While refraining from going as far as Bernie Sanders, who proposed to end tuition completely at public institutions, Hillary Clinton has proposed a plan to help undergraduates pay for tuition at public colleges without loans.
The plan is a combination of increased grant availability, new refinancing options, and working with states to slow increasing tuition costs. The plan would be paid for by placing a cap on the amount of itemized deductions rich people can take.
Clinton could face opposition to her plan from a Republican-led Congress, as it requires new spending. However, some analysts say that her plan may be acceptable to Republicans as they are concerned about rising tuition costs.
“There is a lot of bipartisan interest in issues of college affordability, and bipartisan support for Pell Grants, student loans and other federal programs,” Robert Shireman, a former adviser to both Presidents Obama and Bill Clinton on education, told the New York Times. “The compact proposed by Hillary Clinton is a strong starting point for a discussion that zeroes in on the issues that are in the public mind and have been raised by leaders in both parties: accountability, outcomes, college costs, and manageable loan repayment.”
