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Checked against the record · Washington 3rd District 2026

Did John Braun author Washington's College Affordability Program?

Matches stated record claim. He was prime sponsor of the 2015 tuition bill, which passed the Senate 48 to 0 and the House 98 to 0 in its final votes; whether it was the nation's largest cut is not tested.

John Braun

The College Affordability Program

Matches stated record claim

What they say

His campaign says he authored the College Affordability Program, which it calls the largest cut to public university tuition in the nation.

“I authored the College Affordability Program—the largest cuts to public university tuition in the nation”

What the record shows ·

Senate Bill 5954 of 2015, titled "Reducing tuition", names him as its prime sponsor, first of seventeen senators. The Senate passed it three times that year, the last on June 29 by 48 to 0, with his Yea each time; the House passed it 98 to 0 the next day, and it became Chapter 36, Laws of 2015, 3rd Special Session.

Limit: The record settles authorship and enactment. It does not settle the superlative: no legislature publishes a ranking of tuition cuts across the states, and his biography words it differently again, as "the first and largest". Testing it would take national tuition data for a defined year and sector, which this desk has not read. Sixteen other senators sponsored the bill with him.

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Sources4 source records

How we use sources

  1. Where I Stand: Issueshttps://www.votebraun.com/issues

    John Braun for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source setting out nine subjects. Three of its sentences are about his opponent's votes; a claim about an opponent is outside what this site checks, and those sentences are not used.

    candidate statement

    For: Did John Braun author Washington's College Affordability Program?

  2. About John Braunhttps://www.votebraun.com/about

    John Braun for Congress · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Campaign-controlled source, used for his biography and for the record claims on this page: the tuition program, the 2017-19 budget, the capital gains and income tax opposition, and the fentanyl bills. His Navy rank and years of service are his campaign's account; no Navy record was read.

    candidate statement

    For: Did John Braun author Washington's College Affordability Program?

  3. SB 5954, 2015-16, Reducing tuition: bill summary and historyhttps://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5954&Year=2015

    Washington State Legislature · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    Sponsor list (Braun first of seventeen) and full history, ending in Chapter 36, Laws of 2015, 3rd Special Session.

    official legislative record

    For: Did John Braun author Washington's College Affordability Program?

  4. SB 5954, 2015-16: roll callshttps://app.leg.wa.gov/bi/RollCallsOnABill/RollCall?biennium=2015-16&billNumber=5954&initiative=false

    Washington State Legislature · Reviewed Sep 23, 2026

    The Legislature's roll-call page for the bill: three Senate final-passage votes in 2015 and the House vote of June 30, 2015. The Legislature's web service carries no roll calls; this page does.

    official legislative record

    For: Did John Braun author Washington's College Affordability Program?