New Bill Designed To Help Students With Education Loans

Career College Central summary:

A new bill is designed to offer higher education debt relief to hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites. Bill 376, also known as Higher Ed Lower Debt for Wisconsin is designed to help close to 750-thousand Wisconsinites with federal student loan debt. If approved, it would allow you to deduct your student loan payment from your state income tax, and give you an option of refinancing the interest rate. The UW Eau Claire Financial Aid Office says the average loan debt for the 2011-12 graduating class was just shy of 24-thousand dollars.
The bill's author, senator Dave Hansen, says student debt hurts the economy hampering car and home sales. The bill would help current borrowers by giving them an option to refinance their student loans to get lower interest rates, just like homeowners can refinance their mortgages. “Combining that with being able to deduct some of those loans from their state income tax would be two positive things that would help people through school and in the repayment process,” said Sahlhoff.
But critics of the bill say making it easier to pay off student debt will only encourage students to borrow more money. The first hearing for the bill was held on Wednesday. The bill's author says if it passes Wisconsin will become the first state in the country to offer student loan refinancing, that could make the badger-state a warm climate for business in industries that require a bachelor’s or advanced degrees for employment.

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