Biden Bits: “Folks Don’t Have to Jump Through Hoops”…

October 17, 2024 12:13 pm EDT Tiff Biden Tweets (Open Thread) Comments Off on Biden Bits: “Folks Don’t Have to Jump Through Hoops”…
Biden Tweets Logo. Image by Lenny Ghoul.

It’s Thursday…

President Biden’s public schedule for 10/17/2024:

7:20 AM
Joint Base Andrews Overhang
Out-of-Town Pool Call Time
7:30 AM
The White House
In-Town Pool Call Time
7:30 AM
The White House Closed Press
The President receives The President’s Daily Brief
8:10 AM
South Lawn Open Press
The President departs the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews
8:20 AM
Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool
The President arrives to Joint Base Andrews
8:30 AM
Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool
The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route to Berlin, Germany
10:00 AM
Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Berlin, Germany
3:50 PM
Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Germany 
Open Press
The President arrives in Berlin, Germany

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Jake Sullivan Gaggle Aboard Air Force One @ Noon D.C., time:


FTC “Click to Cancel” Rule Tweet

From Wednesday…

From the FTC

10/16/2024:

Federal Trade Commission Announces Final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule Making It Easier for Consumers to End Recurring Subscriptions and Memberships

The Federal Trade Commission today announced a final “click-to-cancel” rule that will require sellers to make it as easy for consumers to cancel their enrollment as it was to sign up. Most of the final rule’s provisions will go into effect 180 days after it is published in the Federal Register.

“Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” said Commission Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC’s rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money. Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.”

The Commission’s updated rule will apply to almost all negative option programs in any media. The rule also will prohibit sellers from misrepresenting any material facts while using negative option marketing; require sellers to provide important information before obtaining consumers’ billing information and charging them; and require sellers to get consumers’ informed consent to the negative option features before charging them.

The final rule announced today is part of the FTC’s ongoing review of its 1973 Negative Option Rule, which the agency is modernizing to combat unfair or deceptive practices related to subscriptions, memberships, and other recurring-payment programs in an increasingly digital economy where it’s easier than ever for businesses to sign up consumers for their products and services.

Commission approval and publication follows the March 2023 announcement of a notice of proposed rulemaking which resulted in more than 16,000 comments from consumers and federal and state government agencies, consumer groups, and trade associations.

While negative option marketing programs can be convenient for sellers and consumers, the FTC receives thousands of complaints about negative option and recurring subscription practices each year. The number of complaints has been steadily increasing over the past five years and in 2024 the Commission received nearly 70 consumer complaints per day on average, up from 42 per day in 2021.

The final rule will provide a consistent legal framework by prohibiting sellers from:

Federal Trade Commission Announces Final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule Making It Easier for Consumers to End Recurring Subscriptions and Memberships. 10/16/2024.
  • misrepresenting any material fact made while marketing goods or services with a negative option feature;
  • failing to clearly and conspicuously disclose material terms prior to obtaining a consumer’s billing information in connection with a negative option feature;
  • failing to obtain a consumer’s express informed consent to the negative option feature before charging the consumer; and
  • failing to provide a simple mechanism to cancel the negative option feature and immediately halt charges.

Following an evaluation of public comments, the Commission has voted to adopt a final rule with certain changes, most notably dropping a requirement that sellers provide annual reminders to consumers of the negative option feature of their subscription, and dropping a prohibition on sellers telling consumers seeking to cancel their subscription about plan modifications or reasons to keep to their existing agreement without first asking if they want to hear about them.

The Commission vote approving publication of the final rule in the Federal Register was 3-2, with Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Andrew N. Ferguson voting no. Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter issued a separate statement and Commissioner Holyoak issued a separate dissenting statement. Commissioner Ferguson’s dissenting statement is forthcoming. 

FTC staff has developed a fact sheet summarizing the changes to the rule. The primary staffer on this matter is Katherine Johnson in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers.  The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. Learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.

Federal Trade Commission Announces Final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule Making It Easier for Consumers to End Recurring Subscriptions and Memberships. 10/16/2024.

