Hillary Clinton unveils $350B plan allowing students to graduate without debt

EXETER, N.H., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Hillary Clinton on Monday is planning to unveil a $350 billion presidential campaign plan to help students pay tuition at public colleges without needing to take out loans and to help students already indebted.

Under Clinton's proposed New College Compact, about $200 billion will be used by giving grants to states that will guarantee that students will not need to take out loans to cover tuition at four-year public colleges and universities and to allow students from low-income families to use Pell Grants to pay for room and board costs.

States would have to end budget cuts, increase spending over time on higher education and attempt to slow the growth of tuition. Tuition and fees for in-state residents at public colleges in the United States have increased more than 40 percent since 2004.

The Clinton college affordability plan will be funded by capping the value of itemized deductions that wealthy families can receive from tax returns.

Clinton wants to create a $150 billion refinancing plan for those who are struggling with debt, as the U.S. student loan debt is more than $1.2 trillion and about eight million people are defaulting. She hopes Congress will approve proposals for borrowers to refinance loans at the current federal rate.

The proposals will be first unveiled during a campaign stop in Exeter, N.H., and then throughout the week.

Plans also include the expansion of the AmeriCorps national service program, which Clinton hopes to grow from 75,000 members to 250,000 by allowing certain students to graduate from college without incurring debt if they join.