Washington, D.C. (WJER) - Ohio’s Democratic U.S. Senator is pushing for a few ideas to get the cost of college under control.  

Sherrod Brown says he has introduced a bill called the Debt-Free College Act that would offer matching grants to states to increase their investments in public higher education.  He says these incentive-grants would be provided in exchange for a commitment from the states to help students pay for the full cost of attendance.
  
“The match would cover any cost for students. It’s way more than tuition,” he says. “The match would help cover the cost of tuition, room, books, supplies, other expenses above the family’s expected contribution without having to take on debt.”   

Brown says he believes Congress could come up with a way to fund this if presented with enough public pressure.

“The answer about many of these questions about public investment, whether it’s making childcare a public good, whether it’s student loans, you start by wiping away the President’s tax cut,” he says. “Close to 80 percent over time of the tax cut went to the richest 1 percent.”

Brown is also introducing an act to ensure students who have experienced homelessness can access affordable housing tax credits that in the past haven’t been available for full-time students.   

He says another bill would allow qualifying student borrowers to refinance their student loans down to rates currently offered to new federal borrowers.

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