Dear Commons Community,

Hillary Rodham Clinton  will propose today major new spending by the federal government that would help undergraduates pay tuition at public colleges without needing loans.  As reported in the New York Times:

“…her proposals, which would cost $350 billion over 10 years and include new refinancing options for those already struggling with debt, are an aggressive response to what many Americans — Democrats and Republicans alike — see as a worsening crisis forcing young adults to move back home with their parents and struggle to get out from under repayment bills.

Under the plan, which was outlined by Clinton advisers on Sunday, about $175 billion in grants would go to states that guarantee that students would not have to take out loans to cover tuition at four-year public colleges and universities. In return for the money, states would have to end budget cuts to increase spending over time on higher education, while also working to slow the growth of tuition, though the plan does not require states to cap it.

Many states have reduced college spending sharply since the recession; one of Mrs. Clinton’s Republican rivals in the presidential race, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, signed a two-year budget last month that cuts spending for the University of Wisconsin system by $250 million. Tuition and fees for in-state residents at public colleges nationwide have increased by more than 40 percent since 2004 after adjusting for inflation.

Mrs. Clinton would pay for the plan by capping the value of itemized deductions that wealthy families can take on their tax returns. The tax and spending elements of her proposal would need support from Congress — a tall order, since it is now run by Republicans — while the plan’s goals would depend on support from state governors and legislators, more and more of whom have been Republicans recently.’

This is a step in the right direction.  It is also  gratifying to see the front-running Democratic presidential nominee making this proposal, however, it would take enormous compromising with congressional Republicans to enact it into legislation should Clinton be elected.

Tony