As the race for governor heats up, the Democrats are calling on some big names to help out Charlie Crist. Vice President Joe Biden is in South Florida this afternoon, and his wife Jill appeared today at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She listened to a group of students talking about making college affordable.
Biden says the average college student is weighed down with about $30,000 of debt when they graduate.
"So, we all agree that there's more to be done," she said. "But I'm really proud to be part of an administration that has made college affordability a priority, and reformed the student loan system and doubled the pell grants."
Biden appeared alongside Crist's running mate, Annette Taddeo. She says if he got elected, Crist would increase levels of spending for education. She says Crist is proposing a loan forgiveness plan for students enrolled in STEM classes. That's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Taddeo also took a swipe at a popular scholarship that helps out the best students in each high school graduation class.
"We want to restore the cuts to education that have been made by Rick Scott. And Bright Futures Scholarships need to be restored to where they were before. And I might even go so far as to say let's review the eligibility based on need. That was the way it was originally meant to be."
Biden and Taddeo then campaigned together at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
