Sallie Mae execs flew over 100 employees to Hawaii to celebrate record $5 billion in student loans

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/466492-sallie-mae-execs-flew-over-100-employees-to-hawaii-to-celebrate-record-5?fbclid=IwAR0cZ76zvqIbjHRirXIyTDxTl7f2xDnCAXTlp7BNM_DjyWe2N_AsROEiZ7s&fbclid=IwAR1egyfCxc9agML_6hMREVkMckDn52jYF0TnkU145gXPuj6y8390tbq8RpU

By Jessica Campisi - 10/18/19 03:25 PM EDT

Student loan company Sallie Mae flew more than 100 sales team employees to Hawaii earlier this year to celebrate $5 billion in student loans, as the student debt crisis has reached $1.6 trillion.

In August, Sallie Mae brought the employees to Maui’s luxury Fairmont resort on Wailea beach as it celebrated a record-high year in sales, NBC News reports.

The $5 billion in student loans went to 374,000 borrowers, totaling nearly $13,400 per person.

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Student loan debt and the cost of college have continued to climb, leading to lawmakers and advocates pushing for solutions to the crisis.

2020 Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have pushed for proposals that would allow for tuition-free college.

In a recent poll, a majority of voters reported that they support the idea of free state college and canceling student debt.