President Barack Obama wants Congress to make a $2,500 college tuition tax credit permanent in his 2011 budget.

The White House estimates the price tag of The American Opportunity Tax Credit would be about $58 billion over the next 10 years.

The full credit is available to students whose family’s income is $80,000 or less or $160,000 or less for married couples who file a joint tax return.

AOTC was first introduced as part of the $814 billion economic stimulus bill Obama signed in fall 2009 and is currently set to expire this year.

To help illustrate his point, Obama was joined in the Rose Garden  on Wednesday by three families who have benefited from AOTC.

“I am calling on Congress to make this tax credit permanent,” he said. “Because we’ve got to make sure that in good times or bad our families can invest in their children’s future and in the future of our country.”

The U.S. Department of Treasury  reported  nearly 12.5 million students have been helped by the credit in the past 21 months, receiving an average tax credit of more than $1,700.

The report also said AOTC provided 75 percent more aid than the Hope Credit, which was introduced during the Clinton administration and only covered the first two years of college.