Why USC’s President Pastides said ‘thank you’ to this SC senator

South Carolina’s junior senator got a big “thank you” for his work on the GOP tax bill Tuesday from University of South Carolina president Harris Pastides.

Pastides gave a “shout out” Tuesday to U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, whom Pastides credits with protecting colleges and universities in the final version of the bill, which passed a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday and could become law by the end of the week.

“I just want to send a great ‘thank you’ to Sen. Scott,” Pastides told USC’s board of trustees. “This is a shout-out to Sen. Tim Scott.”

Scott served on the conference committee that wrote the final version of the bill. Pastides credited him with ensuring student loan interest will still be tax deductible and graduate students won’t have to pay income tax on stipends or tuition waivers. The bill also maintains a “lifetime learning” tax credit for educational expenses.