Hurricane Tweet

From Wednesday…

09/26/2024:

09/27/2024:

09/28/2024:

09/29/2024:

10/01/2024:

10/02/2024:

10/03/2024:

10/04/2024:

10/05/2024:

10/06/2024:

10/07/2024 (Hurricane Milton):

10/08/2024:

10/09/2024:

10/10/2024:

10/11/2024:

10/12/2024:

10/13/2024:

Economy Tweet

From Wednesday…

You can view past Jobs reports @ BLS.gov…

Italian American Heritage Tweet

From Wednesday…

Remarks by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at an Italian American Heritage Month Reception; the YouTube is 16 minutes and 14 seconds long.

Remembering Ethel Kennedy

From Wednesday…

The video clip is 40 seconds long.

Remarks by President Biden at a Memorial Service for Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy; the YouTube is 13 minutes and 25 seconds long.

But, you know, Ethel was a hero in her own right, full of character, full of integrity and empathy — and genuine empathy.

[snip]

For over 50 years, with Ethel’s own iron will and moral courage, she gave it everything she had, and we’re a better nation and a better world because of Ethel Kennedy. 

Remarks by President Biden at a Memorial Service for Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy; the YouTube is 13 minutes and 25 seconds long.

The video cuts at the 26 second mark to show an interview with Ethel Kennedy.

Ethel Kennedy: There’s always something around the corner that–if you just see something wrong, if you speak out, you can change it.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Tweet

From Thursday…

The video clip is 1 minute and 46 seconds long. It’s a sweet clip. I will not ruin it by trying to transcribe it.

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Over 1 Million Public Service Workers Have Received Student Debt Cancellation Under the Biden-⁠Harris Administration

Today, President Biden announced an additional $4.5 billion in student debt cancellation for over 60,000 borrowers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, bringing the number of public service workers who have had their student loans cancelled to over 1 million people during the Biden-Harris Administration. Before President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, only 7,000 borrowers had ever received forgiveness through PSLF. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s significant improvements to the PSLF program, over 1 million teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officials, nurses, servicemembers, and other public service workers who have dedicated their lives to serving their communities are getting the student debt relief they are entitled to under the law. Last week, President Biden met with a kindergarten teacher who has been paying her loans for 12 years and let her know that she is one of the 1 million people approved for PSLF under his Administration, and over $46,000 of her loans are being cancelled. In total, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved $175 billion in student debt relief for nearly 5 million borrowers through various actions.

From Day One of their Administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris vowed to fix the student loan system and make sure higher education is a ticket to the middle class – not a barrier to opportunity. Already, the Biden-Harris Administration has delivered life-changing relief to students and families. While Republican elected officials try every which way to block millions of their own constituents from receiving student debt relief – even proposing to get rid of the PSLF program altogether – President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting to provide borrowers student debt relief and making higher education affordable.

Delivering Life-Changing Relief to Over 1 Million Public Servants

In 2007, Congress enacted bipartisan legislation creating PSLF to recognize the critical role public servants play in our communities and support them in their service. Under PSLF, people who dedicate at least 10 years of their careers to giving back to their communities – like teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officials, nurses, and servicemembers – can get relief on their student loans. However, the program was poorly implemented. Many public servants found out that they had spent years in the wrong student loan repayment plan or did not take out the right type of loan and were therefore ineligible for PSLF and denied forgiveness. Before the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness through PSLF and the rejection rate, in part due to administrative errors and difficult processes, was as high as 98% in some years. Public servants were also being told that, because they didn’t file the right forms years ago, there was nothing for them to do but keep paying their loans longer than the program requires.

Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has significantly improved the PSLF program to help more borrowers than ever before. This includes establishing and implementing new regulations to help borrowers earn more credit toward PSLF, simplifying criteria to help borrowers certify employment, creating fairer eligibility criteria, and providing borrowers the opportunity to apply for reconsideration of previous denials. The Biden-Harris Administration launched the Limited PSLF Waiver, providing public service workers affected by the pandemic with the opportunity to get PSLF credit for prior payments on their federal student loans regardless of repayment plan or loan type. To simplify the application process for borrowers, the Biden-Harris Administration made it so borrowers and employers can complete the entire PSLF application and submit required forms online, made it easier for borrowers to find qualifying employers and get necessary signatures verifying employment, and recently, announced new steps to allow borrowers to manage all aspects of their PSLF journey on StudentAid.gov.

Thanks to these improvements, as of today, over 1 million public service workers have been approved for debt cancellation through PSLF. The Department of Education today also released new state-by-state data showing how many borrowers have had their loans approved for cancellation under PSLF in each state under the Biden-Harris Administration.

Economic Benefits of Student Debt Relief for Public Service Workers

Today, the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) published a new analysis underscoring that the Biden-Harris Administration’s student debt policies not only benefit borrowers, but also the entire economy.

The CEA highlights that PSLF has the potential to deliver considerable benefits to those who receive it – including the ability to buy a home, start a business, and improve overall financial health. In addition, the CEA analysis shows how the PSLF program strengthens the public sector by making it more feasible for students with postsecondary debt to pursue and remain in public service careers that are essential to our economy and communities.

Despite these benefits to the U.S. economy and hard-working Americans, Republican elected officials have tried to stop the Biden-Harris Administration every step of the way, and have even attempted to end PSLF altogether, which would block millions of dedicated public servants from receiving the student debt relief they have earned. President Biden and Vice President Harris will not stop fighting for our nation’s dedicated public servants.

Encouraging Public Servants to Take Advantage of the PSLF Program

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is also announcing a series of new steps to encourage public servants across the nation to take advantage of the PSLF program.

A number of public sector unions, including the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), are amplifying today’s announcement through member-to-member outreach, social media campaigns, and more, and are encouraging people to sign up for PSLF:

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Over 1 Million Public Service Workers Have Received Student Debt Cancellation Under the Biden-⁠Harris Administration. 10/17/2024.
  • AFT will be encouraging its members to sign up for student debt clinics to help members get on track with PSLF, with a goal of reaching another 500 teachers and nurses by the end of the year. This is on top of the 34,000 members AFT has reached since starting their student debt clinic series.
  • NEA will continue to help its members with the NEA Student Debt Navigator, a tool that provides 1-on-1 support for NEA’s members who need additional support with their PSLF application, or any other federal program related to student loans. Since the launch of the Student Debt Navigator, over 48,000 NEA members have signed up to receive support.
  • To celebrate this milestone, AFSCME will launch a new interactive map on its website, detailing PSLF forgiveness across the country based on Department of Education data. Additionally, AFSCME will update its online resources to facilitate applications for PSLF and create a social media toolkit its members can use to promote PSLF and forgiveness on their own social media platforms.
  • To encourage people to take advantage of the PSLF program, the Department of Education will send emails from President Biden to public servants who have received PSLF, encouraging them to share their stories to raise awareness about the benefits of the program. The Biden-Harris Administration will also share information about PSLF with federal employees to encourage more people to enroll in PSLF.
  • The Department of Education is reaching out to governors and mayors across the country to encourage state and local public service workers to take advantage of the PSLF program.

These new steps are in addition to previous actions by the Administration including working with over 15 major federal agencies to develop PSLF agency action plans. In implementing these plans, federal agencies have encouraged thousands of additional federal employees to take advantage of the PSLF program through extensive social media campaigns, principal-level engagement, engagement with stakeholder groups, press, and mass email communications.

Building On an Unparalleled Record of Student Debt Relief

Today’s announcement is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader set of actions to reduce the burden of student debt and ensure that student loans are not a barrier to educational and economic opportunity for students and families. President Biden and Vice President Harris secured a $900 increase to the maximum Pell Grant award – the largest increase in more than a decade.  Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved through various actions $175 billion in student debt relief for nearly 5 million Americans, each of whom have been approved for an average of roughly $35,000 in student debt cancellation. These actions have benefitted borrowers in every state, territory, and congressional district in the United States.

