General election candidates running for the office of U.S. Senator or Representative in Congress were given the opportunity to answer the same question. At the time of publication, the following candidates responded to the question:
Candidates for U.S. Senator:
Barbara A. Mikulski (Democratic)
Richard Shawver (Constitution): This question is very important. A learned education is a must for everyone's future.
Had you seen my literature or appearance on MPT Community Media Center of Carroll County with the League of Women Voters of Carroll County, you'd see my views are very constitutional.
When elected United States Senator, I'll take an oath, Article VI Clause III, to support the constitution.
No where in the constitution does Congress have responsibility for education. Congress Responsibility, Article 1 Section VIII, if not see tenth amendment. The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Towson, a state university, is the responsibility of the state. A question for candidates running for governor. Eric Knowles is the Constitution party candidate for governor.
Eric Wargotz (Republican)
Candidates for Representative in Congress (District 1) :
Richard Davis (Libertarian)
Andy Harris (Republican): Higher education should be readily available to anyone who seeks it. Having five children, I know how draining but necessary the cost of college can be. That's why in the Maryland State Senate I supported numerous bills to cut the cost of higher education. In 2004, I sponsored a bill that would put a cap on tuition increases and in 2007 I sponsored a bill to include the cost of textbooks in tuition. A strong education produces a skilled workforce, bringing jobs to Maryland and boosting our economy. In Congress I will fight to keep higher education affordable and accessible.
Frank M. Kratovil, Jr. (Democratic): I was proud to join with a bipartisan majority of my colleagues last September in passing the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act through the U.S. House. This important legislation increased the size of Pell Grant awards and indexes the maximum award to keep up with the cost of living. In Maryland alone, this bill will invest more than $416 million in Pell grants over the next 10 years. Moving forward, I will continue to fight to protect federal investments in student loan and grant programs. These investments are critical to helping middle class families afford a college education, which is more important than ever in these tough economic times.
Candidates for Representative in Congress (District 2) :
Marcelo Cardarelli (Republican):
Cost of books: Federal legislation could be used to facilitate the distribution of copyrighted material, in agreement with authors and editors, over the electronic media at lower costs for the consumer (i.e.: selling single chapters instead a whole book). We should create the legal frame for the new ways of publishing to take form and let the market find the bottom prices.
Tuitions:The federal government should leave resources in the individual states instead of taking those resources to Washington.For instance, the 2009 budget for the Department of Education was $32B plus $102B from the America Recovery Act (Stimulus package). Total of $134B for a Department with a very unclear function. If all those funds were never taken away from the states, Maryland and the other 49 states would have an extra $2.6B dollars funding for schools and higher education.
Lorenzo Gaztanaga (Libertarian)
C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (Democratic): Investing in the future of our young people, particularly in stressful economic times, is the key to creating and sustaining jobs. I always support legislation that helps put college within reach of all students, such as the "Student Aid & Fiscal Responsibility Act." This bill, passed during the current Congressional session and signed into law by the President, is the largest investment in college aid in U.S. history. The bill increases Pell Grants and funding for programs that help students get into college and stay until they graduate. It reforms the student loan program, keeps interest rates low and reduces monthly payments. The bill also simplifies the FAFSA form and allows students to apply for college aid using their tax returns. I support all of these measures. I have also hosted student aid workshops around my district, connecting families and students with experts to guide them through the complex process.
Candidates for Representative in Congress (District 3) :
Alain Lareau (Constitution): With a failing economy and dreary prognosis for landing a decent job and livelihood after leaving school what point is there in discussing methods of reducing the costs of school.
Forgive the cynical response but if the current trend is not averted you are better off putting your money in junk bonds instead of higher learning. Would you prefer a congressman who is capable of telling you the truth?
Jerry McKinley (Libertarian) : Education is the cornerstone of a free society. It should be a fundamental priority for our country and our representative government as education enables people to live happier, healthier, more fulfilling and productive lives. Education should also be fun, engaging and considered a life-long journey -- not a destination to arrive at or a task to be achieved.
If elected, I would seek to provide incentives for American businesses to invest in our education system through reasonable means as a long-term opportunity to help shape the workforce of tomorrow. This could include tax breaks for scholarships, grants, internships and other means to get the most out of private investment and create a globally competitive workforce.
Finally, I believe that the education system needs to drive overhead costs out of their own industry by reducing bureaucracy, leveraging technological advancements and otherwise taking advantage of efficiencies which other industries today take for granted.
John Sarbanes (Democratic): I believe that a college education should be an attainable dream for all Americans. Democrats in Congress have increased the maximum Pell Grant from $4,050 per year to $5,550 per year.
We also simplified the FAFSA form and strengthened the Federal Direct Loan program to ensure that students have access to loans even in an economic downturn and to provide stable interest rates as loans are repaid.
