On October 21, Oregon’s US Ron Wyden (D) and Jeff Merkley (D) introduced the Promoting Access and Retention Through New Efforts to Require Shared Higher Investments in Postsecondary Success (PARTNERSHIPS) Act. The bill proposes the creation of a program of new federal incentives for states to increase or maintain funding for higher education. The bill sets federal matching rates based on how much funding a state provides for public higher education operating support on a per-student basis, compared and indexed to the maximum Pell Grant award. Under the bill, states that spend more per student would receive a higher federal match rate, up to about $1,700 per student. Read the bill text here and a summary here. 

In addition, the PARTNERSHIPS Act would expand and make permanent the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which is available to families to help pay for college. Specifically, it would increase the tax refund for lower-income families who don’t owe taxes. The bill would also make Pell Grants, including those used for room and board, tax-free.

In a statement on the Act, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) President Muriel Howard and Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) President Peter McPherson called the Act “groundbreaking in its recognition of state disinvestment as the main driver of tuition hikes at public colleges and universities.”  They caution, however, that there are aspects of the bill that “need to be more carefully evaluated and modified.” Their full statement is available here.