Independent Vermont Senator and Democrat presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is expected to introduce legislation on Tuesday that would get rid of tuition at public four-year colleges in the United States.
"We live in a highly competitive global economy and, if our economy is to be strong, we need the best-educated work force in the world," Sanders said in a statement released Sunday, reported Bloomberg. "That will not happen if, every year, hundreds of thousands of bright young people cannot afford to go to college, and if millions more leave school deeply in debt."
Along with eliminating undergraduate tuition at public colleges and universities, the legislation would expand work-study programs and "substantially lower student debt and bring down interest rates on college loans," according to the press release.
As an example of what type of system he envisions, Sanders pointed to European countries like Germany, Denmark and Sweden, who "are providing free or inexpensive higher education for their young people."
"They understand how important it is to be investing in their youth," he said. "We should be doing the same."
Sanders added: "We used to lead the world in the percentage of our people who graduated college. Today we are in 12th place. We used to have great universities tuition free. Today they are unaffordable. I want a more educated work force. I want everybody to be able to get a higher education regardless of their income."
Earlier this month, Sanders' sole competition thus far in the Democratic presidential field floated the idea that students should be able to graduate from four-year colleges with no student loan debt.
"What voters are looking for in this election is someone who is going to be a champion for everyday people," Hillary Clinton's campaign manager Robby Mook told CNBC on Wednesday, according to Politico. "For young people, that's debt-free college, that is finding that job after you graduate," he added.
Clinton herself has remained relatively vague on her debt-free college plan.
