Election 08: Making college affordable

Like everyone else, I'm watching this election in the USA with great interest. One of the issues I haven't yet seen discussed is making college more affordable for families that can't just shell out $40K/year. So I've been looking around and found some great information at Momocrats. In fact, they have covered every major issue with the records of both candidates, so I urge you to go and look at what they've uncovered.

However, here I'm just going to present their findings on paying for college. You can make your own decisions about who to vote for.

BARACK OBAMA

• Obama Repeatedly Supported Making College More Affordable. Obama has voted repeatedly to increase Pell Grant awards that make college more affordable. He co-sponsored the HOPE ACT to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100 – and worked on the HELP committee to ensure it passed and was signed into law last year.

• Obama Will Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit. As president, Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that provides $4,000 a year towards a college education in exchange for community service.

JOHN MCCAIN

• McCain Voted Against Efforts To Help Make College More Affordable. McCain has repeatedly voted against increased funding for Pell Grants and other programs designed to make a college education more affordable. In some instances, he even chose to keep tax cuts for the wealthy instead of using the funds to increase Pell Grant awards. In addition, he voted against reducing student loan costs, and opposed giving middle income families a tax deduction for up to $12,000 in college tuition expenses. [Vote 268, 10/25/05; Vote 153, 5/22/01; Vote 155, 5/22/01; Vote 126, 6/25/97; S 1429, Vote #241, 7/30/99]

Comments

[suburbancorrespondent]

We've just started looking at the costs - the prices just make me gasp.

[amzy5]

why do these findings not surprise me?

[Daisy]

I'm putting off the purchase of new hearing aids until my daughter graduates.

[Devilish Southern Belle]

Of course McCain voted against such funding. He can easily afford to send his own children to college!

[Karen]

Just one more reason to not vote for McCain, but really, I didn't need another reason not to vote for him.