Ed. Note: Sen. Bernie Sanders is expected to endorse Hillary Clinton at an event on July 12 in Portsmouth, NH.  In the days before that, Clinton advanced policy proposals on education and health care that drew Sanders' praise.  Additionally on July 9 the platform committee approved an amendment supported by Sanders on raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and indexing it to inflation.
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Hillary for America
July 6, 2016

Hillary for America Unveils Further Measures to Make Debt-Free College Available to All

As President, Clinton Would Take Executive Action to Offer Three-Month Loan Payment Moratorium, Eliminate College Tuition for Working Families

Today, Hillary for America is announcing additional measures to her New College Compact to make debt-free college available to all American families. In addition to existing provisions such as allowing students to refinance their loans and enroll in income-based repayment plans, defending Pell Grants to let them cover some costs for living expenses and three-year student loan payment deferral for aspiring entrepreneurs, Clinton's proposal will include a three-month moratorium for federal student loan payments, as well as a new measure to eliminate college tuition for working families.

"American families are drowning in debt caused by ever-rising college costs," Hillary Clinton said, "and it is imperative that the next president put forward a bold plan to make debt-free college available to all. My New College Compact will do just that -- by making sure that working families can send a child or loved one to college tuition-free and by giving student debt-holders immediate relief. While Donald Trump offers little more than broken promises to get rich quick, I remain committed to ensuring that a college degree is attainable for anyone in this country with the desire and determination to earn one."

As president, Clinton would take executive action to offer a three-month moratorium on student loan payments to all federal loan borrowers. During this period, the Department of Education would provide dedicated assistance to every borrower so they would be able to consolidate their loans, enroll in income-based repayment plans and take direct advantage of opportunities to reduce monthly interest payments and fees. Borrowers who are delinquent or in default will receive additional rehabilitation options to help them get back on their feet.

Additionally, Clinton's plan would eliminate college tuition for working families by saying that families with income up to $125,000 will pay no tuition at in-state public colleges and universities – which would cover more than 80 percent of all families. The plan will phase in, with families earning $85,000 a year or less immediately able to attend a four-year public college or university tuition-free upon enactment. The income threshold will increase by $10,000 a year each year over four years so that, by 2021, all students with a family income of $125,000 or less will have the opportunity to receive a college education tuition-free.

Clinton's New College Compact is centered on two promises to American families: that costs won't be a barrier to attending college, and that debt will not hold individuals back from achieving their goals upon completing their eduction. In addition to the proposals outlined above, it includes specific provisions to benefit Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions and other minority-serving institutions, and to support parents who are balancing earning a degree with raising a child.

Read more about Clinton's proposals to make higher education more affordable and accessible on her website here.
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For Immediate Release, July 6, 2016
Bernie 2016
July 6, 2016
Contact: Michael Briggs

A Revolutionary Step Forward for Higher Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders today welcomed a proposal by Secretary Hillary Clinton which combines the best features of plans that she and Sanders brought forth during the campaign to make higher education affordable for all and substantially reduces student debt.

“As I've traveled throughout the country during this campaign, I have heard over and over again from young people and their parents what the high cost of college and student debt is doing to their lives. For some, it means not being able to go to college at all, and that's the case for hundreds of thousands of high school graduates.

“These are young people who will find it harder to make it into the middle class and fulfill their dreams. For others, it means graduating school deeply in debt, and being forced to pay off that debt year after year after year. And that may mean not being able to buy a home, get married or have kids.

“I want to take this opportunity to applaud Secretary Clinton for the very bold initiative she has just brought forth today for the financing of higher education. This proposal combines some of the strongest ideas she fought for during the campaign with some of the principles that I fought for. The final product is a result of the work of both campaigns.

“Let me be very clear. This proposal, when implemented, will revolutionize the funding of higher education in America, improve the economic future of our country and make life immediately better for tens of millions of people stuck with high levels of student debt.

“This proposed legislation will provide free tuition at public colleges and universities for all families in America earning $125,000 a year or less – 83 percent of our families.

“In other words, the dream of higher education in America will become a reality for all, regardless of the income of one's family. This proposal will also provide very substantial relief for students and families carrying student debt.

“In the year 2016, we should be encouraging our people to get the best education they can, not punishing them.

“Our goal should be to have the best educated country in the world. In a highly-competitive global economy, it is insane that hundreds of thousands of bright young people are unable to afford the high cost of college and millions more leave school deeply in debt.

“I thank Secretary Clinton for introducing this proposal which, in my view, will have a profound impact on the future of our country.”

