You may have seen the Facebook meme circulating about Congress and their families being forgiven of their school loans. Many people are struggling to pay back their school loans in a difficult economy, and they are rightfully angered at the thought. Well, like many other things, it is only half true. FactCheck.org published an explanation on Tuesday, Jan 8, 2013, explaining the confusing situation.
Families of Congress are not exempt from paying back their school loans. There is, however, a program for Congressional and Executive staffers that helps reduce school loans after a period of service. FactCheck.org says:
There are student loan repayment programs that may be offered to eligible House and Senate staffers, but those programs have annual and lifetime caps. It’s possible that some congressional staffers will not have to repay their student loans, but that depends on how much they owe and how long they remain on staff. It is also worth pointing out that a similar program exists for executive branch employees, so congressional staffers aren’t the only ones receiving this benefit. All of the programs were created to help recruit and retain qualified employees.
Snopes.com explains the specifics of the amounts allowable. Snopes also mentions that recipients must count this assistance as income and pay taxes on it.
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