- By Office of Congressman Tom Reed
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Washington, DC- There is a college cost crisis in our country. Through tax reform, Congressman Tom Reed is working to make college more affordable.
With over $1.4 trillion in student loan debt nationwide, and the average student graduating with over $30,000 in debt, this is an issue that needs to be tackled.
"Obtaining a degree and the debt associated with it have risen at an unexplainable rate. Some universities have lost sight of helping kids from working and middle class backgrounds. We want to fix this and we ask that universities work with us to get college cost under control," Reed stated.
The country's richest universities have ballooning endowment funds that are currently tax free. Included in the tax reform bill is a 1.4 percent excise tax on endowments for schools that have funds of over $250,000 per student and more than 500 students.
"These are tax free investments and contributions that schools are getting, so where that money goes is a legitimate question that needs to be asked. As we bring more light to this issue, I am optimistic we can work with colleges to get the money to where I believe it needs to go- tuition reduction for working class students," Reed added.
Some of the examples of extravagant endowment spending by universities include:
- Spending more endowment money on hedge fund managers than in tuition assistance
- Increasing number of college presidents making more than $1 million.
- Luxurious amenities
"Universities are going to have to start making hard decisions of reducing executive salaries, reducing expenditures on some of these extravagant resort type of investments and focus on what they should be focusing on: providing a good quality education with an affordable price tag," Reed said.