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Hillary for America
July 9, 2016

Additional Health Care Proposal Affirms Hillary Clinton's Career-Long Fight to Expand Access to Care and Effect Universal Coverage

Hillary Clinton is announcing a commitment to expand investment in community health centers as part of her comprehensive agenda to expand access to health care and reduce health care costs. The proposal affirms Clinton's career-long fight to achieve universal health care coverage for Americans.

As president, Clinton will double funding for primary care services at Federally Qualified Health Centers which deliver community-based care serving populations with limited access to health care. This means extending the current mandatory funding that was significantly expanded under the Affordable Care Act and expanding this funding by $40 billion over the next ten years. Clinton will also affirm her commitment to give Americans in every state the choice of a public-option insurance plan, something she has supported during this campaign and going back to her 2008 presidential campaign, as well as allowing individuals below the Medicare age to opt in to the program -- a proposal she first cosponsored legislation on in 2001 as a senator -- by providing the option to those 55 and older.

"We have more work to do to finish our long fight to provide universal, quality, affordable health care to everyone in America," said Hillary Clinton. "Already, the Affordable Care Act has expanded coverage to 20 million Americans. As president, I will make sure Republicans never succeed in their attempts to strip away their care and that the remaining uninsured should be able to get the affordable coverage they need to stay healthy."

Clinton's plans will defend and expand upon the Affordable Care Act, which has already covered 20 million people nationwide, insuring more than 4.2 million Latinos and 2.3 million African Americans. The investments announced today in community health centers, which provide care for about 25 million people in the United States, more than half of whom are Hispanic or African Americans, will help break down the barriers minority communities face in accessing affordable health care.

This announcement reiterates and builds upon the plans Clinton previously released in her campaign to expand coverage and help make health care more affordable for the underinsured by capping out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and providing a new tax credit of up to $5,000 for families facing high medical costs, among other provisions.

Read more about Clinton's proposals to expand access to health care on her website here.

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For Immediate Release, July 9, 2016
Bernie 2016
July 9, 2016

Sanders Statement on Health Care

BURLINGTON, Vt. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders issued the following statement on Saturday in response to Hillary Clinton’s proposals on health care:

“The goal of health care reform in America should be to do what every other major country on earth does, and that is to guarantee health care for all as a right. The proposal brought forth today by Secretary Clinton, working with our campaign, is an important step forward in expanding health care in America – and expanding health insurance and health care access to tens of millions of Americans.

“I congratulate Secretary Clinton for this extremely important initiative. It will save lives and ease suffering. It will improve health care and cut health care costs. It is a significant step forward as we advance toward the goal of health care for all Americans.

“This proposal, in a very significant way, addresses the crisis we now face in primary health care -- the understanding that many millions of Americans today are unable to access a doctor, dental care, mental health counseling or low-cost prescription drugs.

“This is a crisis which results in thousands of Americans dying unnecessarily each year and others becoming much sicker than they should. It also, in an incredibly dysfunctional way, results in billions more being spent on health care than we should be spending. Instead of going to a medical home and a doctor of their own, people all over the country flock to emergency rooms, the most expensive form of primary health care or unnecessarily end up in the hospital.

“Currently, community health centers throughout America provide primary health care to 25 million Americans. In my state of Vermont, almost 25 percent of our people now receive health care through community health centers, the highest percentage in the country.

“The Affordable Care act significantly expanded mandatory funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers. As part of this proposal, Secretary Clinton is committed to doubling the funding for primary care services at community health centers over the next decade. In doing so, we will dramatically expand access to millions more people. This means extending the current mandatory funding under the Affordable Care Act and expanding it by $40 billion over the next 10 years.

“This proposal also includes President Obama’s call for a near tripling of the size of the National Health Service Corps, which will increase funding to $810 million in 2017 and grow over time to $1.3 billion by 2027.

"These are good investments for patients and for taxpayers. Today, community health centers save more than $1,200 per person per year. This is a savings to the overall health care system of $49 billion each year. And by allowing people to access health care when they need it, we will avoid costly illnesses, hospital stays and trips to emergency rooms. A healthier population also means fewer missed days of school and work. In sum, working toward providing universal primary care to all Americans by investing in community health centers will save billions in unnecessary health care spending.

“Further, Secretary Clinton will pursue efforts to give Americans in every state in the country the choice of a public-option insurance plan, and to expand Medicare by allowing people 55 years or older to opt in while protecting the traditional Medicare program.

“Together these steps will get us closer to the day when everyone in America has access to quality, affordable health care.”

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