Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee passed a five billion dollar education tax credit proposal entitled the “Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA)” (H.R. 9462). ECCA has received support from more than 150 members of the House and is the fastest and surest way to expand school choice to all 50 states.
To the thousands of you who filled out our action alert to contact your representatives, your voice made a difference. And to all those who did not, you now have a chance as the bill heads to the floor for a full vote.
Agudath Israel has been at the forefront of crafting and promoting ECCA, working with the sponsors and coalition partners over the last several years, Agudah staff participated in hundreds of meetings. We have submitted a legislative memo to the House Ways and Means Committee in support of ECCA, explaining the impact the legislation would have for the Orthodox Jewish community and on the benefits to all schoolchildren.
We are all too aware of the plight of yeshiva parents who struggle to afford tuition for their children.
ECCA offers one critical form of “school choice” – i.e, methods that provide parents the financial ability to choose schools best suited for their children, whether they be public, private, or religious. This bill will encourage taxpayers to invest in education by allowing a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for taxpayers who contribute to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO). These SGOs would then provide scholarships for a range of educational expenses, including private school tuition!
This approach, with its nearly universal eligibility, promises to be of great benefit to parents who struggle to afford tuition at the yeshivos and Jewish schools of their choice.
It is vital that you contact your representatives by using our portal, below. Congress must hear your voice.