The U.S. Senate has approved a fiscal year 2008 budget that includes a number of provisions authored by Senator Susan Collins including; funding an expansion of the teacher tax credit, which was originally created by Senator Collins; restoring funding for the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); increasing funding for vital first responder grant programs; and increasing funding for the Childrens’ Health Insurance program, SCHIP.
Following final passage, Senator Collins released this statement:
“As with any major legislation, the fiscal year 2008 that was approved by the Senate is by no means perfect. But it does include many provisions that I support including increased funding for health insurance for low-income children; restored funding for the LIHEAP program; more funding for vital first responder grant programs; increased funding for veterans’ health care, and an expansion of the tax deduction for teachers. It also increased funding for the National Institute of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and community health centers.
“On balance, this budget includes funding for many priorities that I support. Therefore, I voted in support of the budget.”
Specifically, the budget includes Senator Collins’ provision to expand the “teacher tax deduction” from $250 to $400 annually to provide some relief to teachers who spend their own money on school supplies. The provision would also allow teachers to deduct costs associated with professional development expenses, and it would make the tax credit permanent. Senator Collins authored the original bill that created the teacher tax credit.
The budget also includes a provision coauthored by Senator Collins would provide $3.2 billion in funding for the LIHEAP program—an increase from the amount that was in the original budget proposal.
Senator Collins, along with Senator Lieberman, was also successful in her effort to restore $731 million funding for vital first responder and emergency planning grants.
Other highlights of the budget include:
- Increased funding for NIH, CDC, and community health centers.
- $1.5 billion additional funding for environmental and natural resource programs including the EPA, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
- An increase of $50 billion over five years to expand the S-CHIP program, which will help better meet the needs of uninsured children.
- Increased funding for the Veterans’ Benefits Administration by $70.3 million to address backlogs in the claims process.
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