HOUSE DEMOCRATS ROLL OUT HIGHER EDUCATION PLAN: Scott on Tuesday unveiled Democrats’ plan to overhaul federal higher education policy. The bill, dubbed the College Affordability Act, H.R. 4674 (116), calls for expanding federal student aid programs and new federal spending to help states eliminate tuition at community colleges.
— Other key provisions of the 1,165-page bill: expanding Pell Grants and public service loan forgiveness, allowing existing federal student loan borrowers to lower their interest rates, and imposing new accountability requirements on colleges that receive federal aid.
— The bill largely restores major Obama-era policies, such as gainful employment and borrower defense to repayment, that were undone by the Trump administration. And it would block DeVos from finalizing her proposed Title IX campus sexual assault rules.
— But the plan eschews notable progressive priorities, including those that have gained traction on the 2020 presidential campaign trail, such as debt-free college at four-year universities and sweeping student loan forgiveness for existing borrowers.
— Scott said the proposal was meant to be realistic. “We believe that this more modest proposal can actually pass in this Congress,” he said, calling it a “very progressive bill.”