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February 6, 2008

Key Lawmaker Retreats From Plan to Regulate College Endowments

Washington — Sen. Charles E. Grassley, who had been pushing a controversial plan that would require colleges to pay out more of their endowment assets every year, backed off that idea on Tuesday, according to the Reuters news agency.

The recent moves by Harvard University, Yale University, and other wealthy institutions to commit more of their endowment earnings to student aid has “slowed the push” for legislation, Mr. Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said at a gathering sponsored by Reuters.

“The possibility of legislation is out there,” Mr. Grassley said. “I haven’t given up on legislation. But I’ve slowed the push.” —Brad Wolverton

Posted on Wednesday February 6, 2008 | Permalink |

Comments

  1. Too bad Grassley and other legislators fail to realize that financial aid schemes to help the upper middle class don’t put these behemoth public charities anywhere near a justification for their tax-exempt status. The gestures offered by Harvard, Yale, and the other leviathans benefit a tiny minority of families who are already gorging on plenty of gov’t-sponsored free lunch. We need to impose a modest tax on exploding endowments, and this money should be used to establish and sustain a general fund for public higher education. The tax could be imposed only on educational endowments of 1 billion or more, and even if it were a pittance (.05%), it would add up to a fortune for the public colleges and universities that are starving while so-called charities rake in billions from hedge funds and other alternative investments.

    — SG    Feb 6, 06:07 PM    #