“Whether a student attends a public college in-state or out-of-state, a private college or a two-year college, the bad news is that prices are up across the board,” Miller said. “We must work with colleges to help rein in these skyrocketing costs and to provide consumers with better information about college pricing.”
The issue also has bipartisan interest, as Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., the panel’s senior Republican, joined Miller in seeking more answers. “After decades of exploding college costs, America has reached a crisis point,” he said.
During the hearing, however, lawmakers heard that part of the problem is declining state funding for public higher education. Alexander said that “drastic fluctuations in state appropriations” are a major reason behind public college tuition increases.
He called for a “maintenance-of-effort” partnership between federal and state governments that might prevent states from making major cuts in higher education support.
Such a policy would “make it more difficult for states to further reduce their fiscal responsibility to public colleges and universities by shifting the costs of higher education to students, and ultimately, federal tuition-based programs,” Alexander said.
Miller’s committee may begin marking up an HEA bill as early as next week.
--Charles Dervarics
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