Rep. John Tierney can still recall the days of work study and student loans. He remembers laboring through undergraduate and law school without the financial help of his parents. But now, Tierney is on Capitol Hill fighting to ease the burden of rising tuition for the American student.

The U.S. Congressman spoke on campus Monday to an intimate group of students and faculty about how he plans to accomplish this goal.

Tierney, a Democrat who represents the 6th district of Massachusetts, is the lone New Englander in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and a sponsor of the College Affordability and Accountability Act. The act, if passed, would provide incentives to control rising tuition, curb college costs and increase states’ commitment to affordable college education.

“I’d really like to encourage colleges to keep tuition consistent,” Tierney said. “We want to avoid the radical ups and downs that students don’t anticipate after they’ve chosen a school.”

He began his speech Monday by chastising current and former Republican politicians for their fiscal irresponsibility and lack of focus on education funding. He said Republican leadership has been holding a strict mindset that discourages cooperation with Democratic counterparts.

“We really need to break through the kind of Tom Delay legacy that he doesn’t want to do anything as a compromise,” Tierney said. He said without the strict Republican leadership, cooperation would be easier. “Once they screw up the courage, they could come over and make a deal with us.”

Seamus Harreys, dean of student financial services, later said Tierney’s proposal would benefit Northeastern more than other legislation that has been proposed by Republicans.

“[The proposal] is much more student-friendly and institution-friendly,” he said. He explained the Republican legislation could potentially punish schools for raising tuition, hurting students in the process. “It maintains both the free market that we currently have in higher education and encourages schools to moderate their costs.”

Although he said he is generally supportive of the act, he isn’t sure exactly what its effects would be on Northeastern students.

“It’s very difficult to figure out how it would affect Northeastern because a lot of the details aren’t there … the devil is always in the details,” Harreys said.

Even from Tierney’s perspective, the details of funding and timing are still a little vague. Although uncertain on the specifics, he said funding for the act, if it is passed, would come from a combination of federal funds and savings from other financial aid legislation in the works. He said the timing will all depend on when and whether a consensus can be reached in the Senate. He said he realistically expects the act would go into effect in October 2006, at the earliest.

Students and faculty were given a chance to ask Tierney questions at the end of his speech about financial aid, his plan to better it, and how he hopes to do this from within a weakening party. After his speech, Meghan Pojasek said she now feels passionate about financial aid.

“It made me want to make an uproar,” Pojasek, a sophomore criminal justice major, said. She said she plans on transferring from Northeastern to a less expensive school, and said Tierney made her want to take a stand against cuts in education.

Mike Pannone, a sophomore political science major, said it’s important to focus on the way rising tuition is making higher education unaffordable.

“Financial aid stories are the last things you hear on the news,” he said. “We just need to get the entire campus energized.”

The issue also affects more than just current students. Brian Kane, grant coordinator in the College of Computer Science, said he came in part because he has outstanding student loans himself.

Tierney said although Republicans are a majority in the House, he is optimistic that progressive changes can be made to an education system that he sees coming under fire by conservatives.

“Every member of Congress has to go home,” he said, “where they will be forced to answer to parents and students in their districts.”

-Staff writer Hailey Heinz contributed to this report