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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 16, 2014 11:24 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Rick Mirabito |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | College Savings Month Resolution |
| In the very near future, I plan to introduce a resolution designating September 2014 as “College Savings Month” in Pennsylvania. Statistics show that obtaining a college education generally leads to greater success in one’s career. Studies in recent years have estimated the average lifetime earnings gap between those with a high school diploma versus a college degree to be $1 million. Beyond material success, a college education enhances one’s life experience and helps each of us to understand the world better. However, the cost of higher education is continuing to rise at unprecedented levels. As costs associated with college continue to climb, it becomes more and more difficult for students and families to reasonably finance a higher education. Indeed, many Pennsylvania families struggle with the increasing cost of college. Moreover, seventy percent of all Pennsylvania students who earn a degree from a four-year college graduate with loan debt, and many students continue to pay off large amounts of debt long after they complete their education. It is, therefore, truly in the best interests of families to plan ahead and begin to save for the costs associated with a college education while children are young. Public officials should encourage families to save for higher education expenses so that access to educational opportunities is enhanced for our children, grandchildren and others, without burdening students with educational loan debt. With this in mind, for more than two decades, Pennsylvania’s 529 College Savings Program has been helping families save for college. This program offers both Federal and State tax advantages to encourage saving for the expenses of higher education and to promote educational opportunity for all Pennsylvanians. With a record-breaking 188,039 open accounts and nearly $3.4 billion in assets, an increasing number of Pennsylvania families are using this program to save more than ever before for higher education. Please join me in encouraging Pennsylvania families to save for college and in recognizing the Commonwealth’s role in this important endeavor. |
Introduced as HR1029