Press Releases
April 23, 1998

This evening, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America hailed the United States Senate's passage of legislation creating a new type of education savings account. Sponsored by Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-GA) and Bob Torricelli (D-NJ), "A+ Savings Accounts" will permit parents to invest money toward their children's education expenses in accounts whose accrued interest will be tax exempt. Proceeds from these savings accounts will be available for use toward a wide range of education expenses -- including tuition, tutoring, school supplies and transportation -- associated with K-12 education. Parents may enjoy the benefits of using A+ Accounts irrespective of whether their children attend public, private or parochial schools.

The final vote passing the Coverdell - Torricelli bill was 56 to 43 and was held after many hours of debate on a wide range of amendments to the legislation as well as the bill itself. The U.O.J.C.A., through its Institute for Public Affairs, has been working with key senators to secure passage of this legislation for many months. Nathan Diament, director of the Institute for Public Affairs, stated that "the passage of the education savings account legislation is a historic step toward reforming America's educational system in a manner that gives more power to parents and greater educational opportunity to America's children. We hope the President will recognize that these accounts will be of great benefit to America's families and will sign this legislation into law."