Julián Castro tackles student loan debt in sweeping new education plan

Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and housing secretary under former President Barack Obama, is still struggling to make headway in the Democratic presidential primary polls, but he is keeping pace with his more established competitors when it comes to releasing fully-formed campaign platforms.

Castro, who provided a detailed rundown of his immigration plan last month, rolled out his plan for education on Monday. The plan was built around five principles: universal pre-kindergarten, ensuring all high schoolers have a fair opportunity to graduate, affordable — and in many cases free — higher education, higher pay and more resources for teachers, and providing a fair education for all Americans regardless of race and socioeconomic class.

The plan is sweeping, but Castro really gets into the weeds when explaining his ideas for student loan forgiveness. In order to alleviate existing student debt, Castro's administration would cap monthly loan payments at $0 until the individual's income is at least 250 percent above the federal poverty line. This is not, Castro writes, a deferred payment. Once the borrower is earning the minimum salary, they will not pay more than 10 percent of their qualified income each month. After 240 monthly payments, including months where the payment is $0, the borrower will receive "non-taxable forgiveness of any remaining amount." Finally, all loans will have an interest accumulation cap that limit lifetime increase in the loan to 50 percent.

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Castro's plan comes on the heels of another student loan forgiveness proposal from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), also a presidential candidate, and the issue is likely to be a frequently-discussed topic as the 2020 election approaches. Read Castro's full plan at his campaign website.