Protesters in favor of student loan relief gathered outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, demanding that the top jurists side with President Biden as they hear two cases challenging his signature student loan debt relief policy.
Biden’s relief program looks to cancel $10,000 of student debt for low- to middle-income borrowers and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, but the legal challenges have put the program on hold while the Supreme Court hears the arguments for the cases that jeopardize it.
Activists who showed up ahead of oral arguments told Cheddar that Americans should not have to be burdened with so much student debt.
"I went to college as a first generation college student. My FAFSA said we had zero expected family contribution," said Kristin McGuire, executive director of the advocacy group Young Invincibles. "I borrowed $20,000 to finance my college education, and I currently owe over $55,000."
“We're almost 20 years later, and my debt has doubled. And Americans should not have to go through that,” McGuire continued.
Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass. District 7) also made an appearance outside the Supreme Court.
"The people demand and deserve student debt cancellation," Pressley told the crowd. "Student debt cancellation will change and save lives."
Pressley said that Republican officials are “disconnected from the hardship of everyday folks who are burdened by this debt” and “chose obstruction.”
But, Republicans have called Biden’s plan fiscally irresponsible.
“Our nation is facing a staggering $31 trillion worth of debt and we have closed in on the debt ceiling, yet the Biden administration is still attempting to cancel millions of dollars in student loans,” Senator Rick Scott of Florida has said. “The reality is, a blanket forgiveness of student loans only benefits a small percentage of the population at the expense of millions of other hard working Americans."
The Court’s decisions won’t be released until the early summer, but 26 million people have already applied for the program, with 16 million having already been approved.
Harley Rouda says he was a Republican and an independent before he sought to oust Congressman Dana Rohrabacher in Orange County, Calif., and win back control of Congress for Democrats. "There are a lot of people out there who would like to see this seat flipped," says Rouda, including many Republicans.
President Trump has proposed rolling back his predecessor's fuel efficiency standards. The move is effectively
an attack on states like California that set their own standards, says Dan Becker, director at Safe Climate Campaign.
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi is stepping down after 12 years with the company. She helped push the soda giant into exploring healthier food and beverage options in light of changing preferences. Longtime Pepsi veteran Ramon Laguarta will replace Nooyi.
Disney, Fox, Snap, Dropbox, and others report earnings this week as earnings season winds down. Kristen Scholer and Nora Ali discuss what to expect from these quarterly results.
The trade war between the U.S. and China escalated even further after Chinese state media called out President Trump specifically, accusing him of extortion. Andrew Egger, reporter at The Weekly Standard, joins Cheddar to discuss.
The tech giants' decisions to block content by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones may encourage other platforms to crackdown on his incendiary rhetoric, says Mashable's Heather Dockray. "The claims he's making have always been dangerous," Dockray says. "But they seem particularly paranoid as of late."
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
The Labor Department reported on Friday that the unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped to 3.9 percent and 157,000 new jobs were added in July. But while average hourly earnings rose 2.7 percent, Bankrate's Mark Hamrick points out that when inflation's factored in, workers are taking home less than a percent more in earnings.
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
Congressional candidate and former NFL linebacker Colin Allred says he received former President Barack Obama's endorsement in his bid to unseat the Republican incumbent Pete Sessions because he has run an inclusive campaign worthy of the Obama brand.
Mark Kaufman, science reporter at Mashable, discusses President Trump's surprising pick to lead the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, atmospheric scientist Kelvin Droegemeier.
These are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday.
