College Affordability Championed by Biden

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By ERIC KELDERMAN

U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. is better known for his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee than for his higher-education proposals. But the six-term congressman from Delaware has fought for college affordability during his tenure and is also familiar with the inside of a college classroom.

Senator Biden, tapped the Saturday before the Democratic national convention began as Barack Obama's running mate, has taught a seminar on constitutional law at Widener University School of Law since 1991. His wife, Jill, is a longtime educator who teaches English at Delaware Technical and Community College at Wilmington.

During Senator Biden's brief Democratic presidential primary run last fall, he made college access and affordability two of the major themes of his campaign. Among other proposals, Senator Biden recommended replacing two existing federal tax breaks for college expenses with a refundable tax credit of up to $3,000 per year meant to cover the average cost of tuition and fees at a public two-year college and more than half of those at a public four-year college.

In addition to making his campaign proposals, Mr. Biden introduced bills in 2007 to expand student loans and grants for nursing education, and to increase the maximum Pell Grant amount to $6,300 per year.

Mr. Biden, who played football while attending the University of Delaware, has also taken an interest in the regulation of college sports, condemning the Bowl Championship Series for football as "rigged" during a 2003 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.