*By Justin Chermol*
The daunting task of paying back astronomical student loans may soon be less taxing, California Congressman Scott Peters tells told Cheddar Tuesday.
Rep. Peters (D-Calif.) has received 99 co-sponsors on his bipartisan Employer Participation in Repayment Act, which would allow employers to contribute to their employees' student loan payments, tax-free.
"The idea is this: if you go to work for a company, they can pay off up to $5,250 of your student loans in a year without it being income to you, so it's not taxable to you," Peters told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin.
"If you talk to any young person about ... the big thing on their mind: it's student loan debt. They're not buying a house, they're not getting a car, they're living with their parents, all because they have this burden."
According to a recent [report](https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/consumer-community-context-201901.pdf) from the Federal Reserve, the rise in student loan debt from 2005 to 2014 has contributed to a decline in home ownership.
Nearly one in four American adults are paying off student loans. That amounts to over 44 million citizens who hold collectively almost $1.5 trillion in student debt.
"The average debt now, out of a public university: $30,000 for each kid," Peters said.
Peters also said that the bill could benefit the employer as well ー as educated talent will be attracted to jobs that offer this tax-free incentive.
Peter said he feels good about the bill's chances of at least making it to the House floor for a vote.
"I am more optimistic about that in this Congress with Mrs. Pelosi, rather than Mr. Ryan. I think that we are likely to deal with this issue in a serious way," Peters said. "That's the first step."
U.S. officials say the U.S. is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront against the Russians appeared to begin eroding.
Classified documents were found in former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home.
President Joe Biden is again calling for gun safety legislation in the wake of several mass shootings.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday held a hearing looking into entertainment giant Live Nation's role in the botched pre-sales process for Taylor Swift's Eras tour.
Documents with classified markings were discovered in former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home last week, his lawyer told the National Archives in a letter — the latest in a string of discoveries of confidential information in private residences.
A second mass shooting in California, four Oath Keepers found guilty of seditious conspiracy, and Poland pushes for more tanks for Ukraine. Here is everything you Need2Know for Tuesday, January 24, 2023.
Rachel O’Leary Carmona, the executive director of the Women's March, joined Cheddar News to discuss the current state of abortion care in the United States.
President Joe Biden is expected to tap Jeff Zients, the administration’s former COVID-19 response coordinator, as his next chief of staff.
New York, Connecticut and Virginia are among states where proposed legislation would prohibit anyone convicted of participating in an insurrection from holding public office or a position of public trust, such as becoming a police officer.
Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat, and familiar Biden critic Sen. Joe Manchin each sharply criticized President Joe Biden on Sunday over Biden's handling of classified materials after the FBI discovered classified documents at his home.
