 Welcome to some common. My name is Dwayne Peterson along with James Moore. We founded this business seven years ago. We're here because burdening our young people with crushing student debt is messed up. Vermonters alone owe seven hundred million dollars from their educations. Let me say that again, seven hundred million dollars. Vermonters alone owe for their educations. So we're here today just to talk about one step that employers here in Vermont can do to be part of the solution. With us we have Congressman Peter Welch who will talk about what he's doing at the federal level. We have Samantha Sheehan from Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility to talk about some state policy that might help and we have Robin Gresham, a Suncommon employee to talk about our own personal experience with student debt. So thank you. Thank you very much Dwayne. It's wonderful to be here at Suncommon and wonderful to be here with a company that is doing all it can to help its employees deal with the burden of debt. You know, as student debt we all know it is just an astonishing millstone around young people starting out in their career. And it's a millstone around some of the parents of those kids who refinanced their mortgage in order to give their kids the opportunity to pay for college and possibly get out without as much of a debt. But you know, I met Vermont families where they were like a year or two from retirement and they were trying to figure out how to juggle to help their two or three kids go to college. And at the end of the day after all the loans and everything else they basically decided that month cruise they were looking forward to for 30 years well maybe that can wait another five or six and they refinanced their homes to help their kids. But even with that the kids end up graduating with debt. You know, the average debt in Vermont is about $29,000. That's a lot to start out with and that's that's like the average debt. There's a lot of kids who have debt that is much higher. And it is an incredible burden when you're starting out to have to figure out how to pay that back. And it really has significant consequences on the options that young people have to come back to Vermont if they can find a job that's going to pay them enough in order to pay off their debt and get a condominium or apartment or a car let alone think about buying their first place. So it's a real burden on the economy and it's a source of significant anxiety for young people. And it doesn't have to be this way. This has all happened in my generation. You know when I went to college in law school and I had like $5,000 of debt at the end of that. And it was not a big deal but it was because tuitions weren't really a big deal when I was going to school. So we've got $1.6 trillion of debt in the country 20 700 million here in the state of Vermont. And it is a crisis. And what can we do? I mean starting with the colleges and higher institutions higher education have to do all they can to curb costs. You've got to start to some extent there. We also have to have interest rates that reflect the low rate that the government can borrow. You know we're borrowing federal money at less than 2%. Yet in many cases student loans in loans that parents get on behalf of their kids are 8%. And there's a variety of things that we could do starting with lowering the interest rate and let all students consolidate debt at the much lower rate closer to what the federal funds rate is. That would bring down the cost of servicing those loans enormously. But this is an all-hands-on-deck situation. And what Suncommon is doing is saying to their employees have student debt that we will make payments on your behalf so that that burden up to $5,500 I think a year will be diminished. And what a benefit we're gonna hear a little bit about that. But here's the irony. They don't get to deduct that. And when Suncommon makes that payment under current law the student has to report that as income. They never see it. It goes directly to paying off the loan. So instead of the employer getting a deduction as they do when they provide employer-sponsored health benefits that's a cost to the employer obviously inhibiting their ability to help their employees with student debt. And then secondly the student who is all excited that they got some help from their employer get the tax bill because they have to treat that as income even though they never saw it and they're paying down the debt. So the legislation that I'm co-sponsoring is the Employer Participation Loan Assistance Act. And what it would do is in fact treat contributions by employers towards student loan repayment much like employer-sponsored health care is treated. The employer who made that payment would be able to deduct that from their top line and the student who received the benefit would not have to report that as income. And that would be a significant encouragement for other employers to step up like Suncommon has. Now what's remarkable and this is your triple B bottom line, right? Suncommon is doing this and some Wall Street economists might say this is really stupid. You're wasting the money because they're not getting a deduction, okay? And I don't think it's stupid and I think we'll hear why Suncommon doesn't think it's stupid. It's really great for Vermont. It's really great for the students. But this is a very concrete piece of legislation that would be beneficial to employers and students across