October 7, 2026 10:00 a.m. 

On Wednesday, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said that he and Massachusetts Senator Richard Neal are battling back against proposed regulations recently issued by the Trump administration in the Internal Revenue Service code that further Republican plans they claim would undermine public school systems by directing taxpayer money toward private and religious schools.

A release said in a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, the senators called out the administration for its attempt to circumvent the clear rules established by Congress and funnel even more taxpayer funds away from public education and using that money to subsidize the private school education of children from wealthy families.

Wyden and Neal wrote that Treasury’s interpretation of federal statue would allow married couples filing jointly to potentially claim double the credit that is authorized under the law.

Wyden and Neal’s letter said, ‘This interpretation is wildly inconsistent with the longstanding treatment of other provisions that use identical or near-identical language”.

The lawmakers noted, “This throws doubt upon Treasury’s interpretation of many provisions of the Code, creates a great deal of uncertainty in the administration of our tax laws, and could ballon the deficit”. They said this could increase the cost of the credit by an additional $150 billion over the next decade.

The senators closed their letter by demanding the administration provide written answers and explanations to how the new interpretation of the law will affect taxpayers, how it came to be and was coordinated internally, which other tax provisions taxpayers might take a return position that is different from previously listed guidance based on the new interpretations and other pressing matters.