Fact Check:
Congressman Kennedy’s record on improving tax benefits for college tuition

Congressman Kennedy is a cosponsor and strong supporter of the Universal College Credit Act. This legislation would establish a $4,000 tax credit for college tuition and expenses. This credit could be taken for four years of undergraduate education and six years of graduate education. (109th Congress, H.R. 5982)

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On July 28, 2006, House Republicans cynically attempted to force through a repeal of the Estate Tax, a repeal that would benefit only the very wealthiest Americans, by packaging it with an extension of the tuition tax deduction and other important tax provisions, as well as an increase in the minimum wage. House Democrats offered a motion that would have removed the Estate Tax repeal, leaving the tuition tax breaks and minimum wage increase intact. Congressman Kennedy proudly supported this motion. (109th Congress, 2nd Session, Roll Call #424)

On December 8, 2005, Congressman Kennedy voted in favor of the Rangel amendment to H.R. 4297. The Rangel amendment would have extended the tuition tax deduction and other expiring tax provisions. (109th Congress, 1st Session, H.Amdt. 636 to H.R. 4297, Roll Call #619)

In addition to his support of tax credits and deductions for tuition expenses, Congressman Kennedy has long been a leader in the effort to make interest on student loans tax deductible. The first bill he wrote upon entering Congress in 1995 was legislation to reinstate the deduction for student loan interest payments. While these interest payments did later become tax-deductible, the deduction was capped at a specified dollar amount. Over the last several years, Congressman Kennedy has supported legislation to lift this limitation, which would make interest payments on student loans fully deductible. (104th Congress, H.R. 1229; 108th Congress, H.R. 3384; 109th Congress, H.R. 1033)

Finally, Congressman Kennedy cosponsors and supports legislation that would allow taxpayers to make tax-free withdrawals from 529 accounts, which are savings accounts specifically set up to pay education expenses. Making these tax-free withdrawals permanent would allow parents to begin planning now to pay for their children’s education. (109th Congress, H.R. 2386)