UNBIASED - Week in Review: September 26-October 2, 2022

Episode Date: October 3, 2022

(0:25) Intro(2:00) CBO Releases Cost Estimate of Loan Forgiveness Program(4:58) Agreement on Last Minute Interim Spending Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown(8:46) GOP Announces Commitment to America Agenda Ahead of Midterms(15:56) Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022Links to sources can be found at www.jordanismylawyer.com. This episode is sponsored by Good Party: https://goodparty.org/?utm_source=pod&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=sep_2022_jordan-is-my-lawyer_independent_general&utm_content=independent_general&utm_term=general Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Please gamble responsibly. Gambling problem? For free assistance, call the Connex Ontario helpline at 1-866-531-2600. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. You are listening to the Jordan is My Law podcast. This is your host Jordan and I give

you the legal analysis you've been waiting for. Here's the deal. I don't care about your political views, but I do ask that you listen to the facts, have an open mind and think for yourselves. Deal? Oh, and one last thing. I'm not actually a lawyer. What's up guys? Happy Monday. I am currently recording into my lavalier mic, which is like if you follow me on TikTok, it's that little mic I wear sometimes during my TikTok videos. The thing is, is I'm out of town. I went to New York City just, you know, for a trip and then we came and saw my in-laws in New Jersey. And so I'm working with what I got. I don't have my podcast equipment, but that's okay.

Got to work with what we have sometimes. So with that, we're still going to have a regular episode. It will be a little bit shorter than normal, but we're still going to cover the current events and the law. So not to worry there, you may just have to deal with some audio quality that's not as great as what you're used to. So with that, let's get into today's stories. This episode is brought to you by Good Party. With the midterms fast approaching, Good Party is here to help. Good Party isn't a political party, but it's a movement to help good independent candidates run and win. Good Party isn't a political party, but it's a movement to help good, independent candidates

run and win. Good Party promotes thinking outside of the traditional two-party system and helps good, independent-minded people like you find good, independent candidates. Our country deserves representatives who will put politics aside and pass laws that will serve all of us, not just the two-party leaders or big money donors. Go to goodparty.org today to learn more about the independent candidates in your state ahead of midterm elections. So last week, the CBO, otherwise known as the Congressional Budget Office, released its cost estimate of suspending student loan payments and canceling debt. So recently, President Biden announced his loan forgiveness plan, and the CBO estimates that the cost associated with this loan forgiveness program will be around $400 billion. On September 26, the director of the Congressional Budget Office issued a letter

regarding the cost of suspending loan payments and canceling debt, and in that letter discussed the estimated costs as well as what factors went into finding out what the estimated cost will be. The letter did say that the estimation is highly uncertain. It depends on various things, and the CBO will continue to update us as more is found out over time. So the letter says that the cost of debt cancellation is essentially the present value of the borrower's projected repayments of student debt before accounting for the cancellation, minus the present value of repayments after doing so. And some of the numbers that factored into the CBO's estimation were the following. So as of June 30th, 2022, 43 million borrowers held

in total $1.6 trillion in federal student loans. About $430 billion of that $1.6 trillion will be canceled. And again, that's an estimate. None of these numbers are set in stone. This is just what the CBO estimates. For the roughly 37 million borrowers with direct loans from the federal government, the CBO estimates that 95% of those borrowers meet the income criteria for eligibility. So remember when President Biden announced the loan forgiveness plan, in order for an individual to be eligible, they had to have income less than $125,000 as their single income or a jointly married income of under $250,000. So the CBO says that of the 37 million borrowers with direct loans from the federal government, 95% of them meet the income criteria.

