shortage of teachers, such as math, science, foreign languages or special education.

• Establish a Private-Public Partnership to Recruit More Teachers. Gore's plan would create a national partnership among private and public sector organizations to encourage incoming college students to consider teaching as a career.

A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO HELP FAMILIES PAY FOR COLLEGE
Gore would also create new tax-free savings accounts in addition to Social Security's guaranteed benefit to help couples build a retirement nest-egg up to $400,000. If needed, families could withdraw savings from these Retirement Savings Plus accounts to help pay for a child's college education.

Gore would create a National College Tuition Savings plan, which would link existing state college savings and pre-paid tuition plans. These accounts would allow families to save for college tax- and inflation-free.

In addition to strengthening public schools to help all students prepare for college, Gore would support greater efforts to provide mentoring, college preparation and academic enrichment to at-risk students through the GEAR UP and TRIO programs. Gore would also balance the budget and pay down the debt each year. This fiscal discipline would keep interest rates low to help students pay off student loans.

To help workers stay competitive in this new economy and encourage lifelong worker training, Gore would provide a tax credit up to $6,000 for employers who provide worker training in information technology and other technology skills. His plan would create new 401(j) accounts so that employers and their employees can accumulate tax-free savings for lifelong skills training.

Gore has fought to make higher education and lifelong learning accessible to all Americans. As part of the current administration, Gore fought to provide HOPE Scholarship tax credits to nearly 7 million students and Pell grants to nearly 4 million students and to implement the Lifelong Learning tax credit.   (10/10/00)