What A Day - Biden Delivers Billions More Student Debt Relief

Episode Date: December 7, 2023

Senate Republicans blocked meaningful gun control once again Wednesday by stopping a Democratic measure that would have banned assault-style weapons. Unfortunately, the failed Congressional effort came on the same day as a mass shooting on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where three people were killed and a fourth wounded.The Biden Administration approved another $4.8 billion in debt relief for over 80,000 student loan borrowers. So far, the administration canceled $132 billion in loan debt for more than 3.6 million people.And in headlines: the fourth Republican presidential debate took place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, ten fake electors in Wisconsin agreed to acknowledge President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, and Senate Republicans blocked a bill to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel.Show Notes:What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

it's thursday december 7th i'm josie duffy rice and i'm juanita toliver and this is what a day the pod that knew kevin mccarthy was a loser but now he's a quitter too yeah the disgraced former speaker said yesterday he's leaving congress at the end of the year i guess this means he can't throw any more kidney shot elbows at any colleagues anymore. On today's show, President Biden cancels nearly $5 billion more in student loan debt. Plus, last night was another GOP presidential debate for second place behind Trump. The fifth guy who doesn't have the guts to show up and stand here, he's the one who, as you just put it, is way ahead in the polls. Yeah, we'll recap that debate.

But first, we're going to talk about another failed effort in Congress yesterday to pass some meaningful form of gun control. And unfortunately, it came when there was a mass shooting on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where three people were killed and a fourth wounded. The attack happened just before noon local time, and the suspect, who has not been identified by officials, is now dead after quote-unquote engaging with police. It is not clear how he died or his motives. Of course, gun violence prevention legislation fails in Congress.

Simultaneously, as a mass shooting is happening because this is America. So yesterday, Senate Republicans blocked a measure put forth by Democrats that would have banned assault-style weapons and instituted universal background checks for the umpteenth time. Can you tell us a bit about what happened. This was an attempt by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to reauthorize the assault weapons ban that was first passed in 1994 and then expired 10 years after that. So that ban covered some semi-automatic firearms and quote-unquote large-capacity ammunition magazines. And while that law wasn't in effect, gun violence decreased. And then it expired and gun violence increased. And then it increased again and it increased again, and then it increased again, and it increased again, and again, and again. That seems like the most simple math, like ban the assault

weapons, and there's a decrease in gun violence. So what did Senate Republicans have to say for themselves? Well, in a speech on the Senate floor, Republican Senator John Barrasso said this. Democrats' bumper sticker solution to ban guns is not about safety. It's about restricting lawful gun ownership. It's about trying to label responsible gun owners as criminals. It's like something out of a dystopian movie that he would say it's not about safety within minutes of a mass shooting. I mean, literally minutes of a mass shooting. Yes. It's a bumper sticker legislation because it's that simple.

I am definitely sensitive to legislation that unnecessarily criminalizes people, as you know. But Barrasso is just lying when he says that that's his issue here, because we know there are other ways to make automatic weapons accessible and unavailable that affect manufacturers and don't require over criminalization. But that's not what the issue is here. Democrats have come at this issue every which way they could, but Republicans won't go for those because it actually isn't about criminalization. It's about Republicans believing any person should be able to shoot countless bullets at a college or a mall or an elementary school if they want. So this blockade by Republicans also came at a time when stats show

how frequent mass shootings have become, right? Yeah, and I should note that yesterday's shooting in Las Vegas happened down the street from the site of the deadliest mass shooting in American history, where 60 people were gunned down at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. And earlier this week, as you said, America broke the record for the highest number of mass shootings in one year with four or more victims. Last year was the prior record for 36. But this year so far, as we record this, we have had 39 mass shootings. That's according to data from Northeastern University's mass killing database.

So remember, gun violence remains a very important issue and you should demand that your local state and national lawmakers do something now before another one happens. Translation, vote out the Republicans who keep standing in the way of gun violence prevention legislation. You know, that works too. Yeah. Believe it or not, there are some productive things happening in government these days. Yesterday, the Biden

administration announced that it has approved $4.8 billion in additional federal student loan debt cancellation. This is great news. I love to hear that. Canceling student debt was obviously a big promise from Biden. So how much has been cleared off the books so far? So far, the administration has canceled $132 billion in student loan debt for more than 3.6 million borrowers. And all of that is in spite of the massive setback when the Supreme Court struck down President Biden's student loan forgiveness program back in June. Also, let's not forget that Missouri still has standing to challenge that same forgiveness program. Obviously, there's still a lot ahead. But how did the Biden administration cancel this latest round of debt? And also, who's going to be impacted? Me, perhaps?