the country. And it doesn't matter whether you're from a red state or a blue state. The heavy burden of student debt knows no political boundaries. It's really hurting all our kids. And by the way, I think the burden is especially high in rural areas because the job prospects in rural areas are many cases more challenging. We have big demands to try to get broadband built out so we can get businesses like Suncommon going all around rural America and rural Vermont. So anything that a company can do that makes that margin a difference for a young person to be able to take that job back here in Vermont. That really, really makes a difference. So student debt, incredible problem. We've got to be all hands on deck and facing it. We've got to do it with the combination of control of spending and cost at the education level. It's got to be programs at the state and local level that reduce the cost of student debt in the interest rate that they have to pay. And I'm delighted to see employers like Suncommon stepping up and saying, you know what, we'll bear some of the burden because we believe in our employees. We know what a challenge this is and we want to help. But in order for Suncommon and other companies to help, we've got to at least allow them the accounting adjustment so that when they're paying benefits for employees, they're not paying taxes on that benefit to the employee as well. That money does not go in the pocket of Suncommon. It goes, it does not go in the pocket of the student. It goes to the lending institution. And in most cases, it's charging interest rates that are way higher than they should be. So Suncommon, thank you so much for your effort. And I'm looking forward to working on a bipartisan way to get this legislation passed. Thank you. Thank you, Congressman, for your leadership on this, not just for Iran, but for all the country. Let me share a little bit about how we got into this. So Suncommon, we start from the belief that everyone deserves a healthy environment and a safer world and that clean energy is where that starts. We know that clean energy can build vibrant communities and fuel all of our lives. And so our mission is to knock down the barriers that had stood in the way of people getting into the clean energy revolution and to use our business as a force for good. So use it as a force for good. One of the things we do is we care for our employees, our fellow Vermonters, and those of us now who are working in New York. So of course, we provide health insurance and dental insurance and disability, especially for our construction people. We offer paid family leave. And we contribute money into our employees retirement accounts. So a couple of years ago, I'm going over the books at the end of the year, how we do budget versus actual, you know, all that business stuff. And I look at the line, and we're way under budget on contributing to our employees retirement accounts. Like, why is that? Oh, I bet I know. And so we surveyed the employees who are not participating. We're trying to give them money, right? And sure enough, crushing student debt. Their financial advisors tell them, especially with the interest rates that they're being gouged, pay that debt down as quickly as you can, because you're paying all that interest, and only then start saving for your retirement. And I thought, well, that's messed up. Like these people are putting off saving for their futures. Let's put the money that we would have paid into their retirement account into their student loan debt. And when I ask questions like, has this ever been done before? And I get the answer. Well, gosh, I've never heard of that. That's music to my ears. Let's figure this out. So it is 2019. There is an app for that. There's lots of vendors now that make this easy for employers, just like we contribute to the health care insurance premiums or the 401k, we can contribute directly into our employees student debt. 16 of our employees are now doing that paying down their debt as quickly as they can with our help. And that's great. But then I come to find out, as the Congress member suggested, that our laws, you know, were written a while ago. And they don't always account for what's going on in modern America. This crushing college student debt is relatively new. And so while employer contributions into health insurance or into 401k is not taxable to the employee, alas, because the laws haven't kept up, they are taxable to the employee. So we're still going to do it. Our employees who opt in are still getting a chunk of money to pay down their debt that they wouldn't have had otherwise. That's great. But our our member of Congress and our local state legislator, Tom Stevens, have legislation to put employers doing the right thing, contributing into their employees student debt on the same footing as 401k or healthcare. So I would encourage businesses to get into this now. It's not just kind. It's not just loving. It's not just good for the employees. It's good business. We want young Vermonters to stay and work here. We want them to go away, get their chops and come back that much higher skilled. This is a way that we can help young Vermonters get in on the American dream, think about buying a home, think about starting a family, put down and lay their roots here in Vermont, just as we have enjoyed. So this is good business as well. And I want to encourage other businesses to look into this as well. I'd like to introduce Robin Gresham