(Harrisburg) -- A midstate lawmaker has come up with a plan to help pay off the three billion dollars the state owes the federal government in unemployment compensation debt. Republican Senator John Gordner of Dauphin, Northumberland, and Snyder counties has written a bill authorizing a bond sale that would pay for the four percent interest the federal government is charging on the debt. Gordner says the move may help save the commonwealth's businesses a significant amount of money. "By putting it out to bond, we can get a lower interest rate, and it's believed that we might be able to save Pennsylvania employers between $150 million and $250 million over the lifetime of this bond," he says. Gordner says the bill would also maintain a tax credit that would decrease for as long as the debt is owed. The bill passed the Senate and now awaits House committee consideration.