NEWS BRIEF Bernie Sanders’s campaign may have lost steam after Hillary Clinton became the Democratic party’s presumptive nominee, but he’s still making his presence felt.
On Wednesday, Clinton’s campaign announced a set of new proposals on higher education, chief among them eliminating college tuition for families with annual incomes under $125,000. It would apply to in-state public colleges and universities. On the campaign trail, Clinton repeatedly pushed for debt-free college, but the latest move is a shift toward Sanders’s position—that the federal government assume the responsibility for providing a free college education. It stops short, though, of extending that to all students, as Sanders had proposed to do.
“American families are drowning in debt caused by ever-rising college costs,” Clinton said in a statement, “and it is imperative that the next president put forward a bold plan to make debt-free college available to all. My New College Compact will do just that—by making sure that working families can send a child or loved one to college tuition-free and by giving student debt-holders immediate relief.”
Clinton’s newly announced proposals also include a three-month moratorium on federal student loan payments, which would be carried out through executive action if she takes office, as well as “defending Pell Grants.”
