WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-15) & Rep. Ron Kind (WI-03) Friday introduced the Student Loan Interest Deduction (SLID) Act to address the growing student debt crisis that affects more than 42 million borrowers in the United States.
This legislation, previously sponsored by former Rep. Charles Rangel (NY-13), would double tax deductions for student loan interest and eliminate income phase-outs that prevented too many people who live in high-cost areas from benefiting. Swalwell introduced this legislation to cap off a week of action aimed at easing the increasing cost of a college degree.
The SLID Act would significantly expand the current student loan interest tax deduction by increasing the maximum tax deduction for interest paid on any qualified education loan from $2,500 to $5,000 for individuals ($10,000 for joint filers) and by eliminating the deduction’s current income-based phase-outs of $65,000 for individuals ($130,000 for joint filers).
“For too many Americans, college costs too much. And for those who get to and through college, the crushing burden of debt leaves millions in financial quicksand,” said Swalwell. “Young people and families from all corners of our nation are affected by this. The current student loan interest tax deduction is a well-intentioned benefit, but it doesn’t do enough for those who live in high-cost regions, like the Bay Area. This legislation lifts some of that weight and puts more money in more pockets to help people start a family, buy a home, and turn a good idea into a business.”
“With far too many hard-working Wisconsinites struggling under crippling student loan debt, it is critical that we take commonsense action to ease the financial burden,” said Kind. “Increasing the amount of student loan interest people can deduct on their taxes will help free up money for people to start a family, buy a house, and move into their next phase of life without feeling buried under student loan debt.”
The Student Loan Interest Deduction Act has 23 original cosponsors – Reps. Ron Kind, Gwen Moore (WI-04), John Larson (CT-01), Brendan Boyle (PA-13), Eliot Engel (NY-16), John Conyers (MI-13), Louise Slaughter (NY-25), Madeleine Bordallo (GU), Kathleen Rice (NY-04), Judy Chu (CA-27), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Rick Nolan (MN-08), Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Grace Meng (NY-06), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Mike Thompson (CA-05), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Scott Peters (CA-52), and Juan Vargas (CA-51).
Swalwell is the founder and chair of Future Forum, a group of 26 young House Democrats that has engaged with thousands of millennials across the nation on the issues most important to them. Student loan debt consistently ranks high among the concerns of millennials, who now are the largest and most diverse generation in U.S. history.
1 comment
Today’s generation pays exponentially more for tuition and supplies than did the boomers. Boomers didn’t even have to go to college, they could provide for a family with a warehouse job. But let’s hear how this new generation is lazy working full-time and going to college full-time, what a crock.
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