In recognition of 529 College Savings Day on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) joined a group of lawmakers in reiterating the importance of their pending legislation to enhance and modernize the already successful 529 College Savings Program.
In February, Burr joined Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) in introducing legislation to pair with H.R. 529, a bill introduced by Reps. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) and Ron Kind (D-WI), which has already passed through the House. The Senate bill is beginning to pick up steam, recently passing 26-0 out of the Senate Finance Committee.
“College savings accounts allow parents to save for their children’s future,” Burr said. “Additionally, thanks to the ABLE Act, parents can also save for a disabled child’s future care. This legislation brought forward by both the House and Senate will allow some additional flexibility to help these accounts administratively function better. I hope we will swiftly pass this commonsense, bipartisan legislation after the president’s attempt earlier this year to kill this very popular program.”
The legislation would improve 529 savings plans in a number of ways. It would allow students to use their savings for computers and other required educational technology, removes an obsolete aggregation rule, and would allow taxpayers to re-deposit refunds from colleges without incurring taxes or penalties.
“529 plans in Iowa and across the country have helped millions of families afford a quality college education,” Grassley said. “Our bill builds on this success and strengthens these plans going forward. The Senate ought to pass the bill as soon as possible so we can get this proposal on the president’s desk.”