Lindsey Burke, PhD, Madison Marino Doan
The budget reconciliation process, introduced in 1974 as part of the Congressional Budget Act, functions as a supplementary tool to the annual budget process.REF Reconciliation involves two phases: First, the budget resolution outlines directives for designated committees to craft legislation that meets specified budgetary targets.REF In the second phase, this legislation, typically combined into a single omnibus bill, is processed under streamlined procedures in the House and Senate.REF
In the 119th Congress, lawmakers should use the budget reconciliation process to advance the following education reforms that right-size federal involvement in education and uphold accountability for taxpayer dollars.
K–12 Reforms
In order to right-size federal involvement in K–12 education, Congress should:
1. Make the Municipal Bond Exclusion Contingent on a State Implementing a Robust School Choice Law. States often issue municipal bonds in order to finance infrastructure projects such as building highways and public schools. These bonds are exempt from most taxes, including federal income taxes. Normally, bond markets require borrowers to pay a high enough interest rate to clear inflation and the tax burden on the interest income as well as paying some real rate of return. Whereas private entities must pay a high enough interest rate to clear all three components, states and municipalities must only clear inflation and a real rate of return. In this way, the tax-exempt status works as a subsidy, allowing states and municipalities to issue debt at much lower interest rates than private entities. Through municipals bonds, states can tap into these tax-advantaged debt securities to gain aid from the federal government to inappropriately out-compete private citizens and entities, such as prospective homebuyers, private schools, and other businesses for finite funding.
As a general matter, federal tax policy should strive toward simplicity, as few market distortions as possible, and low rates across the board. The municipal bond exclusion fails all three of these tests. » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/education/report/education-reconciliation-agenda-the-119th-congress-12-reforms