*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."
President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign was powered by a cell phone app that allowed staff to monitor the movements of his millions of supporters, and offered intimate access to their social networks.
Rep. Chris Pappas is optimistic that President Donald Trump will sign the bipartisan Veterans COMPACT Act to provide mental health care and prevent veteran suicides.
the Trump administration’s unwillingness to begin steps to transition power to President-elect Joe Biden is preventing him from creating a national response, said Kathleen Sebelius, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama.
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday said his administration would strengthen the country's vulnerable economy despite the exploding pandemic as he pushed forward with the business of preparing to assume the presidency.
President Donald Trump has hailed developments in the race for a vaccine for the resurgent coronavirus. He delivered his first public remarks Friday since his defeat by President-elect Joe Biden, even as he refuses to concede the election.
The reason for such calm is that Wall Street doesn't see Trump's anger, tweets or legal actions changing the results. And encouraging data about a potential COVID-19 vaccine has renewed investors' optimism even though virus cases are on the rise.
Just days following the presidential election, Twitter has stepped up its efforts to crackdown on misinformation, but questions are being raised about how marketers and users will interact with social media platforms going forward. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports.
New York's Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Hochul, joined Cheddar to discuss new state guidelines set to take effect as COVID-19 cases spike nationwide.
The report by Deutsche Bank proposed a 5% daily tax on each employee that continues to work from home.
California Rep. Ami Bera joined Cheddar to discuss what a transition to the Biden administration could look like for Americans in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. Bera also discusses how a Biden administration will tackle COVID-19 with science.
