{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://boyle.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/icymi-boyle-announces-legislation-lower-cost-back-school-supplies-calls", "ICYMI: Boyle Announces Legislation to Lower Cost of Back-to-School Supplies, Calls on Trump to End Tariff Taxes on School Supplies", "2026-08-18", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Brendan F. Boyle", "B001296", "boyle.house.gov", "boyle", "https://boyle.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "PHILADELPHIA, PA \u2013 Today, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02) announced the Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act, legislation to lower the cost of school supplies for students and teachers. This bill would exempt school supplies and educational materials from the Trump administration\u2019s costly tariff taxes, which are increasing prices for families. Boyle also called on the White House to take immediate action to exempt these products from the tariffs.\n\n\u201cMy wife and I were shocked when we discovered this firsthand just last week when we were buying a new lunchbox for our daughter,\u201d said Congressman Boyle. \u201cOther goods \u2014 pencils, pens, anything you can name \u2014 are up and through the roof. I am proud to announce that I am introducing legislation in the House to exempt school supplies from these tariff taxes. I also want to urge the Administration to act now. The White House could act today to exempt these products from their tariffs.\u201d\n\nAccording to Groundwork Collaborative and the Century Foundation, the cost of school supplies has increased by 8 percent this year. Lunchboxes have increased 27 percent, while notebooks have become 23 percent more expensive.\n\nThe Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act directs the Secretaries of Commerce and Education to work together to create a list of tariff-free school supplies, but also specifically exempts:\n\nOffice and school supplies\n\nBackpacks\n\nNotebooks, memorandum pads, and similar paper products\n\nChildren\u2019s picture, drawing, and coloring books\n\nCalendars\n\nComputer keyboards\n\nHairbrushes\n\nPencils, crayons, chalk, and other drawing materials\n\nPens, markers, and related writing instruments\n\nThe bill preserves congressional oversight by allowing Congress to disapprove the designation of specific items for tariff exemptions through a Joint Resolution of Disapproval.\n\nBoyle will lead the effort to pass the Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act in the House. This legislation is led in the Senate by Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (MD). Senate cosponsors include Chris Van Hollen (MD), Chris Coons (DE), Andy Kim (NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE), Jacky Rosen (NV), and John Hickenlooper (CO).\n\nBoyle is the Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee and serves on the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal tax policy.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-19T05:29:02Z", "2026-08-19T05:30:24Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://boyle.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/icymi-boyle-announces-legislation-lower-cost-back-school-supplies-calls"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6832062974572182, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}