The President announced a new proposal Thursday that is, perhaps, the most progressive initiative of his administration. And if the fight over healthcare reform is any indication, it will draw the ire of Republicans in Congress, despite inspiration for the idea coming to the White House from a deeply red state.
President Obama said that on Friday he will officially unveil a program that will give all Americans conditional free access to a two-year community college.
“Put simply, what I’d like to do is see the first two years of community college free for everybody who’s willing to work for it,” the President said in a short video released by the White House Thursday night.
By “willing to work for it,” the student must be enrolled at minimum of half-time, keep up a 2.5 GPA, and “make steady progress” toward graduation, according to the White House.
The administration said that the benefit could reach 9 million students annually and save the average full-time community college attendee $3,800 in annual tuition costs.
In a twist reminiscent of the Affordable Care Act saga, a similar program, under a similar name, was put into practice in heavily-Republican Tennessee last year, and touted by the state’s Republican Governor Bill Haslam.
The Tennessee Promise initiative gives all students in the state a free ride at two-year community college or trade school in return for community service and class attendance during winter and spring sessions.
The issue of financing will likely be the source of significant wrangling on Capitol Hill. In Tennessee, the program is funded by the state lottery. The White House did not say how its plan would be funded yet, but said it could be paid for through cost-sharing with states. The federal government, the White House said, would cough up 75 percent of tuition.
In his budget proposal for next year, President Obama will formally lay out a plan to finance the program, which the White House estimates will cost $60 billion over the next decade.
Republicans are likely to bristle at a major federal government investment in education.
On Friday morning, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) tweeted, “President Obama is in Tennessee offering up a plan for free community college educations that will cost a lot of money.”
Conservatives could play an old card to deflect charges of hypocrisy, given the origins of the initiative. During the 2012 Presidential debate, the Party attempted to distinguish the virtues of Romneycare from Obamacare by saying it was a program that works well at a state level but not on a national level.
With consumers financing a substantial amount of programs on both levels via the individual mandate and no money proposed for this program yet, that argument might be even more forceful this time—especially in light of austerity budgets.
Over the last six years, states have made considerable cuts to community college programs. In California, there has been a 24% reduction in funding per student, meaning long waiting lists for classes and delayed graduation.
But if, unlike the individual mandate in Obamacare, states can opt-out, Republicans might be less likely to grumble. They could concede ground to Obama if he, in turn, shows flexibility on the implementation of what is essentially a Republican plan–especially given speculation that Haslam could be a Presidential candidate in 2016.
The President’s announcement in Tennessee on Friday is part of a multi-city tour across the country to unveil new policy initiatives the White House will promote in the upcoming State of the Union Address.
UPDATE: this story has been updated to reflect recent comments made by Sen. John Cornyn. Another update include latest cost estimates for the new program.
