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.”
Japan’s government has decided to start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years.
President Joe Biden and congressional leaders will pay their respects to Evans, who was struck by a car and killed while he manned a barricade near the Senate side of the building.
Will Smith and director Antoine Fuqua have pulled production of their runaway slave drama “Emancipation” from Georgia over the state’s recently enacted law restricting voting access.
The chairman of the Federal Reserve says the U.S. economy is poised for an extended period of strong growth and hiring even though the coronavirus still poses some risk.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson told Cheddar he tried to stop a ban on transgender treatment for youth, as written, because of its broad language and failure to grandfather in patients already receiving hormonal treatment.
Mayor-Elect Tishaura Jones joined Cheddar to discuss her historic victory and what to expect of her priorities for the city of St. Louis going forward.
