Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found. Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position. Candidates are listed by party and in alphabetical order by last name. Black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria for inclusion.
Should the federal government increase direct financial aid (loans/grants/debt relief) for college students?
Virgil Goode, former US Representative (R-VA), stated the following during the Oct. 23, 2012 "Third Party Presidential Debate," in Chicago, IL, hosted by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, available at www.c-span.org:
"You might not get what you want to hear from me but you're going to get straight talk. We can't afford more federally subsidized student loans and we can't afford more Pell grants. I wish I could stand here and tell you 'yes we can give you more, no one is going to have to pay for it.' A debt of 16 trillion dollars is bearing down on us... We can't afford more Pell grants, and we can't afford more federally subsidized student loans... We've got to balance the budget." Oct. 23, 2012 Virgil Goode
Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, stated the following during the Oct. 23, 2012 "Third Party Presidential Debate," in Chicago, IL, hosted by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, available at www.c-span.org:
"So what's the Federal role though when it comes to education and what's the primary reason in this country why college tuition is so high? Well it's because of guaranteed government student loans. That because of guaranteed government student loans, no one has the excuse of not getting an education and so because of that, institutions of higher learning, colleges and universities, are immune from pricing. That if kids would take a harder look at it 'gee I don't think I can afford fifteen thousand dollars a semester, I think I'll just sit this one out' when that happens in mass I guarantee you the cost of college tuition will drop dramatically, but today that is a situation that does not exist. I can't afford fifteen thousand dollars, and yet friends and family will point and say look you can get a guaranteed government student loan. That is another one of government's unintended consequences that has college tuition at such a high rate." Oct. 23, 2012 Gary Johnson
Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, stated the following in his Jan. 27, 2012 "Remarks by the President on College Affordability, Ann Arbor, Michigan," available at www.whitehouse.gov:
"...[W]e’ve got to have an economy in which every American has access to a world-class higher education...
But the challenge is it's getting tougher and tougher to afford it. Since most of you were born, tuition and fees have more than doubled. That forces students like you to take out more loans and rack up more debt...
Student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt for the first time ever. Think about that. That’s inexcusable...
...[M]y administration is increasing federal student aid so more students can afford college. And one of the things I'm proudest of, with the help of all these members of Congress, we won a tough fight to stop handing out tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to banks that issue student loans and shift that money to where it should go, directly to the students and to the families who need it.
Tens of billions of dollars that were going to subsidies for banks are now going to students in the form of more grants and lower rates on loans. We’ve capped student loan payments so that nearly 1.6 million students - including a bunch of you - are only going to have to pay 10 percent of your monthly income towards your loans once you graduate - 10 percent of your monthly income." Jan. 27, 2012 Barack Obama
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated the following in his May 23, 2012 education whitepaper, "A Chance for Every Child," available at www.mittromney.com:
"...[A] flood of federal dollars is driving up tuition and burdening too many young Americans with substantial debt and too few opportunities...
America is fast becoming a society where education is unaffordable, a government loan is an entitlement, default is the norm, and loan forgiveness is the expectation. America needs a new normal, where college is affordable and paying off debt is achievable...
In 2010, President Obama decided that the best way to address the growing cost of college was for the federal government to take over the student loan business...
When the Obama Administration and the Democratic Congress nationalized the student loan market, they drove away private lenders and moved a trillion-dollar obligation to the federal balance sheet. A Romney Administration will embrace a private-sector role in providing information, financing, and education itself, working with effective businesses to support the goals of students and their families...
Unlike President Obama, Mitt Romney understands that more spending is the last thing our schools need." May 23, 2012 Mitt Romney
[Editor's Note: In addition to the above Con statement, Mitt Romney also made the following statement about student loans during an Aug. 20, 2012 town hall meeting at St. Anselm College, "Romney Sidesteps Student's Question About Mounting Student Loan Crisis," available at www.thinkprogress.org:
"[I]t is very tempting as a politician to go out and say, you know what, I’ll just give you some money. The government’s just going to give you some money and pay back your loans for you. I’m not going to tell you something that’s not the truth... I’m not going to go out and promise all sorts of free stuff that I know you’re going to end up paying for.]
Jill Stein, MD, former Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, stated the following during the Oct. 23, 2012 "Third Party Presidential Debate," in Chicago, IL, hosted by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, available at www.c-span.org:
"I think it is time to make public higher education free as it should be. We've done this before when our troops came home from the second world war we provided free higher education through the GI Bill and we know that it pays for itself. For every dollar that we invested as tax payers, seven dollars was returned as benefits to the economy including more than enough revenue to cover the full cost of those tuition payments...
We owe it to our younger generation to give them a secure start into their economic lives... You need a college degree in order to have economic security so it's only right that we should now be providing that for free.
...[A]nd while we're at it, it's time to instead of bail out wall street for the fourth time... instead lets bail out the students and do something really useful with that bailout...
...We cannot afford not to educate our students. Our younger generation is the greatest resource we have... Every generation the economy needs to be re-booted by fresh imagination, and by the fresh genius of the new generation. That doesn't happen when a generation is locked into being indentured servants, that's what our students are now, we need to bail them out and create free public higher education." Oct. 23, 2012 Jill Stein
Failed to win the Republican nomination on Aug. 28, 2012; No additional research done as of that date to determine candidate’s position on this question.