Biden delivers (again)

March 22, 2024

As President Biden completed a campaign swing through the Southwest, he announced student loan forgiveness of $5.8 billion for 78,000 public service workers. See WhiteHouse.gov, Statement from President Joe Biden on Nearly $6 Billion in Student Debt Cancellation for 78,000 Public Service Workers.

President Biden said,

Today, my Administration is cancelling student loans for an additional 78,000 public service workers – teachers, nurses, firefighters, and more – through Public Service Loan Forgiveness. [¶¶]

From day one of my Administration, I promised to fix broken student loan programs and make sure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity.

I won’t back down from using every tool at my disposal to deliver student debt relief to more Americans, and build an economy from the middle out and bottom up.

Per ABC News, the most recent debt cancellations “will bring the Biden administration's total forgiveness to about $144 billion for nearly 4 million Americans.”

President Biden has achieved tremendous success in forgiving student loan debt despite an initial roadblock by the Supreme Court. Another promise kept by Joe Biden. Tell a friend.

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Congressional negotiators deliver a “minibus” bill that may avert a shutdown

As they have done twice before, Republicans have pushed America to a budgetary cliff. Unless congressional Republicans can pull themselves together, portions of the federal government will run out of spending authority at midnight on Friday. (Sound familiar?) House Republican leadership has negotiated a $1.2 trillion “minibus” bill (as opposed to an “omnibus” bill) that must pass in the House and Senate before the midnight deadline.

As of Thursday evening, it seems possible—but not certain—that enough House Republicans will join with a majority of Democrats to approve the bill and move it to the Senate. However, prospects in the Senate also seem shaky.

The uncertain prospects for passage are a direct consequence of the dysfunction of the Republican congressional caucus. See The Hill, Congress sprints to funding finish line despite conservative outrage. Members of the GOP “Freedom” Caucus have said they will vote against the bill. Rand Paul will lead an effort in the Senate to introduce amendments to cut spending.

It is a measure of House Republican’s weakness that they dare not fire Speaker Mike Johnson for doing the very things (three times) for which they fired Kevin McCarthy. It is also a sign that Democrats are, in fact, the functioning majority in the House.

Separately, some Democrats understandably troubled by the elimination of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) are considering their options. For those readers who want to contact their representatives about this issue, it is not too late. (See contact info in article below regarding the discharge petition.)

But institutional and political drivers may overcome Republican dysfunction. Both parties are looking forward to a 10-day recess that will allow legislators to return home to their constituents. Let’s hope they get an earful during the recess about their dysfunction.

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Contact your congressional representative about the discharge petition to allow a floor vote on aid for Ukraine

There is sufficient support in the House to pass a bill to provide supplemental funding to Ukraine. However, Speaker Mike Johnson will not allow that bill to come to the floor. It is possible to circumvent Johnson’s procedural roadblock by convincing 216 representatives in the House to sign a “discharge petition.” That discharge petition is a couple of dozen signatures short of the threshold necessary to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote.

Reader LynellVA posted a helpful Comment in response to yesterday’s newsletter. Lynell posted two resources that allow you to see where your representative stands on the discharge petition. Lynell writes:

As of yesterday (Wednesday, March 20), here is a list of signatories to the discharge petition for aid to Ukraine. If this is correct, there are only 15 signatures left to get to 200, the total Republicans say they want to see before adding their names. If you don't see your Dem rep on the list, call them to urge them to sign on: Discharge Petition No. 9

Here is contact information for your representatives in the House: Contact Information for all representatives

I know from prior feedback that not all readers of this newsletter support the discharge petition because it includes supplemental aid for Israel without conditions. Whatever your feelings on the discharge petition, I urge everyone to contact your representatives to let them know how you feel. Democracy works best when citizens tell their representatives what they want—rather than having the representatives tell us what they think we should want.

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Trump turns Republican Party into legal defense fund

Although it was inevitable, the fact that Trump finally converted the GOP into a fundraising arm of his legal defense fund is shocking, nonetheless. Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) entered into a joint fundraising agreement that allows Trump to divert jointly raised funds to Save America PAC first, and then to the campaign and the RNC (in that order). The first-in-line Save America PAC raises funds for Trump's legal defense. See The Hill, Trump fundraising agreement prioritizes payments to PAC covering legal fees before RNC.

