Senator Elizabeth isn’t one to shy away from controversy, which is why it comes as no surprise that she’s railing against the United States Department of Education.
According to the New York Times, Warren held a press conference this past Wednesday to talk about student loan debt and a system of “external checks” that would govern complaints against the department.
“We don’t trust a bank to handle its own complaints, and we shouldn’t trust the federal student loan program to do it either,” Warren said according to the New York Times.
Warren criticized colleges and universities, the U.S. Department of Education, state legislatures, and more.
She said that outstanding student loan debt needs to be refinanced and that “college affordability and student debt” are issues that need to be included in the re-authorization of the Higher Education Act.
While Warren isn’t running for president, her words will likely resonate with voters on the left as she attempts to galvanize liberal and progressive voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Her colleague in the Senate, Bernie Sanders, has an ambitious plan to regarding higher education, and that’s to make it free by taxing Wall Street.
Both lawmakers are talking about issues that many students and young Americans care about: making college more affordable or just making it free all together.
We’re likely pretty far off from giving away free access to colleges and universities, but in the interim, the discussion surrounding the price of higher education and the debt that students carry is certainly worth having. We just need to ensure that the talk eventually turns into action that will help students.
