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The rising cost of a college education has contributed to the millennial generation being $1 trillion in debt — and Democratic presidential candidates are offering up policy solutions to offset the cost of college.
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In April, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts introduced an ambitious $1.25 trillion plan to forgive most existing student loan debt and provide universal free college, paid for by a tax on the wealthiest Americans.
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Reps. John Delaney, Seth Moulton and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, have proposed student debt forgiveness or subsidized college for students who go into national service.
- Sens. Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Eric Swalwell, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang have proposed their own plans to reduce the cost of college and student loan burdens.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The rising cost of a college education has contributed to the millennial generation being burdened with approximately $1 trillion in debt— and Democratic presidential candidates are offering their own policy solutions to offset the cost of college.
In April, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts introduced an ambitious $1.25 trillion plan to forgive most existing student loan debt and provide universal free college, paid for by a tax on the wealthiest Americans.
Other candidates, like Reps. John Delaney, Seth Moulton and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, have proposed student debt forgiveness or subsidized college for students who go into national service.
While the GI bill guarantees two years of free college for military veterans and has served as a gateway to a college education for generations, the Pentagon has recently reported that just 29% of young Americans are able to meet the physical and mental requirements to enlist in the military in the first place.
Despite President Donald Trump recently proclaiming he would address student debt, calling himself “very good on loans,” his administration’s newly-proposed 2020 budget would phase out a Bush-era program that created partial student-loan forgiveness for students who participated in national service and work in the government or non-profit sector, as PBS recently noted.
To help open up access to college while also combatting the growing mountain of student debt, 2020 candidates are putting forward plans to increase alternative national service — and tying it to the issue of student debt.
“I’m incredibly pleased to see this issue getting attention at this point in the cycle, and I’m excited to see candidates recognize college affordability as an urgent matter that demands national attention,” Kestrel Linder, the CEO of GiveCampus, a startup that helps colleges and universities raise money from alumni, told INSIDER in an April phone interview.
“We have to do something, and we have to do something big, we can’t make just incremental change right now,” he added, noting that education is one of the most powerful drivers of economic and social mobility. “I don’t think anyone can refute that making affordable college a reality would confer great benefits on our economy and society.”
Here’s a rundown of some of the presidential hopefuls’ proposals.
Rep. John Delaney wants to offer scholarships for students who participate in national service.
Associated Press
Delaney’s national service proposal would expand existing service programs and create a new Climate Corps to build green infrastructure across America and would guarantee a college scholarship for all participants as an incentive.
“We have to restore a sense of common purpose and unity to our country,” Delaney said of his plan to expand national service.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wants to create “an expanded GI bill” to allow students who participate in national service to access free education.
Associated Press
Gillibrand’s plan would offer two years of community college or state school education in exchange for a year of service in a program like AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, or Teach For America and four years of college for two years of service.
“You can make it available to do healthcare, education, green jobs, first response or the military … this is a lot more accessible and affordable than the other ideas out there,” she said of her plan.
Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton also rolled out a plan to create more national service opportunities, and offer subsidized college tuition or job training for Americans who complete national service.
AP Photo/Cheryl Senter
Sen. Bernie Sanders has advocated for more affordable education for decades, including making public college free.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Rep. Eric Swalwell wants to introduce loan-free public college for students who do work-study and/or go into public service.
AP Photo/Elise Amendola
He also proposes introducing interest-free federal loans, and programs to enable employers to help pay off their employees’ debt.
“I am prioritizing student loan debt in my platform because I know what it’s like to feel like you’re drowning in it … I’m still paying off just under $100,000 in debt, myself,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang wants to make two-year community college education free or extremely low-cost.
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Yang also wants to increase data collection to determine which majors are associated with the most debt, and implement a number of measures to incentivize four-year colleges to reduce their tuition costs.
“There will be accountability for every dollar that the public is spending on school loans. We owe it to the next generation to get this right. We have to stop screwing young people and sticking them with the bill,” Yang writes on his website.
Long-shot presidential candidate Wayne Messam’s signature policy proposal is to cancel all public and private student loan debt.
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Messam would forgive nearly $1.4 trillion in student debt partly by un-doing the 2017 tax cut bill signed into law by President Donald Trump.
“Before we can make college affordable for the next generation, we must provide relief to the one-in-four adult Americans now struggling with student loan debt,” Messam said during the launch of his campaign.
Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke supports debt-free college, debt forgiveness, and loan refinancing for students who go into public service or other in-demand fields.
Reuters
In an interview with Vice News, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg supported expanding access to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Sen. Amy Klobuchar supports allowing students to refinance student loans at low rates, expanding Pell Grants, free two-year community college, and loan forgiveness for people who go into public service.
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
“There are a lot of paths to success in America, but we can all agree that we want to make college more affordable,” Klobuchar said at an April 22 CNN town hall.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently rolled out an ambitious new $1.25 trillion plan to cancel most existing student loan debt and offer free public college, paid for with a tax on ultra-wealthy Americans.
Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
At a campaign stop in New Hampshire, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro supported making public university tuition and apprenticeship programs free or low-cost.
Jae C. Hong/AP
“We need to ensure, if we want to be competitive, that every single American who wants a higher education can get one,” Castro said in New Hampshire, according to The Hill.
“That’s why I believe that we need to work toward a tuition-free system of public university, college, apprenticeship and certification programs in this country to have the smartest, most well-prepared workforce that we can in this 21st century,” he added.
Like Wayne Messam, Marianne Williamson supports student loan forgiveness, reducing interest rates, and free to low-cost community college and technical education.
Eric Charbonneau/Invision for YWCA/AP Images
At a recent campaign event in Iowa, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper called student debt “a drag on the economy,” according to the Daily Iowan.
Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
“In terms of the debt that’s there, I’m not sure we can do anything immediately except make sure the interest rate is as low as it possibly can be and then try to find to help people get out of debt,” Hickenlooper said.
“Not all things you study are going to have the same economic opportunity, and I know that seems unjust but that’s the way the world is.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee recently enacted new protections for student borrowers and regulations for lenders in Washington, and wants to increase financial aid to make college more affordable.
Elaine Thompson/AP
Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan is a vocal advocate for both debt relief and free college.
Nati Harnik/AP
2020 election
Student Debt
Student Loans
National service
