Heidi Alexander: “since his State of the Union Address, President Obama and Vice President Biden have been talking about their efforts to…”

“since his State of the Union Address, President Obama and Vice President Biden have been talking about their efforts to help students afford to go to college, which is something we are all in favor of. The President's proposals include what he calls a higher education race to the top. It has a familiar sounding formula. Though, in this case, it will impose new rules and mandates and price controls on colleges and universities in States. Unfortunately, this race to the top is headed in the wrong direction. The President should turn around his higher education race to the top and head it in the direction of Washington, DC, to help the federal government compete for ways to stop adding mandates and costs on States that are soaking up dollars and driving college tuition through the roof. Let me be specific and offer three examples of how a race to the top headed toward Washington, DC, could actually help students by saving them money on their tuition. First, Washington could stop overcharging students on their student loans. They are doing that now by borrowing money at 2.8 percent, loaning it to students at 6.8 percent, and using the profit to help pay for the new health care law and other government programs. Second, Washington could help students with lower tuition by repealing the new Medicaid mandates on States that take effect in 2014.…”