A group of Congressional Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday that would provide free community college for eligible students, as well as help fund costs of four-year degrees at minority-serving institutions.
The legislation, America's College Promise Act of 2015, builds on President Barack Obama's call during speech in January for improved college accessibility and affordability. The bill has more than 60 Democratic co-sponsors, including Rep. John Lewis from Atlanta. No Republican lawmakers have signed on to the legislation, making its chances of success highly unlikely.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, contributed an op-ed to The Wall Street Journal this week saying that a college education is affordable with various federal and state aid and scholarships, despite politicians and pundits who say it's too expensive for students.
If all states participate in America’s College Promise, the plan could benefit about 9 million students, saving full-time students an average $3,800 in tuition each year, supporters estimate.The bill also makes the community college credits transferable to four-year schools.
The bill would provide a federal match of $3 for every $1 states invest to waive tuition and fees for eligible students at community, technical and tribal colleges. The bill also creates a new grant program to cover part of tuition and fees for the first two years for low-income students at minority serving institutions such as historically black colleges.
The plan would cost $90 million over 10 years, more than Obama's original proposal, which had a 10-year price tag of $60 million.
Currently Tennessee offers free two-year college, and Oregon’s legislature passed a bill last week offering the same educational benefit.
Georgia lawmakers were cautious in their reaction to Obama’s initial free-college plan earlier this year. At the time, a spokesman for Gov. Nathan Deal said the state had long been providing college aid through its HOPE scholarship program, and hoped any federal program would free up additional state dollars to help more Georgia students.
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