By Joe Ragusa
NORMAL – A piece of legislation recently introduced by U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis would help recent college graduates pay off their student loan debt.
The proposal allows employers to contribute an employees earnings before they’re taxed so recent college graduates don’t have as much of a burden while paying off their student loans.
“We need to make sure that those students are able to pay that loan off as fast and as quickly as possible so they don’t worry as much about what interest rate they’re going to pay,” Davis said.
Davis said the proposal is meant to help students like current Illinois State University student Kyle Walsh find a job after graduation.
“Ultimately, I want to complete a law degree and I’m going to have a considerable amount of student loan debt,” Walsh said. “With today’s current job outlook I’m concerned about being able to pay my loans back in a timely manner and I know I’m not the only one.”
Davis said the proposed program is similar to another program that allows employers to contribute pre-tax earnings to a current college student’s tuition and another program that gives certain government employees the ability to pay off their student loans with pre-tax earnings.
Davis is co-sponsoring the legislation with Florida Democrat Gwen Graham.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at joe.ragusa@cumulus.com.
