President Biden Unveils the American Families Plan

During a joint session of Congress on April 28, President Biden announced the details of his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan – an initiative focused on children and families aimed to stabilize and expand the economy. Key highlights affecting education in the American Families Plan include:

• $200 billion for universal preschool for all 3 to 4-year-old children
• $109 billion in funding for two free years of community college
• $85 billion investment in Pell Grants to help students obtain a certificate or a two-or four-year degree
• $62 billion in funding for evidence-based strategies to strengthen completion and retention rates at community colleges and institutions that serve students from disadvantaged communities
• $46 billion in funding to make college more affordable for low-and middle-income students, including students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and other minority-serving institutions (MSIs)

The plan also includes the creation of a national comprehensive paid family and medical leave program, reformed unemployment insurance benefits, and boosted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and school nutrition programs. For more information on various provisions in the American Families Plan, visit the White House’s fact sheet.

Prior to the plan’s release, CASE worked closely with the Charitable Giving Coalition to signal our opposition to any revenue raising proposal that would limit the value of the charitable deduction, including one that would cap itemized deductions at 28 percent. While we are encouraged that the proposal was ultimately not included in the plan, CASE is continuing to advocate for preserving the full value of the charitable deduction on Capitol Hill and with the Administration in case the proposal re-emerges with the President’s FY 2022 budget expected to be released later in May.

See statement from the Charitable Giving Coalition in response to the plan.

To stay updated on the latest news and developments around the American Families Plan and the President’s FY 2022 budget, subscribe to the CASE Advocacy Network.

Lawmakers Consider Retirement Bill including the Legacy IRA Act

The House Ways and Means Committee held a markup hearing on the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021 (H.R. 2954), which would help more Americans save for retirement. Reported favorably out of committee, the bill included a slimmed down version of the Legacy IRA Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Mike Kelly (R-PA), that would expand the Charitable IRA Rollover to treat donations made by retirees to gift annuity programs as pre-tax income.

If enacted, the Legacy IRA Act would allow individuals to make a one-time $50,000 of tax-free distributions from their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to split-interest entities (charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts) beginning at age 70 ½ and indexes the $100,000 annual contribution limit to inflation.

Prior to the hearing, CASE joined a letter led by the Legacy IRA coalition in support of the Legacy IRA provision.

CASE strongly supports the Legacy IRA Act and will continue working with the coalition to build support for the legislation. For updates and to learn more about the policy, visit CASE’s Legacy IRA page.