"At the same time, the federal government needs to do a better job of looking at tuition rates that are rising faster than the cost of living. As this committee has found with government agencies, you have to know the nature of the problem before you can work to solve it," Thompson added.
"The high cost of tuition has an intense personal impact on individual families," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), the ranking Democrat on the committee. "But if college becomes a luxury that an increasing percentage of the population cannot afford, the economic divide between the have and the have-nots could undercut the American dream and stunt the nation's economic growth."
This year, Harvard's tuition is $32,164, an increase of more than $1,000 over the previous year.
Hoxby was unavailable for comment after her testimony.