works here at Sun Commons. She's been here for half of Sun Commons life, three and a half years in our accounting office. And so accounting, maybe she knows something about this as well. Hi, again, my name is Robin, I'm an accountant here. And I've benefited from the student loan financial assistance program. Since it was introduced here nearly two years ago. And I come from a family of teachers. And it was always a given that I would pursue higher education and that I would assume the financial responsibility that comes along with it. Between undergraduate education and then continuing it later on, I accumulated a pretty sizable student debt. At one point, I was paying nearly $1,000 a month in student loan payments. Yeah, ouch. I carried that debt me into the next phase of my life into marriage and life with children. And and now I pay it alongside my mortgage payment. It's it's definitely it's been a tough path. But I am an accountant, and I've been responsible and I've stayed current on my payments. But it hasn't been without impact. I would say that the biggest impact is clearly on my savings for the future. And, you know, I think it's really hard to plan for the future when you're working so hard to just dig out for the past. For me, the hardest part is also just the idea that I'm essentially borrowing from my future and from my future retirement savings, and from my college, the college fund of my children. It's a bit terrifying and overarching to think that I might pass this burden on to them. Fortunately, I'm starting to see the surface fingers crossed within a couple years, I'll have my loans paid off. But it makes thanks to the this assistance program that some common has participated in a couple months ago, I paid off one of my loans in its entirety. And so one more to go. And unfortunately, I fear I'm a little I'm a little behind. It's going to be a big scramble to get caught up. But of course, you know, programs and legislation like this is really what's going to help me get there a little quicker. So thank you. So last is Samantha Sheehan from Vermont businesses for social responsibility. My name is Samantha Sheehan. I'm the communications manager for Vermont businesses for social responsibility, or VBSR. We are a business association, a statewide business association here in Vermont, with over 700 member businesses who advocate for policies which support our communities, the environment and workers. We give our business members a voice at the Vermont State House on a variety of sustainable economic development and social equity issues. Upcoming generations of workers are experiencing significant student debt load. The average student debt graduating from college in 2017, as you've already heard, left school with about $28,000 in debt. Workforce development is an integral part of our sustainable economic agenda at VBSR. And many of our member businesses have found that offering inclusive employee first workplaces helps attract and retain those employees. Our members know that as an employee and their community prosperous, a business succeeds. A growing number of Vermont employers are now offering benefits similar to the one here at Suncommon that work much like a retirement contribution match. Businesses like this who have piloted this innovative benefit have seen really high enrollment in the young professional community. Therefore, on behalf of our member businesses, VBSR was pleased to give leadership support last year to legislation introduced at the Vermont State House by Waterbury representative Tom Stevens, Bill H290, which would create a deduction on taxable income up to $5,000 for student loans debt paid for by an employer. We hope that Vermont's elected officials will recognize the impact of such work that the business community is doing. And that through this legislation, more Vermont workers will be able to access this really common sense benefit. And be able to better contribute to our shared local economy, but also better able to support their families and contribute to a more prosperous future for us all. Thank you. Any questions? Covered at all. Yeah. Very bad. When you talk about skills lowering their costs. Can you give some ideas of how you think they should do that? You know, that's, that's got to be up to them. We got an spiral here, because what I saw is student loans became more and more available. Tuition kept rising. So every time there was a dollar of eight available, tuition went up a dollar. So with Senator Brasley, actually, he and I began asking the question, what are our college institutions going to do to try to help? And frankly, those decisions have to be made at that level, because they have control over the budget, and they know what they need. But you know, some of the things that are obvious, you know, when I went to school, we didn't not that not that anybody should try to do it, but you don't necessarily need all these incredibly lavish facilities, if that results in a much bigger price tag to get the education. So that's just got to be part of that. That's my my strong view here. And by speaking out about it, I'm getting a sense that our higher education institutions are getting that message. And also, you saw what happened in Vermont, where our high school seniors can start getting college credits for first year. So that has actually helped enormously is creates a bit of a challenge for our local schools, where they lose some of the property tax for some of the