Bernie Sanders has revealed his plan to wipe out $1.6 trillion of student debt for exactly 45 million people.
On Monday, Sanders announced his intention to free every American of their student loan debt by canceling $1.6 trillion of student loans for undergraduates and graduates. Sanders’ plan would have no eligibility limits and would be paid for by a new tax on Wall Street speculation, CNN reports.
The new plan would be more extensive than Sanders’ rival #ElizabethWarren, as Warren’s debt relief plan would make a person’s income the basis on how much they would receive. Warren’s deal, she says, is an attempt to fight the racial wealth gap. If Sanders’ plan is signed into law, anyone with student loan debt of any kind would have it canceled as soon as the legislation is passed.
“This proposal completely eliminates student debt in this country and ends the absurdity of sentencing an entire generation, the millennial generation, to a lifetime of debt for the crime of doing the right thing –, and that is going out and getting a higher education,” Sanders said at a news conference in Washington on Monday. Sanders introduced the proposal with Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. New York Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez will co-sponsor two other House bills that will work to support Sanders’ Senate plan.
“The bottom line is we shouldn’t be punishing people for getting to higher education,” Sanders said. “It is time to hit the reset button. Under the proposal that we introduced today, all student debt would be canceled in six months.”
