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.
On Between Bells: Talking to kids about gun violence, Dallas Mavericks under fire, restaurant servers fight tip-pooling laws, and more. With Eater, Parents Magazine, and Popular Science.
The way restaurant workers get paid could be changing. The Department of Labor has proposed making tip-pooling legal again.
The Parkland shootings are forcing parents to grapple with how to talk to their children about gun violence. Parents Magazine's Liz Vaccariello joins Cheddar to discuss how to approach these challenging conversations.
Gersh Kuntzman, deputy politics editor at Newsweek, discusses President Trump's request for the Justice Department to ban bump stocks, devices that turn legal guns into machine guns.
In the aftermath of the Parkland mass shooting that left 17 dead and many more wounded, lawmakers are seeking solutions to prevent further tragedies. Cheddar spoke with RNC spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany about how Republicans plan to handle the controversial issue.
The actor and producer's new documentary "Survivors Guide To Prison" looks at the system through the eyes of wrongly-convicted prisoners. Arquette hopes the documentary will inspire change.
Marijuana advocates are awaiting a federal judge's decision on its challenge against federal marijuana laws. Five plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the DEA and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. It challenges the listing of marijuana as a schedule I drug, which classifies the drug as having no medical use and it cannot be legally prescribed. Jose Belen, U.S. Army combat veteran and one of the plaintiffs on this case, and attorney Joseph Bondy explain why they were inspired to fight for this cause.
This Changes Things: Advice for the executives and leaders of tomorrow, brought to you by American Express OPEN. On Between Bells: All the president's tweets, Black Panther's box office record, and more. With The Young Turks, The Daily Caller, Hollywood Life, and Fast Company.
Diversity in America: it's a story of slow progress beginning with the Civil Rights Movement that continues to this day. Two events that set these changes into motion were the protests at San Francisco State and Cornell University in the late sixties. The new documentary "Agents of Change" looks at how the strikes have impacted America 50 years later.
President Trump has signaled that he may be open to improvements to the federal background check system following the Stoneman Douglas shooting. The Young Turks' Emma Vigeland and Daily Caller's Nick Givas discuss the likelihood that things change this time around.