So they have an income less than that $125,000 or $250,000 if married. 65% of the income-eligible borrowers will apply for the debt cancellation, and 45% of the income-eligible borrowers will have their entire outstanding debt canceled. So those are some of the factors that went into this calculation. As I said, the CBO says that they will provide updated information in its baseline projections early next year, but as of now, they're estimating that this program will cost around $400 billion. And if you're interested in reading this letter yourself, again, I have it linked on my website, jordanismylawyer.com, in the podcast episode

description webpage for this episode, as I usually do. Now, on Friday, with 11 hours to spare, President Biden signed a spending bill that averted a government shutdown. So the government, if you didn't know, was actually set to shut down on Saturday morning if an agreement on federal spending wasn't reached in Congress. But luckily there was an interim funding bill to hold over the government until mid-December because the reality is the chambers of Congress were not coming to an agreement regarding government funding. And so this bill was put forward to basically say that the current levels of spending will be maintained and the funding will be extended through December

16th so that basically both chambers of Congress can have more time to agree on a broader budget deal. Some of the things that this interim funding bill includes is $2.5 billion in aid for natural disasters, $1 billion in funding a low-income home heating program, $20 million in emergency funding to address the water crisis in Mississippi, and $12 billion in aid for Ukraine. The bill also allows for reauthorization of FDA user fees for another five years. If you're not familiar with an FDA user fee, it's basically a fee paid to the FDA by companies that produce certain human drug and biological products, and it supports the FDA, essentially. It keeps the FDA going. So originally, the hurdle in getting the bill to pass the Senate was actually centered on very specific language that was set forth by one senator in particular,

Senator Joe Manchin. And this language would overhaul how the government approves permits for energy production. And the reason that this language was included in the bill is because allegedly him and Senator Chuck Schumer agreed that if Manchin supported the Inflation Reduction Act, he could include his permitting legislation to the continuing resolution. So he did. He supported the Inflation Reduction Act, despite saying he wouldn't support such an act. And in turn, he was able to include this energy permit language in the funding bill. But there was bipartisan opposition to Manchin's proposal, and that was blocking an agreement from happening. So Senate Republicans were bitter over Manchin voting to pass the

Inflation Reduction Act after saying he wouldn't support it, and Senate Democrats were concerned about the environmental impacts of his energy permit proposal. Once this language was taken out of the bill, the bill became much easier to pass. And the Senate passed it on Thursday. The House passed it on Friday by a vote of 230 to 201 with 10 Republicans joining all Democrats. And President Biden signed it later that afternoon. So that was done Friday afternoon. Saturday morning was when the government was set to shut down if an agreement wasn't reached. Now, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor on Thursday that, quote, this is common sense bipartisan legislation. I'm glad we came to a timely

conclusion and didn't go right up to the brink and risk a shutdown. Millions and millions of people can breathe easy knowing that we have done this in a timely way and the money to continue the government will be there, end quote, which I think is interesting. He said, I'm glad we didn't go right up to the brink, but I mean, Friday afternoon kind of is right up to the brink, but that's okay. The most important thing is that an agreement was reached and now the funding will continue into December. There won't be a government shutdown and hopefully, you know, in the meantime, some sort of agreement can be reached. Now, the next topic is actually just over a week old. I know these are usually a week in, you know, a week in review, but I felt that it was important

to talk about ahead of midterms because the GOP agenda is something we should all be informed on regardless of how we're voting. And if you follow my TikTok, you heard me talk about this a little bit, but I'm going to discuss it in a little bit more detail on here. So the agenda is called Commitment to America, and it's basically built on four pillars, those being a strong economy, a safe nation, a future built on freedom, and an accountable government. And under each of these four pillars are little excerpts as to how the GOP plans to achieve these four goals. And basically, and again, this will be linked on my website so you can read this for yourself. But in order to build a strong economy, the GOP says it will fight inflation and lower the cost of

living, and it plans to do this by curbing wasteful government spending that is raising the price of groceries, gas, cars, and housing, and growing our national debt. It also plans to increase take home pay, create good paying jobs, and bring stability to the economy through pro-growth tax and deregulatory policies. The GOP also says it will build a strong economy by making America energy independent and reducing gas prices, and it will do this by maximizing production of reliable, cleaner, American-made energy and cutting the permitting process time in half to reduce reliance on foreign countries, prevent rolling blackouts, and lower the cost of gas and utilities. And the

