Former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Talks Education Freedom Tax Credit

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news.

**Joe Mathieu** (0:07)
Nothing is more important than our kids, so who'd be against scholarships for tuition, tutoring, services for kids with disabilities, all paid for by a federal tax credit, with no state dollars?

**Kailey Leinz** (0:22)
Welcome back to Balance of Power on Bloomberg TV and radio, alongside Joe Mathieu, I'm Kailey Leinz. And that's part of a campaign by Empowering America's Parents, a new policy group launching a multi-million dollar media blitz heading into the midterms, supporting the Education Freedom Tax Credit, a scholarship program to promote school choice that was created by last year's one big, beautiful bill. The group was launched by former Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, and he's joining us now in our DC studio. Governor, welcome to Bloomberg.

**Joe Mathieu** (0:50)
It's good to have you here.

**Glenn Youngkin** (0:51)
Great to be with you. Thank you for having me. And thanks for really shining a bright light on this critical topic, which is education freedom for families all across the country simply enabled by governors opting in.

**Kailey Leinz** (1:02)
Well, so talk to us about what it is they would be opting in here, and whether this would in some way detract from public schools.

**Glenn Youngkin** (1:10)
Yeah, well, as part, as you said, as part of President Trump's Working Families Tax Cut Act, the education freedom tax credits were enabled, and they unlock state-by-state scholarship opportunities, where if you want to support scholarships in Virginia, because I opted in, I was the first governor to opt in, then you can donate up to $1,700 and get an immediate full tax deduction from your federal return. And those scholarships can then be used for tuition, they can be used for tutoring, they can be used for equipment, they can be used for transportation, they can be used for families that have a developmentally disabled child who need extra services, students who are going to private school, but also students in public school. And it's funded by private donations and a tax credit. And therefore, it doesn't take a single dollar away from state education funds, and in fact, it's additive to it. And so there's really no reason why a governor would not opt into this. And we have 30 states that have opted in, but we have 20 that haven't. And the 20 that haven't, I believe, are putting politics in front of the needs of their citizens, because these scholarships can be life-changing.
And therefore, I'm asking governors across the country, opt in, and we're going to work through empowering America's parents to educate American citizens and families that this is available to them, but they need to reach out to their governor and tell them to opt in.

**Joe Mathieu** (2:34)
So where are the politics here? Why are people saying no? Is this being seen as a glorified voucher program? What would be the opposition?

**Glenn Youngkin** (2:42)
Well, the primary opposition comes from the teachers' unions, because they don't want to see anything damage the monopoly hold that they have on education today, when in fact, they should be for this.
Because it not only, yes, provides opportunities for private school tuition for families that otherwise couldn't afford it, but it provides also funds and scholarships for students in public school. And the bottom line is, the way this is structured, that over 90% of America's students would be eligible. I mean, this is as close to universal school choice as we can get. And the idea that it takes money away from public education is just wrong. And therefore, we should start telling the truth. And governors should opt in and not put politics in front of their kids.

**Kailey Leinz** (3:28)
Well, I have to ask you, as you are clearly focusing a lot of your political capital on this initiative at a time when the country is at war. It's fueling higher gas prices. People have affordability challenges that they often talk about, from gas to groceries to healthcare. Why is school choice such an important issue?

**Glenn Youngkin** (3:46)
Well, first of all, affordability is the top issue in voters' minds right now. And I understand why. I mean, listen, the Biden era inflation that was unleashed on our nation has had a long tail.
And it still presents itself at the grocery store and lots of other places. And of course, with crude prices that have been elevated because of the Iran conflict, we're seeing gas prices elevated as well.
But now we see them coming back down. And of course, oil prices today are around 75 bucks, and we're seeing gas prices come back down. And I think the work that is being done by Kevin Warsh will also translate into really de-inflationary kinds of policies. And as a result, I think we're going to see coming into the fall, you know, a real opportunity for us to celebrate the strong economy that we have, but also recognize that this concern about affordability is real. Now, affordability also translated itself into how am I paying for my child's either tuition at a private school or for the things they need to go to public school. And education is a huge issue in voters' minds. 75% of voters say that K-12 education is one of their top three issues when they vote. Of course, affordability is the top one. And so here's a chance for us to really push for governors to opt into a program that addresses two real issues for voters. Affordability, because it provides scholarships that don't cost their state anything in an area that they really care deeply about, of course, which is the education of their children.