A bill headed for Congress this summer aims to relieve student-loan debt for architecture graduates, while attracting new talent to nonprofit firms and community design centers. The National Design Services Act, first introduced in March 2014 by Representative Ed Perlmutter of Colorado and reintroduced this session at the end of June, would give the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) authority to create a loan-repayment program for certain architects.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) worked with Perlmutter’s office and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), says AIA manager of federal relations Ian McTiernan, to “develop legislation as a way to address debt load.” The effort followed a 2012 survey of AIAS members that found the average student-loan balance after graduation to be $40,000 or more. “The program is modeled after opportunities for doctors or lawyers to use their skills for community service,” he says.