Learn more about Senate Bill S. 1373 in under one minute! Tell your lawmaker how to vote! Go to: https://www.countable.us/bills/s1373-114! Bill Title: College for All Act - A bill to amend the Higher Education Act to improve higher education programs, and for other purposes. What is it: This bill seeks to make higher education more attainable for all Americans by eliminating tuition at four-year public colleges and universities and reforming student loans. It would authorize the Secretary of Education to establish grant programs to eliminate tuitions and required fees at four-year public colleges and universities. The federal government would cover 67 percent of the cost, while states would be responsible for the remaining 33 percent — which comes to about $47 billion every year for the federal government’s share. It is expected to cost about $750 billion over the next ten years. Federal funding would be provided by a ‘Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street’ — basically taxing a small percent of Wall Street transactions involving stocks, bonds, and derivatives. The taxing scale is laid out by another bill introduced in the 114th session, the Inclusive Prosperity Act. To qualify for the federal grants this bill suggests, states must maintain their spending on higher education, academic instruction, and need-based financial aid. Colleges and universities would be required to reduce their reliance on adjunct faculty — basically professors who don't have permanent or full-time positions (or a tenure track), making them less of an investment for the universities where they teach. States could use the grant funding to increase academic opportunities for students, hire new faculty, and provide professional development for professors. This bill would also lower student loan interest rates by nearly half from 4.32 percent to 2.32 percent — while also setting an upper limit to prevent student loan interest rates from ever rising above 8.25 percent. Eligible borrowers would be able to refinance their loans based on interest rates available to current students. Work study programs would be expanded to allow more students and colleges to participate in them. Funding for work study programs would be focused on schools that enroll high-numbers of low-income students. A pilot program would be created to simplify the financial aid process, with a goal to allow students to only apply once (instead of every year they are in college) for financial aid. Sponsored by: Senator Bernard "Bernie" Sanders - https://www.countable.us/legislators/594-bernard-sanders Transcript: More than 40 million people in the U.S. have student loans. All together, that is 1 trillion dollars of debt! But what if college was free? This bill would do two things: make tuition at four-year public colleges and universities free, and reform student financial aid. The federal government would cover 67 percent of the cost of tuition with a “Robin Hood Tax” on Wall Street. States would have to pay the remaining 33 percent. A program to simplify the financial aid process would be created to lower student loan interest rates by nearly half - and set an upper limit on rates. Work-study programs would also be expanded. Supporters of this bill hope to make higher education available for more people. Others say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. So, should the U.S. eliminate tuition for public colleges and reform student loans? ======= What is a Bill Bite? ======= One aspect of Countable's mission is to make government accessible. It unfortunately means we have to get our hands dirty and actually read the laws that our lawmakers are writing on the issues we care about. Bill Bites are short overviews of key legislation - what you need to know to tell your lawmaker how to vote. Learn about this bill and others on the web at http://www.countable.us or on your iPhone / iPad (http://ctbl.us/MsM9t) or Android device (http://ctbl.us/MsMTI).

• published: 11 Jul 2015
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