Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                Chris Elliott                        Zach Lee                  Christian Palmer
                Geronimo Rodriguez       Blake Whitaker       Kristen Young

College affordability should be bipartisan

If there is any issue that should cross party lines, it is education, but if Congress' narrow approval of a college affordability measure Thursday is any indication, the parties are sharply divided on the issue.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved an update of the Higher Education Act, the first since 1998, in a 221-199 near party-line vote. 

This is after it took the bill three years to reach the House floor.

As it is written, the update covers a plethora of higher education issues, but the core point that splits Democrats and Republicans was the way in which the federal government should help consumers dealing with rising tuition.

The Democrat version of the bill would have cut in half the interest rate on student loans by July, but that version failed to beat out the Republican plan to hold colleges more accountable for costs and increase the maximum Pell Grant to $6,000 which can be applied throughout the year.

Of course, it is an election year, so bipartisanship takes a back seat to pleasing constituencies.

But kudos to the House for taking a step in the right direction. The bill would call for colleges that increase tuition more than twice the rate of inflation over three years to explain the raise in cost, and holding colleges accountable for the tuition they charge is good for students across the country. 

Footing the bill for college tuition takes more than accountability, however, but if Democrats and Republicans refuse to find common ground, little more can be done.

Both sides of the aisle are affected in the long run by the costs of rising tuition, and the problem will not go away after this year's election. 

At worst, the problem would compound itself and grow into a generation of Americans unable to afford higher education, and at best, it would be manageable by the majority of Americans for several more years. 

Until both sides of the aisle can come together and work toward a real solution though, this is not a bad place to start.