Fattah Backs Obama's New College Plan

Count Chaka Fattah among the early supporters of President Obama's new proposal to shrink the rapidly rising cost of college.

At the University of Buffalo on Thursday, Obama unveiled a plan that would, most basically, rate colleges based on the educational bang for the buck they provide students, and eventually use this rating to determine how much government aid the school's students would be eligible to receive. 

In a statement released through his office, the congressman (D-2) said the proposal could, in applying downward pressure on the cost of college degrees, make higher education more affordable. 

“President Obama and I share a vision of our nation boasting the highest number of college graduates in the world, and the plan the President announced today has the potential to bring our country even closer to this target," Fattah said. 

“A college diploma can no longer be just a dream or a goal, it must be an expectation for our youth, and with that comes a responsibility for this country to make earning a degree accessible, attainable, and affordable."

If passed, the plan would begin publicizing the individual college ratings by 2015, then start using them to determine available aid by 2018. 

For more information on the proposal, and how it could affect your family, read Time.com's primer here.