EDISON – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) hosted an event at Middlesex County College to highlight President Obama’s plan to make community college free for responsible students.  Congressman Pallone was joined by Joann La Perla-Morales, President of Middlesex County College; New Jersey Assemblyman Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr.; Middlesex County Freeholder Director Ronald G. Rios; and students of the college.

“I have always supported improving access to higher education, and I think President Obama’s proposal to make community college free would be a tremendous step toward making the costs of higher education more affordable,” said Pallone.  “Here in New Jersey, and across the nation, community colleges offer educational opportunity to students just beginning higher education, to people already in the workforce looking to gain additional training, and for the unemployed looking to change careers. The President’s proposal could benefit them all, and countless others for whom higher education currently seems unattainable.”

The proposal, which the President discussed in his State of the Union address earlier this week, would make two years of community college as free and universal as high school, so long as students enroll in a certain number of classes, maintain a 2.5 GPA, and make progress toward completing their program.