Sen. John McCain and party officials call for more transparency and restraint in college spending.

Sen. John McCain’s higher education policy follows his established “addition-by-subtraction” federal spending theme, promising more research dollars that will flow once Congressional earmarks are vanquished.

“Billions of dollars are spent on pork-barrel projects every year; significant amounts come from research budgets,” says presidential candidate McCain’s Web site. “Eliminating earmarks would immediately and significantly improve the federal government’s support for university research.”

Similarly, McCain of Arizona and the Republicans say the remedy for soaring college costs should not include unleashing billions more dollars in education spending.

Instead, the fix should include greater transparency of costs and performance, a financial aid system that is simpler to understand and easier to navigate, a greater role for community and career colleges, and innovative ways of applying distance education.

Their prescription stands in sharp contrast to a plan promoted by Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who is calling for a $4,000 tax credit for students in exchange for community service, along with simplifying funding.

“Part of the issue we are trying to address is that throwing more money at the problem is not solving it,” says Alexa Marrero, communications director for the Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee.

Federal funding for higher education has increased significantly in recent years, “and yet college is still largely unaffordable for far too many people,” Marrero says. “We need to be looking very closely at what could be the unintended consequences of the current policies.”

Shining a spotlight on colleges whose tuition increases outstrip those of their peers is part of the solution, Republicans say, and so is sharing information about what’s working to limit costs while highlighting schools that make affordability a priority.