HR 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), has passed the U.S. Senate with a restructured tax-credit voucher provision. An amendment to remove the voucher language entirely lost on a 50-50 vote. The voucher provision included in the bill as it passed the Senate contains these significant changes:
- the tax-credit voucher program is optional, not mandatory, for states; to participate, states would have to opt into the program and provide a list of approved scholarship granting organizations (SGOs)
- limits the amount a donor to SGOs can receive in annual tax credits to $1,700
- removes the volume cap on tax credits, so the impact on the federal budget is unlimited
- gives the Secretary authority to regulate the SGOs and opens the door to regulation of private schools
While the opt-in provision is certainly an improvement, subsidizing private schools is an unacceptable use of public funds, will reduce the funding available for public schools, and opens states to coercion from federal officials who want to shift public education funding to private schools. The bill now will go back to the U.S. House for approval. Please ask your congressman to amend the bill to remove the voucher provision entirely.
Please ask your U.S. congressman to insist on an amendment to remove tax-credit vouchers, called Qualified Elementary and Secondary Education Scholarships, from the budget reconciliation bill:
Congressman Trent Kelly – Congressional District 1
District Office: 662.841.8808
U.S. Capitol: 202.225.4306
Email: https://trentkelly.house.gov/contact/
Congressman Bennie Thompson – Congressional District 2
District Office: 601.946.9003
U.S. Capitol: 202.225.5876
Email: https://benniethompson.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact/email
Congressman Michael Guest – Congressional District 3
District Office: 601.693.6681
U.S. Capitol: 202.225.5031
Email: https://guest.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact
Congressman Mike Ezell – Congressional District 4
District Office: 228.864.7670
U.S. Capitol: 202.225.5772
Email: https://ezell.house.gov/contact/
Find additional contact information for your members of Congress
Here are three important points for our congressmen to consider:
1. For more than a decade, Mississippians have partnered with our State Legislature to keep vouchers out of Mississippi; we do not want to open our state to coercion from federal officials whose goal is to shift public education funding to private schools.
2. This bill’s costly voucher program would take students backward. Research shows students who use vouchers to move from public to private schools suffer significant learning loss.
3. The federal tax-credit vouchers in HR 1, the budget reconciliation bill, would add billions of dollars to the federal deficit annually, for a program that voters across the nation have defeated each and every time it has been on a statewide ballot.
Thank you for your work on this measure so far! Your calls have made a difference, but we still have work to do to remove the voucher provision altogether. Please email and/or call your congressman today. Share this information with others, and ask that they call, too. Our children are counting on us, and together, we’ve got this!
