Washington, D.C. — As one of his colleagues proposes wiping out all college debt for 45-million Americans, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley asks — where will that end? Wipe out all home mortgages?
Grassley, a Republican, says the legislation offered by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who’s running for president, is at first glance impractical, and upon closer inspection, contrary to what Democrat Sanders says he is fighting for.
Grassley says his own legislation would tackle the problem Sanders is trying to address. Iowa’s senior senator says he met a few years ago with then-University of Iowa president Sally Mason, who detailed how the average U of I student was graduating with 29-thousand dollars in debt.
Under that measure, Grassley says students would only be encouraged to borrow what they’d need for tuition, books, fees, and room and board — and not the thousands of dollars more.
Sanders’ bill, called the College For All Act, would wipe out one-point-six billion dollars in debt. The rationale is, without that debt, college graduates could spend their earnings on other things — like houses — that would stimulate the economy.
