As the Republican Party gets ready to take the reins of at least two U.S. branches of government, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont announced a decidedly Democratic proposal for the Empire State.
"The way this society said, 'We're gonna pay for high school because you need high school,' this society should say, 'We're gonna pay for college because you need college,'" New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
New York's Excelsior Scholarship would aim to complete tuition payments by supplementing state and federal loan and grant programs already in play.
"Free tuition to a state or two-year school if you come from any family earning $125,000 or less," Cuomo said.
According to a press release, when the proposal is in full swing, it could cost upwards of $163 million a year. Where that money will come from, for now, is anyone's guess.
"If New York state does it this year, mark my words, state after state will follow," Sanders said.
Sanders, who proposed free nationwide tuition during his presidential run, called the program "revolutionary" and urged New York legislators to pass the proposal.
If it does pass, it's scheduled to be phased in over three years, starting in fall 2017.
