Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) introduced legislation Wednesday that would make public colleges and universities tuition-free for approximately 95% of American students, in what supporters call the most significant higher education investment in six decades.
The College for All Act would eliminate tuition for students from households earning up to $150,000 annually for single households and up to $300,000 for married households, while guaranteeing tuition-free community college for all students regardless of income.
Sanders, who serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), criticized the current administration's higher education priorities in announcing the bill.
"In a highly competitive global economy where technology is changing the very nature of work and the jobs we perform, we need the best educated workforce in the world," Sanders said. "Our nation used to lead the world in the percentage of adults with a college degree. Today, we are in 11th place behind countries like Japan, South Korea, Canada, the United Kingdom and Switzerland."
The legislation arrives as higher education observers have noted the United States falling behind global competitors in college completion rates. Supporters argue the bill would help reverse that trend by removing financial barriers for working and middle-class families.
Nine Senate Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).
The College for All Act would also double the maximum Pell Grant award, establish a $10 billion grant program to address equity gaps at underfunded public institutions, triple funding for federal TRIO programs, and double funding for both GEAR UP and Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, and other Minority-Serving Institutions. The topic is explored in the forthcoming book The Student Debt Crisis: America's Moral Urgency, written by Diverse editor, Dr. Jamal Watson.
Rep. Jayapal highlighted the legislation's focus on addressing educational inequity.
"The College for All Act will free students from a lifetime of debt, invest in working people, and transform higher education across America by making a degree more accessible to poor and working families across this country," she said.
This isn't the first attempt to pass such legislation. Sanders initially introduced similar legislation a decade ago, and since then, several states have implemented tuition-free college programs, including New Mexico, New York, Texas, Wisconsin, and Arkansas.
With Republicans controlling the House and the White House, passage faces significant hurdles in the current congressional session. However, proponents view the bill as laying groundwork for future higher education policy debates as student debt continues to affect millions of Americans.
Advocates note that the concept has precedent in American history. The press release compared the proposal to the 1944 GI Bill, which provided free higher education to World War II veterans and "laid the groundwork for the greatest expansion of the American middle class in U.S. history."
The legislation also points to international examples, noting that countries including France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland have established tuition-free or nearly tuition-free public university systems.
The bill comes amid ongoing national debate about college affordability, student loan debt, and the role of higher education in workforce development.
