Iowa needs to invest in its workforce to grow its economy

Tuition is too damn high. Higher education is so expensive that many Iowa students end up buried in debt before they even start working. More than 400,000 Iowans are still carrying student loan debt, and it’s holding them back from building their futures here in Iowa.

As the state’s investment in higher education continues to shrink, Iowa families have been left carrying a greater burden of the cost. Tuition at Iowa’s three public universities has risen an average of 36% in the last decade. Iowa’s average debt per borrower is $41,600, totaling $13.9 billion, which includes both federal and private loans. Tuition at Iowa’s community colleges has gone up 21% from 2014 to 2023, and is the third highest in the Midwest.

This year, Iowa House Republicans created the Higher Education Committee. I was hopeful we’d finally see real solutions on how to reduce the rising cost of tuition. Instead, Republican members on the committee spent the entire session chasing culture war battles at the will of special interests, and did nothing to reduce costs for the people of Iowa.

To counter this, Iowa House Democrats introduced legislation to lower tuition costs and give families more certainty. The bill would lock in tuition and fees for all four years for Iowa freshmen at Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa, which will save students about $2,500 for a degree. It allows students and families to budget with certainty, instead of scrambling to cover unexpected tuition increases.

But Republican lawmakers keep ignoring these issues, and it’s led to Iowa’s economy being ranked dead last in the nation. Investing in higher education is the key to building Iowa’s economy while preventing young people from leaving the state. Our state needs more nurses, teachers, and skilled workers to fill critical shortages, but too many students are priced out of the degrees and training programs.

By keeping the cost of higher education affordable and supporting our trades, community colleges, and universities, we can prepare the next generation of Iowans for high-demand jobs right here at home. And when graduates aren’t buried in debt, they’re able to buy homes, raise families, and spend money in their communities, and that in turn, strengthens Iowa’s towns, main streets, and overall economy.

It’s time to tackle the real problems Iowans face at their kitchen tables, because these culture war issues don’t pay the bills.

State Rep. Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines is House Democratic leader