We also now require colleges to provide students with fair and full information about their borrowing options when taking out and repaying student loans and advance information on textbook pricing to help them plan for expenses.
Many who are fortunate to earn a degree still grapple with student loan debt long after they graduate. That is why I authored a new law that provides forgiveness of student loan debt after 10 years of work in public service. For more information, go to www.studentaid.ed.gov.
Jim Wilhelm (Republican)
Candidates for Representative in Congress (District 4) :
Robert Broadus (Republican): To make higher education more accessible & affordable, I will emphasize the fact that the most significant barrier to obtaining higher education is wealth. As graduates enter the workforce, many discover for the first time how much of their money is taken away by the government through taxes. I will destroy this crippling effect by working to eliminate the Income Tax, thereby leaving more money for those with income to finance their educations & pay off their student loans more quickly. Most government programs require MORE taxation & less freedom. My #1 priority is less taxation, more freedom.
Donna Edwards (Democratic): My priority is to pass or improve legislation that will help make higher education affordable for more students. I am proud to have supported the single largest investment in college aid in American history: The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. This will make college more affordable for millions of Americans, build a world-class community college system, and improve early childhood education programs. The bill increases federal Pell grants to a $6,900 maximum in 2019, invests $2.55 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions, and invests in community colleges benefiting over 97,500 Maryland students.
Higher education is critical to the future success of our children and this nation. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act is the latest example of a national commitment to making higher education affordable. I will keep working with my Congressional colleagues to ensure that commitment continues in the years to come.
Candidates for Representative in Congress (District 5) :
Steny H. Hoyer (Democratic)
Charles Lollar (Republican)
H. Gavin Shickle (Libertarian)
Candidates for Representative in Congress (District 6) :
Roscoe G. Bartlett (Republican)
Andrew Duck (Democratic): Every American who graduates from high school should be able to attend college without being saddled with a huge debt. I support increasing Pell Grants to cover the cost of at least the first two years of college at local community colleges. We should extend support for education to cover technical training as well as traditional college attendance. We should continue to support tax credits to encourage adult learners to return to college, and refresh or expand their education. In contrast, I am running against an incumbent who has repeatedly called for the elimination of the Department of Education.
Dan Massey (Libertarian ): As a strong proponent of Austrian School of economics I believe that government should stay out of education. Currently the price of higher education has become unaffordable because of government loans and the tenure system of teaching. If free market principles were applied to education then the cost of that education would decrease naturally. Currently the For Profit Schools are under attack by the government and added regulation. These schools are the future of education because they are governed by free market principles and thus respond the needs of the students not the needs of the teachers or the loan masters. Government intervention only exacerbates a problem it never truly solves a problem and the current education system is a prime example.
Michael Reed (Constitution): As education is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution as an area that the Federal Government is to regulate, or otherwise involved in, I believe that the Maryland State Government along with its respective counties bear the burden of students' education.
That being said, I would probably introduce a resolution in Congress which urges universities to not raise tuition each year above the inflation rate. Tuition costs are skyrocketing faster than inflation and personal income, and should be monitored closely.
Candidates for Representative in Congress (District 7) :
Elijah Cummings (Democratic)
Frank Mirabile, Jr. (Republican): Affordability and accessibility to higher education starts with evaluating the present education business model. Increasing loan programs both public and private as well increasing public sector grants will not decrease costs or make higher education any more affordable or accessible. It defers costs to others or to an interest accrued payment. Research shows funding higher education via public financial instruments allows public educational institutions to increase their costs devoid of true market pressures that would otherwise check such disconnected price increases. Raising
the quality of education earned, instituting overhead cost efficiencies, utilizing new technology and administrative efficiencies, increasing competition in the market place, reducing the time to job entry, increasing tax free savings plans, streamlining 100 percent of cost tax credits, raising the educational standards of high schools and eliminating the resource robbing social costs of illegal enrollment in our public institutions will increase affordability and accessibility for all students.
Scott Spencer (Libertarian)
Candidates for Representative in Congress (District 8) :
Mark Grannis (Libertarian): College costs too much for the same reason health care and housing cost too much: government broke all three markets by pumping too much money into them. The best thing I can do for higher education is get government out of it.
Colleges, like other organizations, should meet their customers' needs. But government grants to colleges make them less reluctant to raise tuition. And government loans to students (who've been told their only way to succeed is to attend college) make students less resistant to skyrocketing tuition. Consequently, the prices are now all fake. As with health care and housing, government money has created a college bubble.
Real educational diversity would produce high-school graduates who know enough to start businesses and work for themselves doing whatever they love to do. Very few people would need college. That, rather than college for everyone, should be our goal.
Fred Nordhorn (Constitution )
Michael Lee Philips (Republican)
Chris Van Hollen (Democratic)
