Democrats prepare post-election agenda. First up? “Free” college

About two dozen congressional Democrats are currently pushing to begin the next legislative year with a debt-free college proposal.

“The goal is to have one final legislative proposal … by the time the next president is sworn in. So it’s on the shelf, ready to go,” Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee told Roll Call.

Green’s group has found willing partners in both the House and the Senate, including New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who is likely to become the next Democratic leader should his party regain control of the Senate. While the PCCC and those working with them have declined to provide specific details on the proposal, it is thought that the bill may include increased aid to states, assisting students with high costs, and holding schools accountable for rising tuition.

In addition, they say the proposal will allow students to graduate with no college debt and hope that it will be taken up early in 2017 if Hillary Clinton is elected president. Over the course of her campaign, Clinton has laid out a plan for debt-free tuition at public universities, called the “New College Compact,” which is estimated to cost $350 billion over the next 10 years.

The proposal is likely to be met with opposition from congressional Republicans, who have expressed doubt that debt-free college actually does anything to help lower tuition costs.