Commencement ceremonies for college students around the country are fast approaching. Next month, students will be graduating from higher education institutions all across Iowa, including those, like me, from Iowa State. Most of us will face the reality that it is time to pay back thousands of dollars in debt we acquired while receiving our degrees. With the economy still in recovery, and the national debt soaring to new heights, it can be very difficult to find a good job and pay off student loans.

For these reasons, I have become involved with the Can Kicks Back organization and the Campaign to Fix the Debt to keep the important conversation about our nation’s debt going, making sure my peers are fully aware of the perils of our debt burden. Right now the debt is more than 70 percent of the economy and on a path to continue increasing. Without a solution to this problem, economic growth will slow, making it more difficult to find employers ready to hire and expand their business.

The only way we can truly begin to start controlling our debt is by pushing our members of Congress and the president to work in a bipartisan fashion, forging an agreement to create a comprehensive and long-term solution. Join me in learning the facts at fixthedebt.org.