That's what I'm really asking. I mean, I feel like any student loan borrower across the country is like, do me, pick me next. So this approved relief comes because the administration fixed a glitch with the public service loan forgiveness program related to the tracked payments that these borrowers made in the past. Now that they've received appropriate credit for all of their payments, more than 80,000 people are going to get the relief that they are due. And the folks feeling that relief are teachers, military service members, nurses, and other people working in the public sector who've been in repayment for 20 years, which is a ridiculously long time. I wonder why these glitches never work in our favor. How come every glitch means that they got more money and not that I got more

money? Right. Where's the glitch that just erases my debt? Right. That's the glitch I want. A girl can dream. A girl can dream. In a statement, the president said, quote, I won't back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams. And it sounds like that's what he's doing. Yeah, it really does. And it sort of seems like they're not done yet. So what are the other proposals floating around for more student loan relief by the administration? Earlier this week, the Department of Education announced that they are developing formal rules known as the negotiated rulemaking process for what forgiveness could look like. They released a draft regulation proposal, which would give student loan relief to four groups of people. So listen up,

y'all. First up are borrowers with balances greater than what they started with. Then there's borrowers who entered repayment decades ago. Third, we have borrowers who are eligible for existing relief but haven't applied yet. And last are borrowers whose schools or programs failed to meet earning expectations. Now for that last one, that would include schools that have lost federal aid due to misconduct. Under this draft proposal, the relief could look like $10,000 to address overwhelming interest that has accrued on loans or balances being completely erased. So there's a big range here. Yeah, I have to say I graduated from law school 10 years ago and I owe more money than I did when I started repayment. range here. Yeah, I have to say, I graduated from law school 10 years ago, and I owe more money than I did when I started repayment.

Yikes. Yeah, that's a real thing. And I'm glad to see that they want to get some relief there. So what happens next with this rulemaking process? Like, how does that work? Well, the rulemaking committee is set to meet again later this month. And once they agree to the terms, the proposal will be released for public comment next year. It is a process, girl.

I think that's the simplest way to put it. And it is also another tool that could provide more people with student debt relief, which we know is going to be a big issue as we head into 2024. Student loan borrowers are voters, and they will want to know what Biden is doing for them. And this proposal is something he's going to want to emphasize. I mean, that is if he can pull it off. We'll keep following this process and bringing you updates, but that's the latest for now. We'll be back after some ads. Let's wrap up with some headlines.

Headlines. Sweet home Alabama, where the fourth and hopefully final Republican presidential debate took place yesterday. This time around, only four GOP candidates took the debate stage. They included Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Take a listen to what the scene was like. Go ahead. Cue the chaos. I'm not done yet. Well, this is.

Now look. There's going to be a new sheriff in town and these drug cartels better buckle up. Okay. Yikes. What? I truly feel like that was just two parts of a conversation with my toddler. Oh my goodness. As for the party's front runner, Donald Trump, he was absent once again. And this time around, he decided to hold a fundraiser in Florida instead of participating in the debate.

Top of mind during this presidential debate was who might come out as a clear Trump alternative. So far, it appears to be a contest of sorts between DeSantis and Haley. And just fewer than 20 minutes in, both Ramaswamy and DeSantis were already coming for Haley. I love all the attention, fellas. Thank you for that. And let's not forget when Chris Christie said this to Ramaswamy. This is the fourth debate, the fourth debate that you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blowhard in America. So shut up for a while. I'm going to respond to that. Oh, Jesus.

Oh, my God. So as you can hear, it was chaotic. It was messy. Yikes. Among topics that were discussed were the Israel Hamas war, immigration, the economy and more. And Christmas came early for the WAD squad in America. Last night's debate was the last no Republican debate before the first primary just weeks from now. Iowa's January 15th caucuses, which we'll be covering here on the show. So stay tuned. Yeah, I wish it was the last one overall, but we'll take what we can get. 10 so-called fake electors in Wisconsin have finally agreed to acknowledge President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. That's according to a settlement with Wisconsin

Democrats announced yesterday. The 10 Republicans also said they will withdraw their inaccurate filings and will not serve as electors in 2024 or any other presidential election in which Trump is on the ballot. They also agreed to state that their actions were, quote, part of an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Wisconsin Democrats sued the Republicans last year and alleged that they engaged in a civil conspiracy to defraud voters. The settlement is the first time that pro-Trump electors have revoked their false filings. There's more news about fake electors, this time in Nevada.

