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☆ A group challenging Biden's student-loan forgiveness in the Supreme Court this week says it's 'very clear' the relief is illegal: 'We feel very good about our case'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Job Creators Network, one of the groups challenging Biden's student-debt relief in the Supreme Court, said it feels "very good" about its case. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments for two lawsuits that blocked the relief. Biden's administration and Democrats have pushed back on the plaintiffs' standing to sue. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court is taking on two lawsuits that paused Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers. Both of the lawsuits challenging Biden's plan said the broad debt relief is an overreach of that authority and should not be done without Congressional approval.

☆ Days before the Supreme Court takes on Biden's student-loan forgiveness, Elizabeth Warren urges it to 'do its job and apply the law as it is written'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged the Supreme Court to uphold Biden's student-debt relief. "The Supreme Court needs to do its job and apply the law as it is written." GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn, for example, wrote on Twitter on Thursday that "canceling student debt is Biden's gift to young left-wing activists. She also led GOP senators in filing an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court urging it to strike down Biden's debt relief. This scale of student-loan forgiveness is unprecedented, so it's hard to determine which way the Supreme Court will rule.

☆ Senator Warren urges U.S. patent office to scrutinize Merck's Keytruda
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Michael Erman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as Representatives Katie Porter and Pramila Jayapal also signed the letter. They expressed particular concern over Merck's efforts to patent a subcutaneous version of the currently infused drug, which Reuters reported on late last year. They wrote that Merck’s use of dozens of patents to fend off Keytruda competitors "appear(s) to be an example of the anti-competitive business practices ... that we have long beenconcerned about." Merck, which reported $20.9 billion in 2022 sales of Keytruda, has relied on the immunotherapy to fuel its growth. They urged Vidal to "give close scrutiny to any of Merck’s requests for new patents for Keytruda, and reject those that do not clearly meet the agency’s standards."

☆ Bernie Sanders says it's time for a four-day work week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Twitter that it's time for a four-day work week. Sanders referenced new findings from a UK-based four-day work week pilot program. The progressive from Vermont chimed in on the four-day work week debate on Twitter, writing: "With exploding technology and increased worker productivity, it's time to move toward a four-day work week with no loss of pay. Sanders was referencing the latest findings out of the UK on the four-day work week. "So a four-day work week is something that connects a lot of Americans."

☆ A Consumption Tax Is the Shock Our Broken System Needs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( John H. Cochrane | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Buddy Carter introduced the “Fair Tax” bill to the House of Representatives, and secured a promise of a floor vote. The bill eliminates the personal and corporate income tax, estate and gift tax, payroll (Social Security and Medicare) tax and the Internal Revenue Service. It replaces them with a single national sales tax. Business investment is exempt, so it is effectively a consumption tax. Each household would get a check each month, so that purchases up to the poverty line are effectively not taxed.

☆ Lawmakers call on 8 states to pass wealth taxes to help pay for childcare, affordable housing, and ending homelessness
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lawmakers and advocates are pushing to pass wealth taxes in eight states, after a federal plan failed to pass. The taxes would target both realized and unrealized capital gains, assets like stocks and bonds. "Funding our future means using the revenue generated from the Washington state wealth tax to expand access to affordable homes for working Washingtonians," Frame said. In California, a wealth tax on the unrealized capital gains of the top 0.1% would yield nearly $22 billion, according to California assembly member Alex Lee. Targeting capital gains and unrealized gains are not a new idea, but haven't been able to pick up the federal traction they need to be implemented across the country.

☆ George Santos once bragged about having no student debt from a school he never actually attended: 'I hate looking at youth today and seeing them sitting on their behinds'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In a 2020 podcast, Rep. George Santos bragged about graduating from NYU without student debt. Santos has previously criticized student debt relief, saying it would be an unfair policy. That didn't stop him from sharing his opinions on student debt during his initial, and failed, congressional run three years ago. In May 2022, he wrote on Twitter: "Allow me to solve the student debt issue: Step 1: You take out the loan. "Student debt cancellation will change lives, and I'm proud to have fought for it," Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal wrote on Twitter.

☆ The House speaker battle showed a 'schism within a schism' in the GOP as MTG and Matt Gaetz were on opposite sides and even a plea from Trump couldn't sway some of his biggest supporters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker on Friday night after a week of disarray and 15 rounds of voting. Thanks to the events of the past week, McCarthy may struggle to manage the slim GOP majority. "It's a schism within a schism," Kevin Kosar, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who studies Congress and US politics, told Insider. But during the House speaker battle this week, some of them found themselves on opposites sides, even after their would-be leader, Trump, took a stance. With new divisions and animosities on display after the House speaker battle, it's unclear how effectively McCarthy will be able to do just that.

