President Barack Obama will announce his plan to make community college free for all students.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will announce the plan at Pellissippi Community College in Knoxville on Friday.
The White House expects 9 million students to participate in the program — if approved by a Republican-dominated Congress.
The program has a projected cost of $70 billion.
“With no details or information on the cost, this seems more like a talking point than a plan,” said Cory Fritz, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
The federal government would pay three quarters of the cost, at least initially, according to USA Today.
From USA Today:
The America’s College Promise program would be available to traditional and non-traditional college students, she said, and would support those seeking the first two years of a bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree, or even just job training.
Obama said a world-class education starts with children, but that adults need training, too. “It’s not just for kids, we also have to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to constantly train themselves for better jobs, better wages, better benefits.”
