Plan to aid private school students might scuttle relief bill
A fight over Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ plan to subsidize private school tuition is threatening to derail a Senate GOP effort to write a slimmed-down coronavirus relief bill, people involved in the talks said this week.
The $5 billion tax credit proposal has long been championed by DeVos, and President Donald Trump has offered his support for school choice as part of his re-election campaign. Now the measure is being pushed behind the scenes by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who wants the proposal included in an emerging Senate GOP bill that aims to address economic fallout from the coronavirus.
But his move is opposed by a number of other members of the
Senate Republican conference. They will need to resolve the impasse to finalize the legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., hopes to bring the coronavirus relief legislation to the Senate floor next week.
The Cruz-backed provision would reimburse donations to state-level scholarship funds, which help families pay for private school tuition and other educational expenses. Under the proposal, donors would get their money back in the form of a 100 percent tax credit.
DeVos says the pandemic has demonstrated the urgency of giving parents who may be frustrated with their public schools more options. Her proposal would “help families who are more vulnerable and don’t have the resources that many better-off families have had,” she told a SiriusXM host last week.
Opponents say the tax credits are thinly veiled vouchers that drain resources that should support public schools, which serve the vast majority of children.
A Cruz aide said the scholarships are needed to help families access a quality education.
However, some senators oppose including this tax credit when other credits they favor are being left out; some say it’s too expensive; and others oppose the proposal on its merits, according to one person familiar with the talks.
Additionally, including a voucher-type plan could give Democrats an easy rationale to oppose the legislation.
Pressure for a coronavirus relief package is significant. Enhanced unemployment insurance and other benefits Congress agreed to in a $3 trillion burst of spring spending have expired, and millions of Americans remain out of work despite some signs of economic recovery.
McConnell failed to unite Senate Republicans behind an approximately $1 trillion bill he released in July, and he now is aiming for a bill around half that size. He has jettisoned some key elements, including a new round of $1,200 stimulus checks to individuals. The new legislation is expected to include $300 weekly enhanced unemployment benefits, a new round of funding for small businesses, money for coronavirus testing, schools and the U.S. Postal Service, and a liability shield for businesses, health providers and others, which has been a key priority for McConnell.
Democrats’ starting point was a $3.4 trillion bill the House passed in May, although Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said she’d be open to legislation costing $1 trillion less.
Republicans say that figure is still too high, and efforts to restart talks — including a phone conversation this week between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — have gone nowhere.