Sessions Fights to Protect Graduate Students

I released the following statement after sending a letter to Members of Leadership urging them to keep the income exclusion for graduate tuition waivers in the tax reform package: 

Since our earliest days as a nation, our country has been a beacon of hope for young leaders. We have always said that no matter your beginnings you have the potential to be anything that you want to be. The American Dream is made possible because we have an environment that creates opportunities, inspires ingenuity, and fostered success.

A large part of the success of the American Dream is a direct result of our nation’s exemplary higher education institutions. As a result, America is home to some of the best doctors, the brightest legal minds, the most innovative engineers, and the world’s most esteemed scholars. However, as a result of this tax, many individuals would be buried in debt and will no longer be able to seek these higher degrees.

It is no secret that student-loans are already crippling our young leaders, and this tax would add to this growing epidemic. Instead of penalizing students who want to get ahead and gain an edge in their fields, we should be providing them with more opportunities to be successful. I am adamantly opposed to this provision in the tax reform package. I look forward to continuing productive conversations with my friend Chairman Kevin Brady to ensure that this misguided tax is excluded from the final package.

To read the letter, click here.