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The idea would require the Republican-controlled Congress to pass legislation so that the federal government could pay for 75 percent of tuition, with participating state governments having to pick up the rest of the tab.

"With no details or information on the cost, this seems more like a talking point than a plan," said Cory Fritz, spokesman for Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in the House of Representatives.

Read MoreTug-of-war: Fund retirement or kid's college education?

The White House has not yet discussed the idea with lawmakers.

"We don't expect the country to be transformed overnight, but we do expect this conversation to begin tomorrow," Cecilia Munoz, a top domestic policy adviser to Obama, told reporters.

Obama will elaborate on the plan on Friday during a visit to Tennessee, where the Republican-led state has started a free community college program.

If all states signed on to Obama's plan, an estimated 9 million students could benefit. A full-time community college student could save an average of $3,800 in tuition a year.

Under the proposal, students who attend at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 grade point average while in college, and make steady progress toward completing their programs would have their tuition eliminated.

Not all college programs would qualify. Colleges would be required to offer programs where credits could count toward a four-year college and university degree, should students decide to pursue one, or training programs for skills in demand by local employers.

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Obama's idea of two free years of college

President Barack Obama waves to the audience at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015.(AP)

President Obama threw himself back onto the campaign trail this week as he tried to shift the spotlight away from the flurry of activity on Capitol Hill under the new GOP majority, as Republicans and Democrats alike scrambled to round up votes to override a threatened veto on key legislation.

The White House has issued three veto threats in the opening days of the new Congress, including over a bill approving the controversial Keystone oil pipeline. Sponsors are trying to rally bipartisan support in preparation for a showdown with the president.

Meanwhile, Obama has drawn GOP criticism that he already is missing the chance to work with the 114th Congress, as he churns through a three-state tour in the run-up to his Jan. 20 State of the Union address. He touted the auto industry's resurgence at a Ford assembly plant in Michigan on Wednesday and on Thursday spoke in Phoenix about the housing market.

Republicans bristled at the president's familiar cross-country touring, as they charged ahead with their own agenda in Congress.

"As Americans continue to struggle, President Obama would rather go around the country saying what a good job he thinks he's doing than get to work with the new Congress solving problems," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement. "The new Congress is barely a day old and already the president is saying 'no' to bipartisan jobs proposals."

Priebus was referring to the president's threatened veto of the bill forcing approval of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone pipeline, as well as another increasing the definition of a full-time worker who must be offered health coverage at work to 40 hours from the current 30.

Republicans argue the health law's 30-hour requirement is encouraging companies to cut workers' hours. But the White House said in a statement there is no evidence the law has caused a broad shift to part-time work, and said the new measure would create incentives for companies to shift employees to part-time work.

The White House on Wednesday also said Obama would veto legislation that would give U.S. banks until 2019, a delay of two years, to get rid of some high-risk investments. The measure won a 276-146 majority, with 35 Democrats in favor, but failed under House rules requiring a two-thirds vote. It's likely to pass soon under rules that require a simple majority.

The White House did not mention the veto threat publicly until after the bill failed.

See more here:
Obama hits campaign trail in pre-speech tour, amid Keystone fight

Post by The White House.

President Obama will unveil a new proposal to make the first two years of community college free for students during an event Friday in Tennessee previewing his State of the Union address.

But White House officials arent saying how much the program which one aide described as significant in scope will cost. Nor has the administration shared details of the initiative with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who would be necessary to approve the estimated billions of dollars necessary to provide free tuition.

Still, aides cast the proposal as a bold effort to refocus attention on the nations higher education system, and said even if the program wasnt fully realized, it could spur additional, badly-needed investment in the community college system.

White House Domestic Policy Council director Cecilia Munoz noted that after the presidents unrealized call in a previous State of the Union address for Congress to provide universal pre-K to low and moderate income families, some 30 states moved to expand access.

This is a proposal with bipartisan appeal, Munoz said. Making sure students have access to higher education and the skills that they need is not a partisan proposal.

According to the White House, an estimated nine million students could benefit from the program if all states decide to participate. The program is designed to replicate similar efforts underway in Tennessee and Chicago. Full-time students would save an average of $3,800 per year.

Put simply, what Id like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everyone whos willing to work for it, Obama said in a video posted to Facebook.

But officials also stressed that the presidents plan would require everyone to do their part.

Students would need to attend school at least half-time to qualify, maintain a 2.5 GPA, and make steady progress toward completing their program.

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Obama to propose free community college

President Obama rolled out a new plan Thursday to make two years of community college free, or nearly so, for millions of students across the country, a major investment that the White House cast as changing the face of higher education.

The program, inspired by new initiatives in Tennessee and Chicago, could benefit up to 9 million students, advisors said. At its heart is dedicated federal funding to cover 75% of tuition, with the states picking up the rest of the tab.

What Id like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who is willing to work for it, Obama said in a video filmed on Air Force One and posted Thursday on Facebook, ahead of his planned visit Friday to a community college and technical center in Knoxville, Tenn., as part of a trip designed to preview his policy plans for 2015.

White House advisors declined to say how much the proposal would cost or how the administration planned to pay for it, but experts said such a venture could cost the federal government tens of billions of dollars.

The investment would make two years of college the norm, policy advisor Cecelia Munoz said, a disruption of traditional higher education that comes as average tuition at a public four-year college has gone up more than 250% over the last three decades, according to government figures.

The community college proposal echoes one of Obamas favorite themes: empowering the middle class through education and opportunity. He sees the decline in state funding for higher education as a major barrier to those aspiring to the middle class.

Obamas proposal would make two years of community college as free as high school for responsible students, Munoz told reporters, saving a full-time community college student an average of $3,800 in tuition per year. Obama also plans to propose a new fund to pay for high-quality technical training programs.

In the Tennessee program, students can enroll at any of the states 27 colleges of applied technology, community colleges or four-year public universities offering an associates degree.

To get states to make their own version of that program, Obama would have to win congressional approval for the federal investment.

Anything involving more money to pay for things is going to be difficult in this Congress, said Ben Miller, a senior education policy analyst at the New America Foundation. Increasing investments in higher education are just hard to find.

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Obama plan for free community college: U.S. would pay 75%, states 25%

Obama would veto Keystone XL bill
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that President Obama would veto the Keystone XL bill.

By: The Washington Examiner

Original post:
Obama would veto Keystone XL bill - Video