Dive Brief:
- During a Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee hearing Wednesday, House Republicans suggested cutting tax benefits for nonprofit colleges and adding new regulation that would force institutions to spend certain portions of their endowment returns.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that proposals included limited charitable tax benefits, adding an excise tax on executive compensation higher than $1 million, and changing tax benefits for charitable contributions to encourage unrestricted gifts.
- Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) suggested requiring universities with endowments larger than $1 billion to spend 10% of earnings on reducing student tuition costs.
Dive Insight:
Congressional impatience with rising student loan debt nationwide has led senators and representatives to consider ways of controlling costs at the college level. At public schools, state legislators have repeatedly approved mandated tuition freezes. Their power to control the costs of tuition at private universities is limited. At the federal level, control over the tax code could be a powerful tool. Inside Higher Ed reports that Democrats who attended Wednesday’s hearing weren’t as supportive of the proposals.
