Washington, DC – Following a strong push by President Barack Obama during his 2015 State of the Union to make college education affordable, Rep. Jerry McNerney joined dozens of his House colleagues introducing the Student Loan Interest Deduction (SLID) Act. The SLID Act would increase tax deductions for interest paid on student loan debt and help ease the burden of repaying loans for education.
“There is no better investment in our nation’s future than higher education, said Rep. McNerney. “This bill is a commonsense solution that will help put money back into our economy and make it more affordable for students to go to college.”
The SLID Act would help individuals pay back their loans by doubling the tax deduction for interest paid on student loan debt from $2,500 to $5,000 for singles and from $5,000 to $10,000 for married couples. It would also eliminate upper income limits on deductions, meaning that people with student debt are no longer penalized for earning a higher salary as they advance in their careers. Under the SLID Act, regardless of how much a taxpayer makes, they would receive the same deduction until all their student loans were paid off.
As of 2013, the total of student loan balances in the United States exceeded $1.2 trillion, quadruple what it was in 2003. This is more than Americans owe in both credit card debt ($882.6 billion) and auto loan debt ($15.1 billion).
The SLID Act has been endorsed by: the American Council on Education, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), the Consortium for Government Relations on Student Affairs (CGRSA), the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), the American Dental Association (ADA), the American Student Dental Association (ASDA), and the Association of American Universities (AAU).
“This bill provides relief to students and families who are facing the growing debt resulting from the rising cost of earning a college education. It will also have a positive effect on the economy by allowing graduates to keep a bit more of their income for other pressing needs,” said Mike Reilly, Executive Director of the AACRAO.
“The Great Recession and its aftermath has made it more and more challenging for college graduates to get started on their careers. Many borrowers recently lost important student loan benefits and those changes have increased the amount they owe. As a result, it is critical that federal policy makers look for ways to help college graduates manage the burden of their student loan debt. This legislation represents a very helpful step in that effort,” said Terry W. Hartle, Senior Vice President of the American Council on Education.
Joining Rep. McNerney as original co-sponsors are Reps. Charles Rangel (the bill’s original sponsor), Madeleine Bordallo, Corinne Brown, Matt Cartwright, John Conyers, Chaka Fattah Al Green, Raúl M. Grijalva, Luis Gutiérrez, Alcee Hastings, Ruben Hinojosa, Mike Honda, Bernice Johnson, Ann Kirkpatrick, John Larson, Barbara Lee, Dave Loebsack, Alan Lowenthal, Mike Quigley, Jim McDermott, Grace Meng, Gwen Moore, Rick Nolan, Ed Perlmutter, Collin Peterson, Stacey Plaskett, Terri Sewell, Juan Vargas, and Federica Wilson.
