Long Island, NY - January 30, 2019 - Assemblyman Andrew Garbarino (R,C,I-Sayville), a member of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, is urging his colleagues during these budget negotiations to find ways to help students in reducing the cost burden of their college education. The average New York student debt is $32,200, higher than the national average of $29,700.
“We need to invest in our college students, and one of the best ways we can do this is by increasing funding for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and making it more available to middle-class families,” said Garbarino, who is a member of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education. “New York students face an average of $32,200 worth of loan debt. I urge my colleagues throughout the budget negotiations to consider the ways we can help.”
Garbarino supports increasing TAP while also increasing the maximum threshold to include more middle-income families who currently are not eligible for the program. He also sponsors Retain-NY (A.4460 – 2018) which would index the tuition tax credit to the Higher Education Price Index, and increasing the deduction from $10,000 to $14,585. He also sponsors a bill which would create the Regents High-Tech Graduate Loan Forgiveness program to ensure the state’s workforce is prepared for these highly skilled jobs.