At a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Tuesday Hillary Clinton promoted her new college plan, and slammed GOP opponent Scott Walker on education cuts.
Governor Walker “seems to be delighted in slashing investment in higher education in his state, in making it more difficult for students to get scholarships or to pay off their debt,” Clinton told the crowd at River Valley Community College.
Last month, Walker signed a new budget agreement that included $250 million in cuts to the University of Wisconsin system to help close the state’s budget gap.
Clinton specifically attacked Walker for ending a student loan forgiveness program that was available to health care providers working in underserved communities for three or more years.
She also claimed Walker rejected legislation that would have allowed Wisconsin students to deduct loan payments from their state taxes.
“I don’t know why he wants to raise taxes on students,” Clinton said. “But that’s the result.”
The proposal she was referring to was supported by Democrats in the state legislature, but never received enough support to make it to Walker’s desk.
The governor argued back that he has frozen in-state tuition rates for UW students for the last four years in a row.
“Hillary Clinton is offering the same bait and switch as President Obama, making promises to students while delivering higher tuition costs and tax increases,” Walker said in a statement.
Clinton’s $350 billion college plan would increase state funding for schools that guarantee “no-loan” tuition and those that accept large numbers of low- and middle-income students.
Walker called Clinton out on Twitter, suggesting she put her speaking fee towards student debt relief.
This attack coming from someone who charged universities $225,000 to give speeches. @HillaryClinton is #OutofTouch pic.twitter.com/8iiAD6VVsR
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) August 12, 2015
