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Dems Vow to Tackle Rising Tuitions

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

December 12, 2006
When the Democrats take control of the House in January, they're vowing to tackle the rising cost of college tuition. But so far, talks have mostly been focused on lowering the already below-average student loan interest rates with no clear plan of what to do about the tuition costs.

Rep. Miller

At a Capitol Hill press conference today, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), addressed a throng of reporters on what he hopes to accomplish as the incoming chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. He noted that tuition at four-year public colleges grew 57 percent between 2000-2001 and 2005-2006.

"The price of tuition should never stand between a qualified student and a college degree," Miller said. "Yet the Department of Education has estimated that roughly 200,000 people each year delay or forego a college degree because they can't afford one. This is unfair to them and, because college graduates open businesses and create jobs, it is bad for our economy and our country's future."

While bemoaning rising tuitions, Miller offered lower interest rates on government-issued loans as the main solution.

Current interest rates for Stafford Loans, the most common student loan, are between 6.8 percent and 8.25 percent. Although higher than recent years, that's is still low. If Congress lowered interest rates by as much two percent, students who borrow $17,000, the typical maximum Stafford Loan, would be save $340.

When pressed further, Miller briefly mentioned that one other option could be to expand the Pell Grant program. Pell Grants are money for tuition that students do not need to pay back. He did not cite specifics.

Presidents' Salaries

While college tuition has increased, so have the salaries of the presidents who run the schools.

According to a recent report by the Chronicle of Higher Education, many college presidents' salaries have soared in recent years -- many of them doubling into and past the $1 million mark.

"It's embarrassing," Roger Bowen, general secretary of the Washington-based American Association of University Professors, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "We call it market competition, but universities should not be victimized by market forces; that's not what they're about. ... To the extent we force ourselves into market competition, we're going to see presidential salaries go up ... and you're going to see tuition go up."

Miller offered no solution to that problem but promised, "We're going to have some discussions."

Miller said he is also concerned with the ramifications of any solution because whether it be lowering interest rates or expanding Pell Grants, the money will have to come out of Federal funds at a time when the nation's national debt is the highest in its history.

But the fact that Democrats will be tackling this issue, supposedly within the first 100 hours, is a step up from Republicans who appeared to think that college costs were not an issue, Miller said.

"On November 7, Americans voted for a new direction in America," Miller said. "I believe they voted for ... an end to economic policies that overwhelmingly favor the wealthiest Americans to the exclusion and detriment of everyone else."

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