2016 Presidential Candidates on the Issues: Student Loan Debt

 Jeb(JohnEllis)

 Bush                                                                                                                      

• Has questioned the value of such majors as psychology or other liberal arts fields.
• Opposes debt-free college and free college.
• Would replace current student loan structure with $50,000 line of credit to be used for college or other career training.
• Low income students would have access to Pell Grants on top their line of credit.
• Amount would be repaid over 25 years via the borrower’s federal income taxes over a 25 year period.
• Payments would be set at 1 percent of income per each $10,000 of credit used.
• Students would be able to transfer their current debt to the new system.
• Supports a change to federal bankruptcy laws to make student loans easier to discharge.
• Would force schools to repay a share of federal loans should student borrowers be unable to repay their debt.
• Has proposed a database to track student outcomes including graduation rates, earnings, unemployment, and repayment rates.

 Ben Carson

Johns Hopkins Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery 1984-2013. Author.

• Opposes raising taxes to pay for tuition.
• Opposes free community/junior college tuition to low income students.
• Says that public universities should pay for the interest on student loans, leaving students responsible for the principal.
• Says that Pell Grants are enough for low income students and that the best plan is, “There is a four letter word that works extremely well, it’s called w-o-r-k, work.”

 Ted Cruz

United States Senator from Texas 2013-Present, Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP 2008-2013, Solicitor General of Texas 2003-2008. Associate deputy attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice; director of the Office of Policy Planning, Federal Trade Commission both positions held during the Bush Administration.

• The Cruz campaign has not addressed student debt on their campaign website.
• Acknowledged taking out $100,000 in student loans for his own education, noting in an address to Liberty University students that they were paid off as of March 2015.
• Voted against Senate Bill 2432 which would have allowed students to refinance their loans by raising the minimum income tax on people who make $1 million to $2 million a year to 30 percent.

  John Kasich

• Set aside $1.85 billion for public higher education in fiscal 2016, and $1.89 billion for fiscal 2017.
• Has capped public universities from raising their tuition by more than 2 percent per year.
• Created a task force to streamline colleges and contain cost increases.
• No position is noted on student loans or debt on his website.

 Marco Rubio

United States Senator from Florida 2010-Present, Professor, Florida International University, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs 2008-Present, Representative, 111^th District, Florida House of Representatives 2000-2008, City Commissioner for West Miami, Florida.

• It took Marco Rubio sixteen years and a book deal to pay off his $100,000 in student loans.
• He has criticized higher education as a monopoly that drives up prices because of the availability of student loans, which he compares to a government subsidy.
• He has described student loans as being worse than indentured servitude, but has proposed replacing loans with an investment pool to lend money to risk-rated students in return for a percentage of their earnings over 20-25 years.
• He wants to bring back vocational education to bring back highly-skilled labor jobs by bringing back vocational and career oriented education, investing in apprenticeships and earn-and-learn programs.
• He would reduce student loan debt by establishing an automatic income based repayment plan.

Donald Trump

• • There is no position on student loans or higher education on the Trump campaigns website as of writing.
  • He has openly criticized the federal government’s profiting from student loans.
  • He has only said that he would “fix” the problem, but has not offered any details on policies to do so.

                                                                                                                Democratic Party

 Hillary Clinton                                  

Clinton Foundation 2013-2015, Secretary of State 2009-2013, candidate for President 2008 election United States Senator from New York 2001-2009.

• Has said that she believe no student should have to take out loans to attend a public college or university.
• Families will be required to make a contribution.
• Students will be required to work 10 hours per week and contribute those earnings.
• Plan will be funded by states, the federal government, and public colleges and universities, and by closing tax breaks for high income earners.
• Current debtors will be able to refinance into the new system.
• Income based repayment plan caps repayment at 10 percent of income.

Bernie Sanders

US House of Representatives, State of Vermont At-Large District 1991-2007, and United States Senator for Vermont 2007-Present.

• • Make tuition free at public colleges at universities.
  • Stop public universities and colleges from paying CEO-level salaries to coaches, presidents, and other staff or faculty.
  • Stop the federal government from profiting on student loans to the tune of $10 billion a year and use this money to cut student loan interest rates.
  • Allow students to refinance their outstanding loans at 2.5 percent interest.
  • Impose a tax on Wall Street financial speculators to pay for the costs.