« And then there were three: Committee narrows pool of presidential candidates | Main | 150,000 reasons for improvement »
November 02, 2004
McCollum, Bataglia spar at candidates’ forum
Sitting congresswoman Betty McCollum and Republican challenger Patrice Bataglia squared off at a candidates’ forum sponsored by KFAI radio and moderated by the League of Women Voters at Hamline University a week ago Monday.
In a wide-ranging discussion touching on everything from Hmong immigration to the Patriot Act, the two candidates for Minnesota’s fourth congressional district stuck mainly to their party lines.
In one exchange concerning the increasing cost of higher education in the United States and, more specifically, the overą50 percent hike in tuition at the Univeristy of Minnesota during the past four years, McCollum and Bataglia clearly defined their positions.
Bataglia, who grew up in a working-class family and at one time lived in government-subsidized, low-income housing, stressed the importance of hard work as a way for students to earn their way through college and improve their own lives.
“I know how hard students and families work to be able to afford an education,” Bataglia said. “I worked full-time when I went to high school and had a part-time job on the weekends. My own childrenčcollege graduatesčworked full-time when they went to school. It didn’t hurt them. It helped them get better jobs.”
Although Bataglia didn’t offer an explanation for the tuition hike at state schools, she did offer a possible solution to the problemčtax credits for students who are working their way through college.
McCollum challenged Bataglia’s notion that simple hard work could get anyone through college today.
She recounted that when she attended college, each credit cost $8, books were far cheaper, and she was able to pay her own way by working a part-time job on campus.
“It wasn’t as tough as it is today,” McCollum said. The congresswoman said the reason tuition was rising so quickly at the U of M is because of a lack of higher education funding at the state level.
“The state of Minnesota has failed to continue to invest in its higher education systemčthe economic engine that has made Minnesota so strong,” McCollum said.
McCollum pointed to the “College Affordability and Accountability Act” (H.R. 3519) that she introduced to Congress in November of 2003.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) and co-authored by 56 others, would require states to increase their financial commitments to higher education and would require universities to curb costs.
At the same time, the bill would expand access to government assistancečsuch as Pell Grantsčand giving
students and parents the chance to more easily compare prices among colleges.
In her closing statement at the forum, Bataglia criticized McCollum for withdrawing from a scheduled debate.
“I very anxiously look forward these opportunities to give our voters in the fourth district a view on the issues of two candidates,” Bataglia said. “I am disappointed that my colleague as a candidate has cancelled the debate.”
The fourth congressional district race is not considered by political pollsters to be a competitive race.
Posted by msveum at November 2, 2004 11:15 AM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)