Democratic candidate Jon Tester campaigned Tuesday at Montana State University, telling college students that unlike Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, he would fight to ease the burden of skyrocketing tuition.
"Higher education is critically important," Tester, 50, told a noon crowd of about 80 people at the Strand Union Building. "The problem is it's unaffordable for regular people to go to school anymore."
At MSU, tuition has increased more than 470 percent since Burns was first elected in 1988, Tester said. If elected, Tester said he would work to restore an income tax deduction that has helped middle-income families afford tuition.
Tester's campaign charged that Burns voted in May to end the tuition deduction, although it gave more than 11,000 Montana families an average credit of $2,000.
Burns campaign spokesman Jason Klindt in a phone interview called the charge "flat out false," because Burns has since voted in favor of restoring the tuition deduction. Though that effort hasn't been successful so far, there's still time to save the deduction, which hasn't yet expired, Klindt said.
Tester also said he'd support more federal Pell grants, which help students from low-income families.
Tester, Montana Senate majority leader, was asked by a reporter if the Montana Legislature, which controls state funding to higher education, didn't have more to do with MSU's skyrocketing tuition than Burns did.
The Democrat replied that his party had only controlled one house of the Legislature for the past two years. Lawmakers put more money into public schools and human services in 2005, and would try to help higher education in 2007, he said.
A couple audience members asked if Montana and MSU wouldn't be hurt if Burns lost, because he has seniority and "earmarks" millions of federal dollars for the state.
Tester replied that when it comes to federal "pork," earmarking money should be done in the open, not "doled out at midnight by a few people sitting around a table."
Tester later disagreed with the suggestion that Burns is largely responsible for MSU ranking 15th among U.S. universities in winning academic pork, as reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
If he's elected, Tester said, "I quite frankly don't think it's going to change one iota, because good projects get funded."
Tester arrived at the SUB late, after touring MSU and its research labs. He said he was most impressed with Tech Ranch, which is "doing great stuff for the economy of Montana."
Klindt said it was Burns who got federal funding for that.
In the latest polls, the race is neck and neck. MSU political science professor Jerry Calvert said what's "scary" from Burns' viewpoint is that Tester had a slight edge among likely voters, who tend historically to "tilt Republican."
Sheena Rice, 23, MSU College Democrats president, said getting the vote out for Tester is their top priority this fall. "I'm pretty confident" of winning, she said.