By Isabella Kugel
kugelisa@grinnell.edu
As November’s general election draws closer, the senate race in Iowa continues to heat up. Democratic candidate and former Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge, who was recently endorsed by President Barack Obama, is campaigning against incumbent Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.
One of the ways Judge is appealing to voters is through an education plan announced on Aug. 24. The plan proposes strides toward higher education accessibility, including renegotiating student loan debt, offering two years of free community college and increasing federal need-based academic grants. Following the announcement of her education plan, Judge held roundtable discussions on Aug. 25 with educators and students in Des Moines to express her solidarity and commitment to helping students make college more affordable.
This plan supports the recently released United States Department of Education policy changes, which notably expanded the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. These changes loosen stipulations on the type and age of applicants who can apply for loan forgiveness for their federal direct loans, decreasing the fiscal burden on those who dedicate themselves to public service.
“Working families in Iowa want to believe that their children can have access to an education. Young professionals want to start their career without a mountain of debt,” wrote Anna Schierenbeck ’18 of Campus Democrats in a letter to The S&B. “I’m excited to see Grassley answer to Iowans for his choice[s] this November.”
Grassley has been publicly scrutinized for his refusal to hold hearings for Judge Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Professor Peter Hanson, Political Science, said that the divisions Donald Trump has created in the Republican Party could potentially hurt Grassley.
“To the extent Democrats can tie candidates like Grassley to Trump, it will hurt him … It is Grassley’s race to lose, but he could be defeated and there is a chance. I would say it’s an outside chance, but its real,” Hanson said.
Judge aims to break gridlock and obstruction in Washington. For her, securing the Iowa Senate seat might lead to working towards policies that effectively continue help students in a time when the rate of a college education is rising faster than any other section of the United States economy. Additionally, Obama’s Pay as You Earn Plan, an income driven debt repayment plan that relieves student loan stress, has seen budding success in recent years.
Since Senator Bernie Sanders emphasized the case for affordable college education during his primary campaign, there have been many similar calls from other politicians. Judge has one such proposal for refinancing student loans.
The refinancing process would allow for interest to be renegotiated to the current lower rate, but currently this process only exists for certain types of home loans. Increasing parameters for need-based financial aid and simplifying the application process is also on the Department of Education’s agenda, although some of these changes will not take place until late 2017.
