More Americans are going to college than at any time in history. And more are graduating with a student debt burden that will follow them for years, making it more difficult to participate in the American economy: owning a home, starting a business, raising a family. Total student debt in the U.S. now tops $1.6 trillion — making it the second highest category of consumer debt, behind only mortgages.
It's no wonder addressing the student loan crisis has become one of the top issues of the 2020 presidential campaign. That's why Cheddar reached out to all 24 declared Democratic candidates and asked what they would do to address the debt burden if elected president.
While Cheddar asked for just one thing each candidate would do to tackle the crisis, every campaign that responded had a hard time whittling down just what they would do on day one. Their approaches vary from those who want to eliminate all loans to those who prioritize a public service loan forgiveness model; nearly every candidate has a plan to tackle the student-debt load. But, almost every campaign highlighted that the student loan crisis is a problem with multiple causes and multiple solutions.
Here's what each campaign had to say to Cheddar:
Two candidates referred Cheddar to their websites, where they lay out their loan forgiveness plans:
One campaign referred us to a previous media appearance:
While Cheddar did not receive a response from every campaign, a number of candidates spoke about student loans at the first debate in Miami:
*The campaigns of Amy Klobuchar, Bill de Blasio, Cory Booker, Jay Inslee, Michael Bennet, Pete Buttigieg, Tim Ryan, and Tulsi Gabbard all did not respond to comment for this piece.
House Republicans are expected to vote next week to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
The Senate in a single stroke has approved about 425 military promotions after Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama ended a monthslong blockade of nominations over a Pentagon abortion policy.
The presidents of three U.S. colleges and universities are testifying before a House Committee on their handling of anti-Semitic incidents after Hamas' attack in Israel in October.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a case surrounding a Maine hotel that could have made it harder for people with disabilities to learn in advance whether a hotel's accommodations meet their needs.
Attorneys for former president Donald Trump missed their chance Monday to pause the gag order against their client in his civil fraud trial in New York.
Federal prosecutors opposed Hunter Biden's request to subpoena documents from former President Trump and other members of his administration.
The U.S. may form a naval task force to escort commercial ships through the Red Sea, days after Houthi rebels struck three vessels with missiles.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is heading to Mexico this week to promote her agency's new strike force to help combat illicit fentanyl trafficking as the U.S. and China step up efforts to stop the movement of the powerful opioid and drug-making materials into the United States.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Democratic senators involved say they are firm in their stand that Israel's military must adopt substantive measures to lessen civilian deaths in Gaza as part of receiving the supplemental's $14.3 billion in U.S. aid for Israel's war.
Russian news outlets are reporting that President Vladimir Putin is set to make a rare trip abroad this week.
