Bernie Sanders is one-upping President Obama’s college proposals, calling for the government to pick up the tab for two years of tuition not just at community colleges but at any public college or university.
“We need a revolution in the way higher education is funded,” the Vermont independent said Tuesday in a speech at Johnson State College in Vermont. “In the United States, all people who have the desire and the ability should be able, in this changing economy, to receive all the education they need regardless of their income.”
Sanders, a self-identified socialist who caucuses with Democrats, has sought to push progressive policies as the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee this year.
In his State of the Union Address in January, President Obama called for the federal government and state governments to partner in funding two years of community college tuition-free for students. The president also proposed increasing tax credits for college expenses and for measures aimed at lowering student debt.
That measure has gained no traction in Congress since Obama announced it in January. Nevertheless, Sanders went even further Tuesday, calling for the government to fund freshman and sophomore years for students at all public colleges and universities.
Sanders did not specify how those years would be funded, instead simply noting that the U.S. now lags some countries with advanced economies in terms of higher education attainment. Obama’s proposal would have cost federal and state governments about $80 billion.
“This is absurd,” Sanders said about some students who may be dissuaded from college because of the costs or taking on debt to graduate. “This is absolutely counter-productive to our efforts to create a strong economy.”
