President Barack Obama is urging Congress to extend the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides $2,500 in breaks annually to families paying college tuition.
In a Wednesday press conference, Obama pushed for legislators to make the tax permanent. It is currently scheduled to expire in January.
“We’ve got to make sure that, in good times or bad, our families can invest in their children’s future and in the future of our country,” Obama said.
Obama said the tax would help middle-class families who might otherwise struggle to send their children to college.
He also said higher education is important from an economic perspective. He defended spending money to buttress colleges and universities even during budget cuts and lean economic times.
“The unemployment rate for folks who’ve never gone to college is almost double what it is for those who have gone to college,” Obama said.
Obama also said education is essential for the country to compete internationally.
“When countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow, offering our children a world-class education isn’t just a moral obligation — it’s an economic imperative,” he said. “There’s an educational arms race taking place around the world right now — from China to Germany to India to South Korea. Cutting back on education would amount to unilateral disarmament.”
Obama cited a recent Treasury Department report as evidence his administration’s policies are helping students get to college.
That report indicated tax cuts for higher education have increased by 90 percent, making education available to more than 12 million American students.
Obama also criticized congressional Republicans for their education policies.
“They’ve proposed cutting back on education by 20 percent,” Obama said. ”That means reducing financial aid for 8 million students and leaving our community colleges without the resources they need to prepare our students for the jobs of the future.”
Obama said the cut should be paid for by tax cuts on businesses and wealthy citizens the administration proposed in their last suggested budget.
Obama shared the Rose Garden stage with three families with college-age children. “Mary Ellen O’Mealia is a single mom who’s been working hard to put each of her four kids — Sean, Kelly, Leigh Anne and Tom — through college,” he said. “And it hasn’t been easy, but it’s been a little easier thanks to what we’ve done.” 
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Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]