As college graduates make their way from the classroom to the job market, they’re carrying with them not only all they’ve learned, but the debt they’ve accrued.

Rep. Tom Reed introduced a bill to encourage colleges and universities to lower costs for all students, regardless of their economic background.

The Reducing Excessive Debt and Unfair Costs of Education, or REDUCE, Act would demand transparency from colleges on how money is spent. It also asks college to have a plan in place to keep tuition below the rate of inflation.

As of September 2017, an estimated $1.4 trillion in federal student loan debt has not been paid.

"I think it’s only right that we have an opportunity to ask the hard questions of those colleges and universities because they receive such federal aid,” Reed said. “Those are taxpayer dollars… We will be able to bring the pressure to bear, to make sure that money being spent (is) going in the right direction, in the right areas as opposed to those dollars going to places that are not appropriate.”