KMA Land - Young Backs College Fund Protection Bill

News Article

By Mike Peterson

Iowa Congressman David Young supports a bill that would help make college more affordable for students and families.

The Van Meter Republican backs HR 529, a bill amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In an interview during KMA's 7:35 newscast Thursday morning, Young says the bill protects funds collected under 529 college savings plans from federal and state taxes.

"College has become more expensive, it seems," said Young. "With the debt that is piled up sometimes by students who want to make sure they have a good job after graduating. We want to make sure we're protecting those 529 plans--plans where those parents and grandparents can put money into those accounts, to make sure that they can build some surplus in there, with an investment they can use to pay off college debt without being taxed."
Young believes money in these accounts should be available to defray college students' expenses.

"It allows for 529 funds to be used by students who are college to buy a computer, or to buy software to help them with their studies in the fields that they're going into," said the congressman. "It's very important that we're doing what we can to address the needs of college."

The 3rd district representative claims the Obama Administration proposes to tax funds collected under 529 accounts.

"In the president's budget that he released," said Young, "he wanted to go after 529, and tax them, and use that revenue for other spending. We said, 'hold on.' We're overtaxed, and those funds in the 529 plans are supposed to be used and protected to allow parents, grandparents and students to get college paid off, and paid those tuition bills.

"When members of Congress, and sometimes presidents, see those pots of money that are unprotected, they want to go after them," he added. "But, we want to protect these funds."

Young says the bill received bipartisan support in the U.S. House.

"A lot of these issues are bipartisan, and need to be bipartisan," said Young.
"We have more in common that we think out there. Sometimes, things get up in the partisan divide. Each side has their principles and priorities. But, if we could find some of those things that we all agree on and advance those, that's what we need to do. We need to do them sooner, rather than later."

HR 529 passed by a vote of 401-to-20 in late February, and now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

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