A final-hour revision to the Trump administration’s reconciliation package—known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed on July 1—preserved the Educational Choice for Children Act, a provision that will direct new funding to Jewish schools, Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudath Israel of America’s national director of government affairs, told JNS.
Motzen told JNS that the school choice provision in the bill, which creates a pool of federal tax credits to fund scholarships for private schools, including yeshivahs and Jewish day schools, was initially removed last week by the Senate parliamentarian, who advises the chamber on rules and procedures, but was ultimately restored after a flurry of emails, texts, phone calls and in-person meetings with senators and staffers who had been working around the clock for 48 hours to revise the bill.
When Motzen spoke to JNS last week, he was eagerly watching C-SPAN, tracking the bill’s progress as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) attempted a last-ditch filibuster.
“This absolutely would not have happened without working very closely with a group of advocates from different faiths, from different backgrounds, with different beliefs, and Senate champions who did not take no for an answer, and even at the last moment, when it seemed like all hope was lost, didn’t give up,” he said.
Achieving the necessary adjustments to the bill wasn’t the effort of just one lawmaker, according to Motzen.
He said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) “played a key role, but none of this would’ve been possible without the Senate leadership prioritizing the issue. They could’ve moved on, but instead, they stepped in to fix it and ensure it was included.”
Motzen told JNS he has spent the past decade advancing federal legislation in support of the school choice movement, which he said has expanded to include universal programs in 17 states.
“What started ten years ago is really a renewed shift to try to get something on the federal level on top of what’s happening at the state level, and advocating for a federal scholarship tax credit made the most sense,” he said. “Let’s be clear, if Donald Trump was not in office right now and the Congress not controlled by Republicans, then we wouldn’t be having a reconciliation with the school choice provision in it.”
“Without the outcome of the election, it would not even be a conversation,” he added.
The Educational Choice for Children Act will benefit a wide range of Americans, according to Motzen.
“This groundbreaking, historic federal tax credit will help every parent for a large range of uses like tuition, transportation, books, tutoring and special needs services,” he said. “You don’t have to go to a private school to benefit from these scholarships, and I think that as Americans learn more about it, you will see that it will have a large impact across the country since the scholarship is unlimited and there is no cap on the American taxpayer.”
Motzen told JNS that now that the bill has passed, Agudath Israel of America will focus on educating the community about “what this legislation does, the difference it can make and how it can benefit all parents.”
“Scholarship organizations already exist in many states, and more will be created,” he said. “There will be creative solutions to ensure everyone can contribute because if each person gives $1,700, together, we can unlock hundreds of millions of dollars to help children access a better education.”
“The program doesn’t begin until 2027, so we have time to raise awareness and inspire people to put their tax dollars to good use,” he continued. “Either it goes to Uncle Sam, or it helps kids get a better education.”
