Booker proposes government-funded college accounts in run-up to Senate primary

By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger

NEWARK — Newark Mayor and U.S. Senate hopeful Cory Booker today will release a plan to curb childhood poverty nationally by increasing federal benefits for the poor, expanding access to affordable housing and making preschool and college more available to America’s low-income families.

While much of the 15-page policy paper champions liberal favorites such as increasing the minimum wage, expanding access to preschools and lowering interest rates on college loans, Booker also proposes a relatively novel plan to help poor families save for college.

The plan, released as Booker contends with three other Democrats for the nomination to fill Frank Lautenberg’s U.S. Senate seat, calls for the federal government to deposit $400 a year into education trust funds for each child of a family whose parents qualify for the earned income tax credit.

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