RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) is hoping a bill will save a program that helps those with student loan debt.
In 2019, Warner and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced legislation called the Employer Participation in Repayment Act, which would have allowed employers to pay up to $5,250 in student loan debt — tax free.
Warner said the program would provide existing employees much-needed relief and would also be way to attract new employees.
“We’ve got legislation that would make that a permanent part of the tax code,” Warner said. “As somebody who only got through college myself as the first of my generation to graduate from college with the help of student loans, I know what a burden that that causes on a lot of families, young and old alike.”
According to Education Data, student debt reached $1.6 trillion dollars in the U.S. in 2019, that number has since gone up to $1.7 trillion.
“If the employer can go ahead and pay down that tax free $5,200 a year for their employees, it’s a great retention tool,” Warner said. “It’s also one more tool to be used in freeing up some of the burdensome student debt.”