Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is pushing forward with his proposal to provide a $10,000 payoff to all federal student loan borrowers.
“The next round of stimulus, we want to do that,” Brown told Cheddar from his home in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday.
Brown said that he and other Democratic senators have already been partially successful with bringing relief to those burdened by student loan debt.
“Senator Warren and I wanted two major things. We wanted a freeze on payments so nobody had to pay during this six-month or so period,” Brown explained. “We also wanted $10,000 in forgiveness of federal loans. The Republicans wouldn’t accept that. Trump opposed that.”
Brown also lobbied for $4,500 in direct payments for every American adult and child, with restrictions on higher-income families. The $2.2 trillion stimulus package included a one-time payment of $1,200 to most adults and $500 for every child.
When asked about Republicans accusing Democrats of trying to use the coronavirus crisis to push long-sought progressive legislation, Brown shrugged off the criticism saying the government is obligated to take action.
“This is the role of government to help people that are unemployed, to help people that are sick, to help people that are struggling, to help people that are hungry,” he said. “I don’t apologize for a second for any of that.”
Stock indexes closed at record highs on Wall Street Monday, despite rising coronavirus infections in the U.S. and around the globe, as well as geopolitical concerns in Asia.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand.
A controversial crypto provision, which would impose tax-reporting requirements on a broad cross-section of digital asset holders, slipped into the Senate infrastructure bill despite pushback from the industry's nascent lobbying arm.
Prices for U.S. consumers rose last month but at the slowest pace since February, a sign that Americans could gain some relief after four months of sharp increases that elevated inflation to its fastest pace in more than a decade.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is conceding that Democrats face a tough pathway to delivering a $3.5 trillion package for family, health and environment programs to President Joe Biden’s desk.
