U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-WI, reintroduced the Debt Free College Act with U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-HI, to support college students by increasing both state and federal funding for public universities Wednesday.
“This bill is for the person who does everything right, who goes to school, who gets the grades, who gets into college, does everything that society has asked them to do and then they are financially upside-down,” Sen. Schatz said at the press conference.
Originally introduced in May 2018, the authors of this bill claim it would be able to provide free college to all Pell Grant recipients in 39 states and debt-free college for every student in 10 states.
The act would create a one-for-one match of federal funds for state appropriations to their public universities. The bill represents an attempt to encourage states to reinvest money in an effort to offset rising costs of student loans by covering the total cost of college.
Sen. Schatz believes the divide between federal and state funding is an ongoing concern for public universities across the country.
“We need to get states back in the game and get them to reinvest in higher education. This is not solely a federal responsibility,” said Schatz.
According to UW-Madison’s budget, state funding has consistently decreased since 1976, when state funds accounted for over 40 percent of the university’s total operating budget. In comparison, today, the state pays for just above 15 percent of the university’s annual budget.
As a former recipient of the Pell Grant, Rep. Pocan said that the Debt Free College Act is urgent since “44 million people in the United States are holding more than a trillion and half in debt.”
If passed, the bill intends to address increased costs that aren’t accounted for within tuition.
“In reality, tuition is just a small fraction of what it costs to go to college,” said Rep. Pocan referencing additional costs including rent, textbooks, food and school supplies.
Co-sponsor Rep. Barbara Lee, D-CA, spoke at the press release conference, addressing how college debt disproportionately affects minority families preventing them from “building wealth and achieving the American Dream.”
“For far too many Americans, a college degree is out of reach because of the incredible cost,” explained Rep. Lee. “This is especially true for African American students and students of color, who are less likely to be able to afford college than their white peers and more likely to default on their loans after graduating.”
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, shared support for the bill.
“Higher education should be a path to prosperity, not debt. But unfortunately, college costs and student loan debt are holding back an entire generation and creating a drag on economic growth for our country,” said Sen. Baldwin.
Despite widespread support from the Democrats, the Debt Free College Act is not without possible issues.
UW-Madison professor of public affairs and applied economics Andrew Reschovsky said that because it does not specifically target students who come from poorer or middle-class families, it may allow for students who have the financial ability to go to a private university to choose a public university to eliminate costs. In effect, taking financial opportunity away from the students who need it most.
Moreover, Reschovsky said that there still is an elephant in the room: who is going to pay for it?
“At least one party is against paying taxes,” Reschovsky said.
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