KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — President Barack Obama says his plan for two years of free community college for any American will help train the workforce and improve U.S. competitiveness with other countries.
The White House says the program will cost the federal government about $60 billion over 10 years. Details on how Obama proposes to pay for it are to be released next month.
States that want to participate in the program will have to chip in, too.
Obama modeled his program after one started in Tennessee by the state’s Republican governor. But Obama is getting a cool reception from a Republican-controlled Congress uninterested in big new spending programs.
Obama announced the initiative at a community college in Tennessee.
He’ll also promote it in his upcoming State of the Union address.