Friday’s release of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns from his four years in the White House and two years prior is an important and long overdue public service. It also would have been a warning shot to any future presidents who may want to keep their tax returns private. ), chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, asked the agency for information related to Trump’s tax returns. Ultimately, though, it’s on House Democrats that the Trump tax documents release on Friday were so limited. So they couched their court case as looking into the effectiveness of mandatory IRS audits of tax returns of all sitting presidents.

☆ Democrats run out the clock on a congressional stock-ban bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Madison Hall | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

After months of wrangling over a congressional stock-trade ban, Pelosi is getting that wish. Some government ethics advocates had hoped that congressional stock-ban legislation would be packaged with the 2023 omnibus spending bill. Meanwhile, lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties continue violating the STOCK Act while 11th-hour pleas from Democratic stock-ban advocates go unanswered by Democratic leaders. A ban on members of Congress trading individual stocks and cryptocurrencies will officially die on January 3, when the 118th Congress is seated. Any stock-ban bill introduced next year will therefore require bipartisan support across Congress' two chambers.

☆ House Democrats reject a rules change that could've empowered junior members amid concerns about aging leadership
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"Six years is a pretty long time," Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia told Insider at the Capitol earlier this month. "I'm not for term limits," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Insider during a briefing with reporters at the end of November. "I'm not taking a position on any single rules proposal that is before the House Democratic Caucus," he said. Another prominent young lawmaker — 33-year-old Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York — has also been vocal in her criticism of the system. "Whatever the mechanism is, we need to have more opportunities for people to bring their leadership to bear in different places," she told Insider.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoDec 7 (Reuters) - Donald Trump should be immune from civil lawsuits over last year's siege on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, a lawyer for the former president told a federal appeals court on Wednesday. Democrats in Congress and police officers filed several lawsuits over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack that said Trump conspired with others to disrupt certification of the 2020 election results. But he reiterated that civil lawsuits should be barred because they could make other presidents vulnerable to future litigation over their speech. Joseph Sellers, arguing in defense of the lawsuits, said Trump does not have immunity because his actions disrupted the work of another branch of government. Several members of Congress who are suing Trump attended Wednesday's arguments, including Democrats Eric Swalwell and Pramila Jayapal.

☆ Asian American voters could help decide the Senate runoff in Georgia, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Sakshi Venkatraman | Sakshi Venkatraman Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

“We’re also meeting people at their doors.”When it came to appealing to South Asian voters in Georgia, Nabilah Islam said her “secret weapon” had been under her nose for years. During her recent campaign for state Senate, the 33-year-old Bangladeshi American brought conversations about issues to aunties and uncles on their home turf: WhatsApp. She's now the first South Asian ever elected to the Georgia state Senate. A bloc starting to gain more recognitionAccording to Karthick Ramakrishnan, co-director of AAPI Data, the concerted efforts to appeal to Asian voters in Georgia are reflected in nationwide politics. Steps like these prove grassroots efforts to appeal to AAPI voters work, Makhija said.

☆ New research may have just paved the way for a 4-day work week
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new global study found a four-day work week was a "resounding success" in a pilot program. The research found the shortened work week was a "resounding success on virtually every dimension." Over the trial period, revenue among the participating companies rose 8.14%, and when compared to the same time period last year, revenue jumped 37.55%. The four-day work week has also caught attention of some lawmakers. "The 32-hour work week would go a long way toward finally righting that balance."

Shortly before Pelosi’s announcement Thursday that she was stepping down, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff signaled he would not run for House leadership and would focus his efforts on a future Senate bid instead. 2 leadership post, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal of Washington decided to run for another term leading her caucus of roughly 100 House liberals. Aguilar originally had his eyes set on the assistant leader position, but Clyburn’s move forced him to run for caucus chair. 4 and Democratic Caucus chair will move up to No. That left Rep. Joe Neguse, 38, who had been campaigning behind the scenes for months for caucus chair, as the odd man out.

☆ Any future tax breaks for big corporations must also come with restarting monthly checks to parents, 58 members of Congress say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In a letter, 58 members of Congress said any corporate tax breaks should be coupled with extended credits for families. The expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit both drastically decreased poverty during the pandemic. However, monthly CTC checks to parents wound down last year amid disagreements in Congress. That includes bringing back more generous monthly Child Tax Credit checks and extending the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, a suite of new tax measures that drastically reduced poverty after being included in President Joe Biden's initial stimulus package. However, Congress failed to renew the child tax credit when negotiations over the Build Back Better Act stalled, leaving some families struggling after the monthly checks ended in December 2021.

