*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."
Chuck Rocha, former senior adviser for Bernie for President 2020 and 2016, talks new Book "Tio Bernie," and what the Biden-Harris campaign can do to secure the Latino vote.
President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he ripped off donors trying to fund a southern border wall.
Dollar stores have conquered the United States, in an era where a “retail apocalypse” is slowly decimating brick and mortar retail shopping. The spread of these dollar stores is also deeply tied to issues of income inequality in the U.S. It’s argued that not only do these institutions benefit from poverty, but also that they perpetuate it. It has even led to some communities to limit the spread of dollar stores in their towns. So how did the dollar store conquer the U.S. - and what is their real impact?
An appeals court has allowed ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft to continue treating their drivers as independent contractors in California while an appeal works its way through the court.
President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to allow him to block critics from his personal Twitter account.
The new rule would tweak the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which regulates the fiduciary duties of private plan managers.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma in a hospital in Siberia after falling ill from a suspected poisoning.
Kamala Harris is poised to make history as the first Black woman to accept a spot on a major party’s presidential ticket.
Hedge fund manager and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci joined Cheddar’s News Wrap Thursday evening with a warning about the current state of the S&P 500 index.
Democrats have formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee.