final little excerpt under the strong economy pillar is to strengthen the supply chain and end dependence on China. And to do this, the GOP says it will move supply chains away from China, expand U.S. manufacturing, and enhance America's economic competitiveness, and cyber resiliency. So then the second pillar is a safe nation. And under that, you have secure the border, combat illegal immigration, reduce crime, protect public safety, and defend America's national security. So in order to secure the border and combat illegal immigration, the GOP plans to fully fund effective border enforcement strategies, infrastructure, and advanced technology to prevent illegal crossings and trafficking by cartels, and end catch-and-release loopholes, require legal status to get a job, and eliminate welfare

incentives. Now, to reduce crime and protect public safety, the GOP plans to support 200,000 more police officers through recruiting bonuses and oppose all efforts to defund the police, crack down on prosecutors and district attorneys who refuse to prosecute crimes while permanently criminalizing all forms of illicit fentanyl. And lastly, the GOP plans to defend America's national security by supporting our troops, investing in an efficient, effective military, establishing a select committee on China, and exercising peace through strength with our allies to counter increasing global threats. Then that third pillar is a future built on freedom, and to do that, the GOP says it will

make sure every student can succeed and give parents a voice, achieve longer, healthier lives for Americans, and confront big tech and demand fairness. So let's go back to the first excerpt, make sure every student can succeed and give parents a voice. To do this, they say they will advance the parents' bill of rights, recover lost learning from school closures, and expand parental choice so over a million more students can receive the education their parents know is best, and defend fairness by ensuring that only women can compete in women's sports. Now to achieve longer, healthier lives for Americans, the GOP plans to personalize care to provide affordable options and better quality delivered by trusted doctors, lower prices through transparency, choice, and competition, invest in life-saving cures, and improve access to telemedicine. And then the last little excerpt under A Future Built on Freedom is to confront big tech and demand fairness, and this will be done by providing greater privacy and

data security protections, equip parents with more tools to keep their kids safe online, and stop companies from putting politics ahead of people. And then that last pillar, the fourth pillar, a government that's accountable, that is basically founded on preserving our constitutional freedoms, holding Washington accountable, and restoring the people's voice. So to preserve our constitutional freedoms, the GOP says it will uphold free speech, protect the lives of unborn children and their mothers, guarantee religious freedoms, and safeguard the second amendment. So notice that is where the abortion issue lies. So they're keen on protecting the lives of unborn children and their mothers. What this typically looks like is banning abortion, either totally or after a certain time frame, but ensuring that mothers always have the exception in the case that their life is at risk. When I posted this on TikTok, I did have someone comment

that they didn't see anything on this sheet about abortion. That is, you know, where that lies. But again, this isn't in elaborate detail. It's just kind of a one pager on what the GOP plans to do. So then still going off of an accountable government, the GOP plans to hold Washington accountable by conducting rigorous oversight to rein in government abuse of power and corruption, provide real transparency and require the White House to answer for its incompetence at home and abroad, and save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. And finally, in order to restore the people's voice, the GOP plans to end special treatment for members of Congress by repealing proxy voting, increasing accountability in the election process through voter ID, accurate voter tolls, and observer access. So that is commitment to America in a nutshell. Again, that is the GOP's agenda. And as always, it's just important to be informed no matter which side you stand on. Now, Nancy Pelosi has called commitment to America

an extreme MAGA agenda, and President Biden has called it a thin series of policy goals with little to no detail, and he thinks it leaves out important issues like Medicare, Social Security, and the right to choose. You can look at this agenda almost as a guide for what the Republican Party would work towards if they regained the majority after midterms. And again, as I've been saying, it's just really important for everyone to be informed and know what we're voting for or what we're voting against. Obviously, even midterms matter. So if we can, we should all be voting. And the final topic today is in regards to the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022. It's something that both Democrats and Republicans have seemingly agreed

