California Democratic Senator Kamala Harris formally kicked off her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sunday, where she said that education affordability would be a priority if she were elected.
More specifically, Harris said she wanted to make college “debt-free” for students.
“I am running to declare education is a fundamental right, and we will guarantee that right with universal pre-K and debt-free college,” Harris said.
She hasn’t yet revealed any details about her plan for “debt-free” college, but in 2017, she supported Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ legislation to make public colleges and universities tuition-free. Dubbed “College for All,” the legislation placed a cap on the free tuition, only allowing students to participate if their families made less than $125,000. However, all community colleges would’ve been tuition-free; student loan interest rates would’ve been cut in half; and funding for the Federal Work-Study program would’ve been tripled.
I’m running to fight for Medicare for All, universal pre-K, debt-free college & more. To guarantee middle-class families a pay increase of up to $500/mo with the largest working-class tax cut in decades — paid for by reversing this Admin’s gifts to big corporations & the top 1%.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 27, 2019
During her speech on Sunday, Harris also condemned “leaders who attack public schools and vilify public school teachers.”
As for her other priorities, Harris advocated for a Medicare-for-all plan, tax breaks and pay increases for working- and middle-class families, and “reversing this administration’s giveaways to big corporations and the top one percent.”
“And as we embark on this campaign, I will tell you this: I am not perfect. Lord knows, I am not perfect,” Harris said toward the end of her speech. “But I will always speak with decency and moral clarity and treat all people with dignity and respect. I will lead with integrity. And I will speak the truth.”