#TSRPolitics: Oh, she’s bout it bout it. Massachusetts Senator #ElizabethWarren isn’t waiting until primary elections to make a move on one of her campaign promises.
Warren is one of several Democratic candidates who are pushing for student loan debt elimination. Today, she announced a bill that would cancel the student loan debts of tens of millions of Americans, a plan she first proposed on the campaign trail in April, @CNN reports.
The bill would forgive $50,000 in student loans for Americans in households earning less than $100,000 a year, resulting in immediate relief to more than an estimated 95% of the 45 million Americans who have student debt. She’s partnering with South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, who will sponsor companion legislation in the House.
For those earning more than $100,000, the bill would still offer partial debt relief with the amount getting gradually smaller until it phases out. Households that make more than $250,000 are not eligible for any debt relief.
Her campaign promises that she would pay for the debt relief — as well as her plan to make tuition free at public colleges — with revenue from her proposed wealth tax. It would assess a 2% tax on wealth above $50 million and a 3% tax on wealth above $1 billion.
The one-time debt cancellation is estimated to cost $640 billion, the campaign has said.
Warren is not the only one who has promised to cancel student loan debt. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ plan would cancel all $1.6 trillion in outstanding loan debt.
There would be no eligibility limitations and it would be paid for with a new tax on Wall Street. Sanders has also proposed making tuition free at public colleges.
Additionally, Warren’s bill would ensure that the debt canceled would not be taxed as income. Those borrowers with private loans would be allowed to convert them into federal loans so that they could also be forgiven.
We’ll keep you updated on the progress of this bill, Roommates.
