Mitt Romney Education Plan Attacked In New Priorities USA Action Ad

Priorities USA Action Attacks Mitt Romney Over Planned Education Cuts In New Ad

Priorities USA Action, the super PAC supporting President Barack Obama, released a new television ad Monday targeting Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's plans for education.

The ad, titled "Stick," attacks Romney in the context of his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) controversial budget plan, which proposed cutting education spending by 20 percent and decreasing aid to college students. In the commercial, the narrator charges that a Romney administration would use savings from education cuts to pay for tax breaks for millionaires -- a claim that has also been made by the Obama campaign and was raised by President Barack Obama during the first presidential debate last week.

Romney has sought to distance himself from Ryan's plan, stating during the debate in Denver that he had no plans to slash funding for education. But throughout his campaign, the former Massachusetts governor has offered few specifics on his education proposals. He faced criticism earlier this year for suggesting that students get "as much education as they can afford" and telling students to borrow money from their parents.

The new Priorities spot will air in six swing states -- Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin -- as part of the super PAC's $30 million campaign to highlight how a Romney-Ryan administration would impact middle class families.

UPDATE: 9:30 a.m. -- Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg issued the following response to the ad on Monday morning:

This is a false ad by a discredited ally of President Obama. President Obama talks a lot about education reform, but he has put politics and his allegiance to the teachers’ unions above all else. When Mitt Romney was governor, Massachusetts’ schools had the best test scores in the country and his leadership expanded opportunities for high-achieving students. Mitt Romney will stand up for students and parents and ensure that every child has access to good schools and teachers.

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