Up to five years of student loan debt could be forgiven for Washington, D.C. residents, if a bill introduced Tuesday by a council member is passed.
David Grosso, an Independent D.C. council member, proposed that the city pay for five years of worth of loan payments for residents who either individually make less than $75,000 a year or, with their spouse, make less than $95,000 per year, reported The Washington Post.
“I’ve heard from teachers about how hard it is for them to make ends meet because they’re carrying this debt,” Grosso, the Education Committee chairman, told WaPo. “This is something we need to address.”
The councilman intends to manage the program’s expense by compelling participants to enlist in a government income-driven repayment plan.
“We’re making a big push for day-care workers to go back to school,” said Grosso. “I’m trying to make sure they know that we’ve got their back when they complete their education, so they can continue to live in [D.C.] regardless of the debt they might owe.”
Student loans amount to $1.3 trillion held by 44 million Americans.
Grosso previously pushed a non-binding resolution to ask the Washington Redskins, whom Grosso decried as bearing a “derogatory, racist name,” to rename the team the Washington Redtails.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the Department of Education for feedback concerning the bill, but received no comment in time for press.
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