VOA慢速英语--美总统候选人提议免除学生贷款债务

US Presidential Candidate Proposes Canceling Student Loan Debt

Student loan debt in the United States is over $1.56 trillion, the highest it has ever been.

About 45 million Americans have debt from attending a college or university. Two-thirds of students who graduated in 2017 left school with loans averaging $28,650, according to the Institute for College Access and Success.

One lawmaker seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination¹ has proposed canceling billions of dollars of that student loan debt.

Elizabeth Warren is a senator from the state of Massachusetts. This week she announced her college debt forgiveness plan. Her plan would cancel $50,000 in student loan debt for anyone whose yearly household earnings² are under $100,000. Such a proposal would affect 42 million Americans.

Her plan also would cancel some debt for those who earn between $100,000 and $250,000.

Warren describes student loan debt as a “crisis” for the country. She said canceling student loan debt for millions of Americans would help close the country’s racial and wealth gap.

Warren also proposes making all two- and four-year public colleges free.

She said her debt-cancellation program and her Universal Free College plan would cost the federal government a total of $1.25 trillion over 10 years.

Warren says that money could come from a so-called “Ultra-Millionaire Tax.” This would involve a two-percent yearly tax on American families with a total wealth of over $50 million, and a one-percent tax on those with a total wealth of over $1 billion.

Warren has also proposed a $100 billion investment in Pell Grants over the next 10 years. The need-based federal aid program requires no payback. Pell Grant money goes to the neediest students and helps them pay for all of the costs of college -- tuition and fees, room and board, transportation, and books and other supplies.

Warren wrote about her proposals Monday on the website Medium. She wrote, “The enormous student debt burden weighing down our economy isn’t the result of laziness or irresponsibility. It’s the result of a government that has consistently put the interests of the wealthy and well-connected over the interests of working families.”

Warren is one of more than 20 Democrats³ competing for their party’s 2020 nomination. She has sought to set herself apart by offering several expansive policy proposals.

Education has been a central topic for other Democratic presidential candidates, too. Kamala Harris, a California senator released a plan that would give school teachers a 25-percent pay raise. Low pay has been blamed as one reason for the country’s worsening teacher shortage.

Warren, Harris and several other Democrats running for president are backing the 2019 Debt-Free College Act. The bill would cover all costs for students attending in-state, public colleges.

The Democratic proposal stands in contrast to recent education-related proposals from the Republican administration of President Donald Trump⁴.

Last month, the administration proposed several changes to the ways Americans pay back their student loans. The changes were included in proposed reforms to the national Higher Education Act.

The changes included canceling the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The program forgives federal student loans for some people who work full-time⁵ for a given amount of time in federal, state or local public service positions. The change would only affect students who borrow money after July 1, 2020.

Other changes include ending the subsidized student loans program in order to save the government money. Under that program, the U.S. Department of Education pays the interest on student loans while borrowers are still in schools.

The administration has proposed similar changes in earlier budget plans. The U.S. Congress, however, has voted against them.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

graduate - v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

gap - n. a difference between two people, groups, or things

ultra - adj. beyond : extremely : more than is usual

tuition - n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study there

allow - v. to permit

burden - n.? someone or something that is very difficult to accept, do, or deal with?

laziness - n.? the condition of not liking⁶ to work hard or to be active?

consistent - adj.? always acting⁷ or behaving in the same way?

contrast - n. to be different especially in a way that is very obvious

topic- n.? someone or something that people talk or write about?

forgive - v. to stop requiring payment of (money that is owed)

subsidize - v. to help someone or something pay for the costs of (something)

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

6 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。