☆ House progressive leader Pramila Jayapal calls herself a Biden 'convert,' says he should run for reelection
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus called herself a Joe Biden "convert." Rep. Pramila Jayapal backed Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. But she has since found an ally in President Joe Biden, known as a moderate. But she has since found an ally in President Joe Biden, known as a moderate. They're hoping speculation about Klain leaving the White House isn't true, POLITICO reported.

Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday she will not be seeking re-election as House Democratic leader. Dozens of politicians, Republican and Democratic alike, expressed their gratitude for Pelosi's leadership. President Joe Biden greets Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, before Biden addressed the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Philadelphia earlier this year. "Nancy Pelosi's historic ascension to become the first woman Speaker of the House will forever inspire our nation on the power of possibility," he said. "Look I've been on both sides of Nancy Pelosi, it's much more pleasant when you're on the good side of her.

☆ Meet Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the 25-year-old gun-violence-prevention advocate backed by Bernie Sanders who will be the first Gen Z member of Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

At 25, Frost is set to become the first Gen Z member of Congress. Frost, who would also be Congress' only Afro-Cuban member, beat Republican candidate Calvin Wimbish by nearly 20 points, per Decision Desk HQ. "It still hasn't fully sunken in," Frost told Insider at the time. At 25 — the minimum age to serve in the US House — Frost will be the youngest member of Congress. "You get in for one reason, and then you find out there's a lot of things that are messed up," he told Insider in May.

He said the spouses of some high-profile lawmakers may need security details in the future, in addition to using home security systems. Court documents allege the suspect had been in search of the House speaker and was on a "suicide mission" with additional targets. However, "there are not enough resources available to me to do that," she said on MSNBC following the attack on Paul Pelosi. “Bloodshed is coming," Swalwell tweeted at the time, foreshadowing the Pelosi attack. The Paul Pelosi attack was foreseeable," Schuman said.

☆ At least 7 Republicans vying for a spot in Congress this November were at the Capitol on January 6
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Several Republican candidates for Congress have ties to the January 6 Capitol attack. Van Orden at the time wrote that he had been in Washington, DC, for "meetings and to stand for the integrity of our electoral system as a citizen." A representative for Van Orden did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Smith won a crowded primary against seven other Republican candidates in May and secured Trump's endorsement in September. Jeff Zink is up against Democratic incumbent Rep. Ruben Gallego in Arizona's 3rd Congressional District.

☆ Assault on Nancy Pelosi's husband is dangerous escalation of political violence because individuals now feel 'empowered' to carry out these acts alone, extremism expert says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But one extremism expert told Insider that the isolated assault is in many ways more dangerous. Individuals now feel "empowered to carry out those acts of political violence," Eric Ward said. "This is the unfolding of events since January 6," Eric Ward, senior advisor to the Western States Center, told Insider. Authorities said a 42-year-old man broke into the Pelosi residence early Friday morning and violently attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, sending him to the hospital. "The attacker who injured Paul Pelosi was looking for Nancy Pelosi, likely wanting to finish the job of Jan.

☆ A Progressive Reversal on Ukraine Letter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Congratulations to Democratic leaders for taking on a progressive revolt in Congress and causing a reversal of a statement suggesting reduced support for U.S. aid to Ukraine. Vladimir Putin watches American politics closely, and this was a sign of U.S. retreat that needed to be beaten back. Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal , chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, withdrew on Tuesday a letter that 30 Members of the caucus had sent a day earlier to the White House. The letter had urged President Biden to pursue diplomacy with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. The missive was a terrible message to send while Mr. Putin is bombing civilian targets in Ukraine even as his troops retreat from territory they occupied early in the invasion.

☆ Democratic Rep. who signed withdrawn letter on Ukraine said nobody told them it was getting released: CNN
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A controversial letter went out without those who signed it knowing, per a Rep. who spoke to CNN. 30 progressive Democrats signed a letter urging diplomacy with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Unnamed aides to other members of Congress told CNN the same thing. In withdrawing the letter, Jayapal said it "was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting." The anonymous member who said that Jayapal's office did not check back with signatories before the letter's release told CNN that the "timing is terrible."

☆ House Democrats Retract Ukraine Letter After Backlash
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Lindsay Wise | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) said a letter on the Ukraine war from progressive Democrats to President Biden ‘unfortunately was released by staff without vetting.’WASHINGTON—A group of 30 House Democrats retracted a letter they had sent to President Biden urging him to seek direct talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, following backlash within the Democratic Party and disavowals from some signatories. The reversal Tuesday underscored the sensitivity of the issue on Capitol Hill, where Congress has approved more than $65 billion in aid for Kyiv since the Russian invasion, and Mr. Biden and party leaders have said that any peace talks or terms of a cease-fire should be driven by Ukraine’s government.

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