It is a sad end to “The Party of Lincoln.” It has become a slush fund for the first president to attempt a coup and incite an insurrection. That was the obvious goal when Trump installed his daughter-in-law as co-chair of the RNC. Everyone understood that would happen, but they did nothing to stop the hostile takeover.

Trump has four days to secure a half-billion-dollar bond (or post cash) to stop execution on New York’s fraud judgment against Trump. NY AG Letitia James has already taken steps to prepare the ground for seizing Trump's golf resort in Westchester County, NY. See The Hill, NY attorney general takes step toward seizing Trump assets.

There may be a dramatic development over the next four days—or not. Trump appears to be negotiating with a foreign country (or representative) for a loan or cash infusion. If Trump can’t pull off a miracle, there will not be a dramatic sale of Trump properties on Tuesday of next week. It will take time to seize and liquidate the properties.

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House Republicans say that 2024 election will replace the impeachment hearing.

After the collapse of the House impeachment hearing on Wednesday, Republicans have changed their talking points to say that the American people will be “voting in November to decide whether or not this president is suitable for office.” That is, of course, is the same thing that would happen without regard to the impeachment hearing. So, the Republicans have declared unconditional surrender. See Talking Points Memo, Without The Votes, House GOP Now Says Electorate Can Just Go Ahead And Do The Impeachment For Them.

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Why raising the retirement age is unfair to low wage earners

House Republicans proposed raising the retirement age yesterday to deal with partial shortfalls in Social Security benefits in the 2030s. There are easier and more equitable ways to deal with predicted shortfalls in benefits, but Republicans are promoting the way that is most unfair to lower-wage earners.

As explained by Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley, high-wage earners have the financial flexibility to choose when to retire without regard to their Social Security benefits. Lower-wage earners, however, rely on their Social Security benefits to be able to retire. See The Hill: Social Security head warns against raising retirement age after GOP proposal.

As Commissioner O’Malley explained, raising the retirement age covers the gap by cutting short the retirement of a cohort whose occupations limit their life expectancy:

“For those who would advocate raising the age, I think we have to be mindful of people who do hard work their whole lives, and die sooner.”

Or, as one Democratic lawmaker said,

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that Americans should be forced to work till they drop dead.”

In contrast, Biden has proposed raising payroll taxes on Americans who earn more than $400,000. That solution would place the burden of closing the funding gap on the highest earners.

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Opportunities for reader engagement.

Walk the Walk USA is holding an information and fundraising session to help grassroots organizations in Nevada. Check out WtW’s note below:

Join Walk the Walk USA (WtW) and its grassroots partner Make the Road Nevada on Wednesday March 27, 2024 at 8:30 Eastern or 5:30 Pacific. WtW is committed to raising and granting a minimum of $3.25 million to support the organizing work of 13 grassroots beneficiaries in 10 states. These grants mean that the grassroots can plan. They have time to train staff and volunteers. This planning means they can operate strategically and have a greater impact. In 2020, Biden had a 2.4% margin of victory (33,596 votes) in Nevada. Based on 2022 midterm wins, we can hold Nevada again with your help!

Please click here to register: Wednesday, March 27, 2024 5:30pm PT, 8:30pm ET

Concluding Thoughts

It appears that Trump's NY criminal trial for election interference / hush money payments will commence in May(-ish). On top of Trump's cash crunch and his accelerating descent into fascism-tinged depravity, a criminal trial before a no-nonsense judge will create daily opportunities for epic meltdowns and unhinged rants. That will not be a confidence-inspiring prelude to the Republican convention.

As Trump's road looks bumpier, Joe Biden has been sure-footed as president and candidate since the State of the Union address. The fever-pitch of doubt that preceded the State of the Union has dissipated. Biden has been at ease on the campaign trail and has been strategic in announcing major programs that benefit the American people. Trump is retreating to Mar-a-Lago as he begs for money and his handlers try to limit the damage from his off-script campaign speeches.

Joe Biden has to beat Trump; he can’t hope that Trump will beat himself. Defeating Trump won’t be easy, but the past month has demonstrated that Biden is the far stronger candidate—and that’s before Americans consider the underlying issues each candidate represents. As we head into the weekend, we should feel confident about Biden’s ability to handle the rigors of the campaign trail with steadiness and grace—a marked contrast to his distracted, desperate, and delusional opponent.

Talk to you tomorrow!