Bernie Sanders introduces bill to make college free – by taxing Wall Street

‘The time is long overdue to make public colleges and universities tuition-free,’ says Vermont senator

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders will introduce a bill to Congress to make college tuition free for most students, which would be paid for by implementing additional taxes on Wall Street.

On Wednesday, Mr Sanders and Washington representative Pramila Jayapal will introduce legislation that would make community college tuition free and debt-free for students whose families earn a combined salary that is less than $125,000 (£89,793) a year.

The bill would additionally give ethnic minority students from families in the same earnings bracket the option to attend non-profit minority-serving institutions without having to pay tuition.

The legislation also includes more support for disabled students, and a doubling of the federal Pell Grant for those who require financial aid to $13,000 (£9,342) a year.

The two Democrats said that the bill would be paid for by a tax on some Wall Street trades, with Mr Sanders re-introducing the Tax on Wall Street Speculation Act on Wednesday.

Under the legislation, there would be a new 0.5 per cent tax on stock trades, a 0.005 tax on derivatives and a 0.01 per cent tax on bonds.

“In the 21st century, a free public education system that goes from kindergarten through high school is no longer good enough,” Mr Sanders said in a statement on Wednesday morning.

“The time is long overdue to make public colleges and universities tuition-free and debt-free for working families,” the Vermont senator added.

Ms Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, added that the legislation would “free students from a lifetime of debt, invest in working people, and transform higher education across America”.

Mr Sanders and Ms Jayapal have estimated that the new bill would raise around $2.4 trillion (£1.7 trillion) over its first 10 years.

President Joe Biden has faced repeated calls from Democratic members of Congress to cancel student loan debt of up to $50,000 a borrower, after backing cancelling $10,000 (£7,186) during last year’s election campaign.

Ms Jayapal once again called for Mr Biden to enact this without the use of Congress, but explained during her statement on Wednesday that the new legislation should help ease the burden on students in the meantime.

She added: “While President Biden can and should immediately cancel student debt for millions of borrowers, Congress must ensure that working families never have to take out these crushing loans to receive a higher education in the first place.”