on, and it is headed to the Senate floor for a vote. It just passed the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday, and it's expected to pass with comfortable margins given verbal support from not only Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, but also other Senate Republicans as well. In short, this bill makes it harder for an election to be overturned. Basically, the media portrays this bill as a bill that will prevent another January 6th from happening. But that is just an indirect impact of the bill. So it's not a bill directly aimed at the events of January 6th. I i mean it did come about because of january 6th but i just want to clarify like when the media says that this bill prevents another january 6th

that's not its intended role its intended role is actually to do much more than just that so let's talk about what the bill actually does the bill reforms and modernizes the 1887 Election Count Act to ensure that electoral votes counted by Congress accurately reflect each state's public vote for president. Okay, sounds great. How does it do this though? So there's basically six modifications or reforms that are being made to ensure that this happens. One is that the Electoral Count Act of 2022 will identify each state's governor as responsible for submitting the Certificate of Ascertainment identifying that state's electors. Now this change addresses the potential for multiple state officials to send congress conflicting groups of electors

so it automatically by default says this is the state's governor's responsibility no one else's and the state governor's submission trumps everything else the only exception is if the state's laws or state's constitution in effect on election day says otherwise, you know, says someone other than the governor is responsible for submitting the certificate of ascertainment. But according to this election count reform act, it is the governor's responsibility and no one else's. The second reform that's being made is that this new law would provide for expedited review of certain claims related to a state's certificate identifying its electors, which include a three-judge panel with a direct appeal to the Supreme Court. This is purely for efficiency purposes. If there is a

claim, it will get handled very quickly. The next change that this law would make, obviously if this becomes a law, is that it requires Congress to defer to slates of electors submitted by a state's executive. So it basically gives Congress a clear-cut answer if and when any confusion arises. Now the fourth kind of main change that this bill will put into effect is that it clarifies the role of the vice president. So it really affirmatively states that the vice president does not have any power to solely determine, accept, reject, or otherwise adjudicate disputes over electors. That the vice president's role per the constitution is solely ceremonial. They don't have any right or any power to anything in regards to disputes over electors. Now, the fifth change is that this act would raise the threshold for an objection to electors,

and it would raise it to at least one-fifth of the members of Congress. So currently, only a single member of both chambers is needed to object to an elector or slate of electors. So basically this change would reduce the likelihood of frivolous objections by ensuring that these objections are broadly supported, right? By one-fifth of the members of Congress, both the House and the Senate. And then the last thing that this bill changes is that it strikes a provision of an old 1845 law that could be used by state legislatures to override the popular vote in their states by declaring a failed election. So as you can see, there's just some changes that are being made to this old outdated 1887 act that makes it harder to, you know, call an election into question. And again, this has

bipartisan support so far. When this bill was voted on in the Senate Rules Committee, the only senator that voted against it was Ted Cruz. He said that it, quote, decreases the ability of Congress to address instances of fraud, end quote. But other than that, there are multiple Republican senators who have voiced their support for it, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. And, you know, you have Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith from Mississippi who voted to decertify Pennsylvania and Arizona's electors on January 6th, and she was among the seven Republicans who voted for the bill in the Senate Rules Committee. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, also a Republican, said that he's looking it over, and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said that he's open to reforms, adding that the Senate's legislation is more reasonable than a competing bill passed by the House last week, Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, who's also a Republican, said that he's, quote, never been nuts about reform, but added that he's going to look at it really carefully.

And it's certainly a noble effort and that he thinks the people working on it are really good people who just want to be helpful. So as you can see there, you know, this this isn't just something that Democrats want. The Republican senators are also open to it and are considering it. Some have already voiced their support of it. So it is expected to pass the Senate. And then obviously, you know, we'll see what happens from there. But so far, looks like there's bipartisan support. And, you know, I think we can all agree that bipartisan support is nice. Rare, but nice these days. So those are the four stories for today. I hope you guys stuck with me. Again, I'm really sorry if my audio quality was off today. I'm just working with what I got and I just want to give you guys a friendly reminder that if you haven't already, please leave my podcast a review on whichever platform you listen obviously five stars is ideal but i can only ask for so much from you guys and um i really appreciate you i appreciate you being here and i will talk to you soon Bye.