3 Democrats want to forgive all your student debt - if you're a House staffer

• Three Democrats requested a study on the impact of improving benefits for House staffers.
• One of the benefits is making House staffers eligible for a public student-loan forgiveness program.
• The House and Senate already offer loan-repayment options to staffers, but the benefits are capped.

Staffers who work for members of the House of Representatives are known for having low pay and high turnover rates, given that their jobs are reliant on their bosses being reelected. Three Democrats want to give those staffers more financial security, including through access to full student-loan forgiveness.

On Thursday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Chair of the Committee on House Administration Zoe Lofgren, and Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to the House's chief administrative officer, Catherine Szpindor, requesting a study on expanding benefits to House staffers. They cited the toll the January 6 insurrection took on staffers as a need to evaluate and improve the wellbeing of those who work on Capitol Hill.

One of those improvements would be making House staffers eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which allows government and nonprofit employees with federally backed student loans to apply for loan forgiveness after proof of 120 monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan. Eligibility requires a full-time job.

The PSLF program is flawed, however, with 98% of all borrowers from the general public having been rejected from the program. President Joe Biden campaigned on reforming the program, and 56 Democrats sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on May 5 stressing the need to fix the program to give eligible borrowers student debt relief.

The House and Senate both have a student-loan-repayment program for staffers, but it caps benefit amounts at $40,000 for Senate staffers and $60,000 for House staffers. Roll Call reported in 2019 that low-paying staffer jobs have been prohibitive for those who want to work on the Hill but have high amounts of student debt - the average congressional aide salary can range from $20,000 to $50,000.

"This discussion is, we believe, long overdue, as staff for Members, leadership, and committees continue to work hard, work long hours, and give such dedicated service to this institution and to their country even as they earn relatively low pay and receive benefits that are not competitive with the private sector," the Democrats wrote.

They asked Szpindor to conduct a study on the impact of extending the following benefits to House staffers to improve retention and recruitment:

• Make staff eligible for the PSLF program and provide coverage for private student loans;
• Offer a college-savings benefit, or "529" plan;
• Reimburse fertility or adoption treatments not covered by insurance;
• Offer a first-time homebuyer assistance benefit for House employees;
• Provide childcare subsidies for staffers who don't use House daycare;
• And allow staff from offices that are shutting down to remain on payroll for 60 days beyond the closure.

The lawmakers also requested a list of the benefits employees in the private sector have but are not currently available to House staff, and they plan to use this study to informs efforts to include expanded benefits in the appropriations bill for the next fiscal year.

"If we want to renew Americans' faith in Congress as an institution that can deliver results and do good for them & their communities, we must be able to compete with the private sector to retain experienced staff on the Hill," Hoyer wrote on Twitter. "I will continue to advocate for these changes."