Education Tax Plan Advances in Senate

The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved a $20-billion-plus education tax plan that includes a measure touted by President Bush to give tax breaks to parents to help them send their children to religious schools.

Democrats joined Republicans in approving the bill, which would allow parents to contribute up to $2,000 a year per child to tax-free education savings accounts, up from the current $500, to help cover tuition at U.S. universities.

In a victory for Bush, the panel also narrowly adopted a controversial plan that would allow parents to use the money to pay for private and religious school tuition from kindergarten through college.