MASON CITY – Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Bruce Braley was in Mason City Thursday on the NIACC campus to highlight differences between his campaign and that of his opponent, Joni Ernst, who he says wants to hurt college students by eliminating loans and grants many of them depend on.
The Braley campaign says that while Braley is “working to reduce the burden of college costs, Joni Ernst said she’d do away with federal student loans and Pell grants, which could put college out of reach for the hundreds of thousands of Iowans who rely on that aid annually for their education.”
Braley said that across Iowa, more than 111,000 students received almost $359 million in Pell Grants during the last school year (maximum Pell grant of $5,645), including over 10,000 students in Western Iowa, and over 26,000 students in North Eastern Iowa. Over 2,500 students from Buena Vista University and North Iowa Area Community College rely on Pell Grants to help cover the costs of their education.
Braley says he used student loans to attend college and has “reached across the party divide to deliver results and reduce the cost burden of college by expanding the Pell Grant program.”
In the 2012-2013 school year, students attending Iowa schools received 228,620 federal Stafford loans worth more than $1 billion. Stafford loans are often cheaper than private fixed-rate loans.
“A good education is the gateway to economic opportunity, but too often, the rising cost of tuition and other college costs are putting that dream out of reach,” said Braley. “That’s why I believe we must do everything possible to make college more affordable, including expanding the Pell Grant program that already helps more than 111,000 Iowa students. But State Sen. Joni Ernst would increase college costs for Iowa students and families with her Tea Party agenda that privatizes all student loans and jeopardizes Pell Grants for nearly 2,500 students at our colleges in Storm Lake and Mason City. As a U.S. Senator, my focus will always be on expanding, rather than limiting, access to a quality college education.”
Braley has introduced legislation to renew tax credits that offset tuition and college costs. He also supports legislation that allows people to refinance student loans to lower interest rates.
According to the Project on Student Debt, students attending four-year colleges and universities in Iowa graduate with an average student debt of $29,456, and 71% of students graduate with some form of debt.
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