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Bill Clinton Hazy on Hillary’s College Affordability Plan

March 31, 2016

Bill Clinton confused Hillary Clinton’s college affordability plan Thursday, repeating the same mistake that his daughter Chelsea made on the campaign trail last week.

"She’s proposing debt-free education for people that go to public colleges, historically black colleges and universities, and other private, small schools that have modest tuition, high graduation rates, deal with first and second generation Americans of all kinds," the former president said at a campaign event in Manhattan.

Clinton’s plan does not include debt-free education for private schools. Her plan titled the "New College Compact" gives states federal money if they promise "no-loan" tuition at public universities. It also incentivizes states to accept lower-income students and to spend more on "instruction and learning."

The former president then said that Hillary was "asking people to pay higher taxes, to pay for all the tuition, plus the expenses of people who are in lower income." It is unclear what he meant by this.

Clinton also mistakenly said that his wife’s plan requires low-income students to work ten hours per month when it requires ten hours of work per week.

"Offering people who need some help, but not complete help, the opportunity to do ten hours of work-study work a month is the only proposal that will hold down college costs," Clinton said.

Chelsea Clinton made the same mistake as her dad last week in Wisconsin, telling voters that her mother’s plan promises debt-free private education.

"She believes that anyone should be able to graduate from school debt-free, public universities or private universities, debt-free," Clinton said.