The new tax package once contained a provision to allow parents to withdraw their own money from tax-free education savings accounts to pay for elementary and high school expenses. This item was the brain-child of Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.).

Reportedly, the proposal so annoyed President Clinton -- and the education establishment -- that he threatened to veto the whole tax bill. He and the establishment prevailed.

Here is a brief description of the Coverdell amendment:

• Parents could contribute up to $2,000 annually in after-tax funds, plus their $500 per child tax credit, to an A+ Account for each of their children.

• Interest on the accounts would be tax-free, and parents could make withdrawals for educational expenses -- whether their children attend public, private, religious or home schools.

• A couple saving the maximum at 7 percent interest would have $17,883 when their child entered first grade.

• By the time the youth entered junior high, the amount would have grown to $44,721 -- assuming none had been withdrawn.

Proponents of the accounts point out that they would allow parents to develop the most appropriate solution for their children's individual educational needs -- freeing them from a one-size-fits-all regimen.

Source: Gary L. Bauer (Family Research Council), "Give Parents A School Choice Tax Break," Investor's Business Daily, August 6, 1997.

For more on Education Proposals Before Congress http://www.ncpa.org/pi/congress/cong7.html