Press Releases

House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s proposal to address rising college costs:

The federal government, states, and institutions have a shared responsibility to help rein in college costs. Earlier this month, I was pleased to join my House and Senate colleagues as the president signed into law bipartisan legislation that lowers loan interest rates for millions of students. This new law illustrates the progress we can make on behalf of American families when we work together to craft smart policies, and I hope to build upon this success as we work toward the shared goal of ensuring more students have access to an affordable higher education.

While I am pleased the president’s new plan recognizes the importance of promoting innovation and competition in higher education, I remain concerned that imposing an arbitrary college ranking system could curtail the very innovation we hope to encourage – and even lead to federal price controls. As always, the devil is in the details, and I look forward to examining the president’s proposal further as part of the committee’s ongoing efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act and help improve college affordability and access.

 

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