By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – A student-loan debt advocacy group said a central Illinois congressman’s idea to allow employers to help employees with student-loan debt doesn’t address the real problem of skyrocketing tuition.
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville said his legislation would allow an employer to contribute up to $5,250 a year toward an employee’s student loan debt.
“And the benefit too, which differentiates it from current employer student-loan repayment programs, is the employee wouldn’t have to pay taxes on that benefit,” Davis said.
Student Debt Crisis is a student-loan advocacy organization developed to push for reforms. Digital Director Cody Hounanian said the bill would make the country complacent in the face of mounting student-loan debt.
“We don’t think that having an enormous debt burden should be something that we kind of just accept as a consequence for going to college,” Hounanian said. “It shouldn’t be that way.”
Hounanian said Davis’ bill would make the employer foot the bill “and pretty much asks them to subsidize the cost that we would usually see from public investment.”
Hounanian said the problem needs to be addressed because mounting student-loan debt keeps people from the normal steppingstones in life, such as buying a car or a house.