state aid revenue. So that's a challenge for my period of workout. But it's really been a way where you can compress that four years down maybe to three or three and a half. And that's real, that's real savings. So that my point is, that's got to be part of it. Yes. What would be your message to other Vermont businesses regarding this issue? Do a sun common does. I mean, this this is an extraordinary decision by a company, because they're essentially making an expenditure on behalf of their employees. And under the tax law, compensation to an employee is deductible. It's not income. It doesn't go to their bottom line. They can't reinvest. They can't get a new truck. They basically have to write this check to cover the student loan. So the tax law should, I think, reflect the reality of the situation that this is an investment in their workers. And then they should be able to deduct it. So that's an impediment for other businesses. But to the extent that businesses step up, despite the gap in the law right now, sun common is a wonderful example of that commitment to their employees. By the way, this is the whole debate that's happening. It's about what's the role of corporations and the economy. And we've skewed so far that it's just about shareholder return and compensation to executives as opposed to what they can do in the community and what they can do for their workers. And I think there's a pushback among many of our companies to acknowledge that there is a responsibility to do the job, to their shareholders, but also to their employees and to the community. And I think this decision by sun common reflects that commitment being for real, not just when it's convenient. But I do think that there is a public policy responsibility, you know, we can't in Washington really have an expectation that companies are going to take financial risk that with a policy change could be mitigated. So we've got the responsibility, I think to pass this legislation and let this employee benefit be treated much like all other employee benefits and that is a deduction to the company and not as direct income to the employee. Could I take this? So sun common may have figured something out here that other Vermont businesses could look at as well. So helping our employees with their crushing college student debt is good for them and it's really good for our business. And I'm here to say it's not that expensive. We looked at it and it's one third of 1% of our total compensation budget is going to helping our 16 employees who are participating in this. So this is not just for the national lives of the world or the really monster companies. This is what Main Street businesses in Vermont can do to support their employees and build their businesses even stronger. I think on a yearly basis in the $30,000 range. So small for you, but big for the individual employee by grab it, right? I mean, that's a big deal for you. Absolutely. And I think one of the interesting points about it is just that it is a match. It is a match. So it essentially is it doesn't take the place of a student's payment or an employee's payment. And therefore, it's primarily applied, I think in full to the principal balance of that loan, which just means that that loan is going to pay down much, much quicker. And that's a really that has a really considerable effect. And it's not essentially taking away the responsibility of that employee. It's just helping them out. When we pulled our members in 2019, businesses in our membership were offering a student debt repayment match at a higher rate than they were offering childcare subsidies or contributions. So just to give you an idea that it's a relatively new idea, but it's quickly gaining steam in the Vermont community. Yeah, realistically, how quickly do you think this legislation could pass? We've got a situation in Washington that you may have observed. It's called a situation. You know, frankly, we could pass this in the house. We've got to work in the majority of it. And we have been aggressively pursuing legislation that meets the concerns of everyday people. Student loans is something that's been front and center gun violence. We have passed in the house and sent to the Senate background check legislation. This week and next week, we're going to be taking up price negotiation in prescription drugs to lower the cost of drugs. We hit a stone wall in the Senate. Senator McConnell's made it clear. He's not going to attend the legislation. He's basically just focus on collecting judges. So that's realistically an impediment that I don't see us being able to overcome. Senator McConnell is in charge of the calendar in the Senate. I have my doubts about whether that's the incorporation of power in one person. But I do think that it's really important for us in the house to move on this and these other items to establish a foundation that we want to do business. And our focus is on getting things done that make a difference to ours, the citizens we represent and to the companies that are doing the right thing to employees like Robin who've worked really hard. So I do not make a prediction that there'll be a road to Damascus conversion for Senator McConnell where he starts thinking maybe his job is to legislate. But on the other hand, if we can pass this in the house and then have that as a foundation, the voters are going to weigh in very soon and we'll have the foundation of a solid agenda to revive the middle class. Thank you.