— Two key Democratic lawmakers reintroduced legislation Thursday that would make it U.S. policy not to use nuclear weapons first.Opponents, including top military leaders, argue the vague threat of nuclear escalation serves as a deterrent to conventional war as well as the use of chemical and biological weapons. But the sponsors ? House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Senate Armed Services Committee member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. ? argue a “no first use” policy would lower the risk of an accidental nuclear war.“The United States should never initiate a nuclear war,” Smith said in a statement. “This bill would strengthen deterrence while reducing the chance of nuclear use due to miscalculation or misunderstanding. Codifying that deterring nuclear use is the sole purpose of our nuclear arsenal strengthens U.S. national security and would renew U.S. leadership on nuclear nonproliferation and disbarment.”...Read the full article here.… Continue Reading
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and several of their Democratic colleagues are pressing President Joe Biden to forgive up to $50,000 for every American burdened by federal student debt. "If we canceled $50,000 of student loan debt right now, if Joe Biden would do that, two things would happen immediately: about 84 percent of all the people who have student loan debt would be completely debt-free and we would be able to close the Black/white wealth gap for borrowers by about 25 points and for Latinos, by 27 points," Warren told Cheddar. The wealth gap figures come from a 2019 analysis provided to the senator. She also noted that those experts found that on average, after 20 years, white borrowers end up owing about 5 percent of what they originally borrowed while Black borrowers tend to owe 95 percent of their loan after two decades. "There's not a single other thing" Biden could do right now that would have such a massive impact improving racial equity i… Continue Reading
Senate Democrats made the case Tuesday for canceling some student debt, noting that debt forgiveness would stimulate the pandemic-battered economy, help close the racial wealth gap, and aid families who have put off homeownership, child-rearing, or retirement.But Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the chair of the Senate subcommittee that held the hearing on student debt—Warren’s first as the panel’s head—focused her questioning less on cancellation and more on the corporations who process the loans she’d like to cancel.Her main target was Navient, one of the nation’s largest servicers of both federal and private student loan debt, processing the loans of more than 12 million borrowers nationwide. The company’s CEO, John Remondi, was on a panel of nearly a dozen speakers, from members of Congress to academics, who gathered virtually to discuss a wide-ranging set of issues related to student debt, including the proposal championed by Warren for President Joe Biden to forgive up to $50,000… Continue Reading
Letter
to Edfinancial | Letter
to Granite State | Letter
to Navient | Letter
to Nelnet Letter
to OSLA | Letter
to PHEAA | Letter
to MOHELAWashington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) sent letters to
the CEOs of all federal student loan servicers requesting information about the
steps the companies are taking to transition millions of federal student loan
borrowers back into repayments once the pause on student… Continue Reading
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Tammy
Baldwin (D-Wisc.) sent a letter to Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America (PhRMA) Chief Executive Officer Stephen Ubl requesting information on
PhRMA's lobbying efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent the
implementation of key policies that would lower drug costs for millions of
Americans-including the negotiation of prescription drug prices in Part D of
the Medic… Continue Reading
During today's Senate Finance Committee
hearing, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Treasury
Secretary Janet Yellen on the need for significant reforms in the U.S. tax code
system. The exchange follows the
recent ProPublica report which revealed that the richest Americans often
paid little or no federal income taxes. Senator Warren also continued her calls
for
a wealth tax on people with fortunes greater than $50 million, which would
provide at least $3 trillion … Continue Reading
We all want the same things in life: health, security and promising futures
for our families. The Covid-19 pandemic has made it clear how caregivers --
including child care, home care and nursing home workers -- are essential to
achieving this vision. But families struggle to afford care, while care jobs
remain undervalued, understaffed,
underprotected and underpaid. It's time for Congress and President Joe
Biden to make real change.… Continue Reading
Two weeks after he incited an insurrection against the Congress and the Constitution he swore an oath to defend, former President Donald Trump retained full authority to use the most deadly weapons ever created. As disturbing as it may be, this authority is a central feature of our nation’s nuclear decision-making structure — and it is long past time for reform. There is no question that we must place firm limits on presidential nuclear powers, first by enacting a formal policy not to use nuclear weapons first and then by making any decision to use nuclear weapons subject to the approval of Congress.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plea to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Jan. 8 to somehow find “available precautions” to prevent Trump from using his sole authority (the president does not need approval or concurrence from anyone else prior to ordering a nuclear launch, and the military is required to follow that order) to launch was remarkable and shocking, but it was not a firs… Continue Reading
The people elected two leaders — President Biden and Vice President Harris — who committed to boosting our economy by cancelling billions of dollars in student loan debt. That commitment affects more older Americans than you might think.… Continue Reading
