Los Alamos Daily Post

By Chris Clark

3/23/16

WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District introduced legislation today to help hard-working families save for college.

At a time when 70 percent of graduating seniors have an average student loan debt of $28,950, the Save for Success Act reforms the American Opportunity College Tax Credit (AOTC) to increase its impact and encourage saving for college.

Created in 2009, the American Opportunity College Tax Credit allows families with college expenses to receive a $2,500 tax credit for a student’s first four years of post-secondary education, for a total credit of $10,000. This assistance, however, only comes after students have already incurred higher education expenses. In fact, students don’t often receive assistance until months after they have paid their tuition bills. Partly because of this, the latest research shows that the AOTC fails to boost college success.

Luján’s Save for Success Act improves the AOTC and makes higher education …

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