November 30, 2017
Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon University Community,
I am writing to update you on federal tax reform as we enter a critical stage of legislative action.
As I wrote to the campus community earlier this month, the tax reform bill introduced in the House of Representatives contains provisions that would cause serious harm to higher education. While that bill subsequently passed the full House, I am pleased to report that the current Senate tax reform bill omits the most distressing provisions of the House bill: those that would tax graduate student tuition waivers, eliminate the exclusion of employer-assisted tuition benefits from taxable income and end the deduction of interest paid on student loans — all of which would increase the cost of education and reduce student access. Also, the current Senate bill gives private universities continued access to the tax-exempt bond market, an important element in our ability to provide the facilities in support of our education and research mission.
Still, threats to higher education remain. The bill now before the full Senate does include an excise tax on private university endowments of over $250,000 per student. While this level will not directly impact Carnegie Mellon, our endowment is a crucial way we support scholarships, fellowships and the student experience, and this step would set a negative precedent for philanthropic support of higher education. Also, while none of the provisions noted above would serve as significant revenue sources for the federal government, the uncertainty of this fast-moving process raises the possibility that some of the worst provisions of the House bill could reappear as part of a legislative compromise.
I also want you to know that CMU leadership and senior staff have been working with our Congressional delegation for several months to protect students and higher education in this process. Over the last four weeks, I have personally written to every senator and representative in the Pennsylvania delegation in follow-up to staff meetings conducted by our government relations team. We have been vocal, firm, and unambiguous in our support for students and higher education and our delegation has been responsive. We have also been active partners in the vigorous advocacy of the Association of American University, the representative body of the nation’s top 62 research universities.
I applaud our Graduate Student Assembly, which has taken a leading and highly effective role in educating Congress and the public on the provisions that threatened student costs and access. Their stories are compelling and persuasive, and through their extraordinary efforts, have appeared in media accounts across the nation. I have offered the university’s continuing support and resources for GSA’s efforts, and I encourage any of our students or other members of the community who are concerned about these issues to make their voices heard.
As consideration by the full Senate continues this week and a potential conference committee is convened to reconcile a final bill with the House of Representatives, we must keep up the intensity of our outreach. I want to reaffirm our commitment to advocating for students and for higher education, and promise that we will continue to keep you informed.
Sincerely,
Farnam Jahanian
Interim President