Issue Position: Education
Issue Position
Supporting Public Education
I wouldn't be in this race if not for the good public education I received. Fully funding our schools, building new ones where they're needed, and hiring more teachers will mean more opportunities for students to succeed no matter where they live or how much money their family earns. I oppose voucher programs that siphon public money to private or religious institutions that don't level the playing field and often exclude the students who most need a chance at a young age. I also oppose the overly onerous new testing requirements mandated by the federal government. No Child Left Behind, supported by Republican Susan Collins, was a huge mistake. It's time to invest in education at the local level again. Public schools helped build the intellectual foundation of this country, and they need to be supported.
Early Childhood Education
Key to our educational future and our economic future is investment in early childhood education. Research demonstrates that significant brain development occurs in the earliest years, and that children who attend school and enrichment programs early in life fare better financially and educationally later on. We should invest more thoroughly in universal early childhood education.
Student Loan Reform
I graduated with significant student loan debt in 1997, the year that Republican Susan Collins took office, but the average student loan debt burden was far lower then than it is today because the policies promoted by Republicans in Washington have favored the big banks over students and families. Today's students face record-level debt burdens and exorbitant interest rates. We are mortgaging our country's future. Republicans in Washington have obstructed efforts to fix the problem, and my opponent, Republican Susan Collins, has played along. In 2013 she voted against the Student Loan Affordability Act, a bill to limit interest rate increases. I would have supported that bill the day it was introduced, and I'll be a reliable vote to fix student debt when I am in the United States Senate.
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