Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd said Tuesday that as president, he would use federal money to make obtaining a community college associate's degree tuition-free.
Dodd, a U.S. senator from Connecticut, said he would use federal money to match up to 50 percent of community college tuition that was paid for in state money.
"If an eighth-grade education was critical in the 19th century, and a high school education was critical for most of the 20th century, then I happen to believe a higher education is essential for this country in the 21st century," he told about 70 people at the Boone County Historical Center.
The proposal would cost the federal government a maximum of $54 billion over eight years, campaign aides said.
The proposal is part of the education plan he is to outline Thursday at Des Moines Area Community College.
Dodd's proposal would raise the money for a potentially free community college associate's degree by requiring banks that administer federal student loans to compete for federal government subsidies. Campaign aides said the strategy would reduce subsidies by $48 billion over eight years.
"I'm a great believer we ought to get rid of the subsidies for banks when it comes to student loans," Dodd said.
Dodd's appearance also brought impromptu entertainment from his daughters.
At one point during his speech, his daughter Christina, 2, leapt from the side of her mother, Jackie Clegg Dodd, to stand by her dad.
At his urging, she did an impromptu Irish step dance. "I didn't know I was going to get a side show here," Dodd said after the applause subsided. . . .