A grand jury yesterday indicted six fake electors there. These Republicans submitted documents falsely declaring Trump the winner of the state in the 2020 election. Nevada is now the third state to seek charges against fake electors, along with Georgia and Michigan. Senate Republicans blocked a vote to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel yesterday, saying that it doesn't properly address immigration and border security. We talked about this package in depth on Tuesday's show, but just as a refresher, the White House has been urgently trying to pass the $111 billion emergency supplemental package that would provide assistance to the U.S.'s allies abroad. But President Biden has been warning Congress that the funding for Ukraine is running out

and that national security is at risk if they fail to pass it. It's not a complete surprise that the Senate GOP blocked it since Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Republicans would vote no. Senator Bernie Sanders also voted no with the Republicans. He said that he opposes giving aid to Israel unconditionally unless President Benjamin Netanyahu's government changes his practice that he said is, quote was tied at 50-50. But then before the result was locked in, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer changed his vote to a no to preserve his ability to bring up the bill again. Moving to a crazy story out of Louisiana where a state judge has thrown out the results of a local sheriff's election and ordered a second runoff. For context, last month, candidates John Nicholson and Henry Whitehorn went head-head in a runoff election in the race to be Caddo Parish Sheriff. More than 43,000 people went to the polls to cast their ballots, and Whitehorn, a Democrat, won by a stunning one-vote margin. Nicholson, who's

Republican, went on to challenge his loss in court, claiming that the counting process was rushed and that the ballots needed to be counted again by hand for accuracy. But even after county officials found three new ballots, Whitehorn still came out on top. But yesterday, a state judge ruled against Whitehorn and in favor of the Republican, Nicholson. The judge also voided the results of last month's runoff and ordered another runoff election. In his decision, the judge wrote, quote, it is legally impossible to know what the true vote should have been, which is just not true. Not true. Yeah, it's not true. It's not legally impossible. It's not practically impossible. It's not theoretically impossible.

It's just not impossible. Whitehorn's campaign is expected to appeal the decision. I'm glad they're planning to appeal. And the other little nugget I'll throw in there for y'all listeners is that four judges had to recuse themselves from hearing this case because of their relationship with the Republican candidates. So just let that sink in to your mind about how ridiculous things are down in Louisiana right now. Yeah. And finally, for a not so happy mill, a woman who threw a bowl of hot food in the face of a Chipotle worker in Ohio has been sentenced to a month in jail and to work behind a fast food counter. She was convicted for one count of assault after the incident in September. Take a listen to this clip. You can hear the attack by 39-year-old

Rosemary Haynes, prompted by her anger over her order, which, for the record, had been remade for her several times. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Oh my goodness. Judge Timothy Gilligan gave Rosemary Haynes the choice of a 90-day jail sentence or a 30-day sentence on top of 60 days working in a fast food job. He asked her, quote, do you want to walk in her shoes for two months and learn how people should treat people? Or do you want to do your time in jail? Haynes responded, quote, I'd like to walk in her shoes. Gilligan said it was the first time he has handed down this kind of sentence. Meanwhile, Emily Russell, the Chipotle worker who was the target of Haynes' attack,

said that she quit her job a month after the incident and is still suffering from the stress of that day. I'm thinking about Emily Russell right now because as a former fast food worker

girly myself, this is ridiculous. One, making her food several times. Two, being assaulted at work. No one deserves this. No one deserves this. No one deserves

this. No, absolutely not. Lots of thoughts. But our thoughts are mainly with Emily Russell. We hope that you get the healing you need after this traumatic episode. And those are the headlines. One more thing before we go. You know that awkward moment your allergies turn into a cold? That's right. It's flu season. I suggest pouring a cup of your favorite tea, propping your feet up, and tuning in to America Dissected this week. Dr. Abdul-Sayed breaks down the ways to keep yourself safe from RSV, the flu, and COVID this season.

Listen to this episode of America Dissected out now. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, be nice to fast food workers, and tell your friends to listen. And if you are into reading and not just Kevin McCarthy's goodbye letter, like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter, so check it out and subscribe at cricket.com slash subscribe. I'm Josie Duffy Rice. I'm Juanita Tolliver.

And we're finally safe from Kevin's elbows. That's someone that Chipotle lady can fight. She can fight him. Oh, yes. Yes. Let's just put them together. Cage match. Sign me up.

Let's do it. There's someone for everyone. And the person for Chipotle lady is Kevin McCarthy. What a day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Our show's producer is Itzy Quintanilla. Raven Yamamoto and Natalie Bettendorf are our associate producers. And our showrunner is Leo Duran. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.