With 1st bill, Perriello aims to make education more affordable

By MG News

Published: February 12, 2009

U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy, has introduced his first bill, a measure that aims to make higher education more affordable.

Perriello and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, announced Monday that they have co-authored the College Learning Access, Simplicity and Savings Act, which would make it easier for students and parents to apply to claim tax credits for higher education expenses.

Perriello, who represents the 5th District - which includes Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson - narrowly defeated former congressman Virgil H. Goode Jr. in the Nov. 4 election.

Also on Monday, Perriello was appointed to the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. A week earlier, he was also named to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Doggett and Perriello’s bill, called the “CLASS ACT,” or HR 386, was introduced Friday. It would consolidate two existing tax credits in favor of a simpler tax credit. It would consolidate the Hope Tax Credit, which allows up to $1,800 per year, and the above-the-line tax deduction for qualified tuition and expenses, which is tax deductible up to $4,000.

Replacing these tax credits would be a new $3,000 tax credit, which could be used for undergraduate education and the first two years of graduate school, with a total lifetime limit of $12,000. Up to half the tax credit would be refundable.

The new tax credit would also expand the existing definition of eligible tuition and expenses to include textbooks.

Perriello’s office cited a 2005 study by the Government Accountability Office that found that more than a quarter of eligible taxpayers were not claiming the Hope Tax Credit, the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit or the tuition tax deduction. The study suggested that the tax credits were overly complicated and taxpayers had trouble figuring out which one was most advantageous.

To be eligible for the proposed new tax credit, taxpayers can have a maximum income of $150,000 for joint filers or $75,000 for individuals.