This approved relief includes:

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Over 1 Million Public Service Workers Have Received Student Debt Cancellation Under the Biden-⁠Harris Administration. 10/17/2024.
  • $74 billion for over 1 million borrowers through the PSLF program.
  • $56.5 billion for more than 1.4 million borrowers through Income-Driven Repayment, including the Saving on a Valuable Education SAVE plan. This includes administrative adjustments to income-driven repayment that brought borrowers closer to forgiveness and addressed longstanding problems due to past inaccuracies and the misuse of forbearance by loan servicers.
  • $28.7 billion for more than 1.6 million borrowers who were cheated by their schools, saw their institutions precipitously close, or are covered by related court settlements.
  • $16.2 billion for nearly 572,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability.

Statement from President Joe Biden on Student Debt Cancellation for Over 1 Million Public Service Workers Under the Biden-⁠Harris Administration

Today, my Administration is approving another $4.5 billion in student debt cancellation for over 60,000 public service workers – bringing the total number of Americans who have had their debt cancelled under Public Service Loan Forgiveness during my Administration to over 1 million people.

Public service workers – teachers, nurses, firefighters, and more – are the bedrocks of our communities and our country. They dedicate their careers to giving back to others, and were given the promise of student debt forgiveness after 10 years of public service and 10 years of payments under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. But for too long, the government failed to live up to its commitments, and only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness before Vice President Harris and I took office.

We vowed to fix that, and because of actions from our Administration, now over 1 million public service workers have gotten the relief they are entitled to under the law.

Today’s announcement comes on top of the significant progress we’ve made for students and borrowers over the past three years. That includes approving debt cancellation for nearly 5 million Americans across all our various debt relief actions; providing the largest increases to the maximum Pell Grant award in over a decade; fixing Income-Driven Repayment so borrowers get the relief they earned; and holding colleges accountable for taking advantage of students and families.

From day one of my Administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity. I will never stop working to make higher education affordable – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.

Statement from President Joe Biden on Student Debt Cancellation for Over 1 Million Public Service Workers Under the Biden-⁠Harris Administration. 10/17/2024.

Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on One Million Public Service Workers Receiving Student Debt Cancellation

Higher education should be a pathway to economic opportunity – not a lifetime of debt. That is why I have fought to make education more affordable and reduce the burden of student debt throughout my career.

When President Biden and I took office, only 7,000 people had ever been approved for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Today, I am proud to say that a record one million teachers, nurses, first responders, social workers, and other public service workers have received student debt cancellation. As I travel our nation, I meet many of these public servants who say they now have more money in their pocket to put towards buying a home, renting an apartment, getting a car, starting a family, and saving up for the future.

Our Administration has forgiven over $170 billion in student debt for nearly five million people throughout the country — more than any Administration in history. And while Republican elected officials do everything in their power to block millions of their own constituents from receiving this much needed economic relief, I will continue our work to lower costs, make higher education more affordable, and relieve the burden of student debt. I am fully committed to doing what is necessary to build an economy that works for every American.

Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on One Million Public Service Workers Receiving Student Debt Cancellation. 10/17/2024.

Pension Tweets

From Thursday…

From Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC.gov)

10/17/2024:

PBGC Approves SFA Application for Detroit Carpenters Fund; Detroit Carpenters Fund Averts Insolvency and Reduction of Benefits Through Receipt of Special Financial Assistance

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced today that it has approved the application submitted to the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program by the Carpenters Pension Trust Fund – Detroit & Vicinity (Detroit Carpenters Fund). The plan, based in Troy, Michigan, covers 22,576 participants in the construction industry.

The Detroit Carpenters Fund will receive approximately $635 million in special financial assistance, including interest to the expected date of payment to the plan. The plan was projected to become insolvent and run out of money in 2033. Without the SFA Program, the Detroit Carpenters Fund would have been required to reduce participants’ benefits to the PBGC guarantee level upon plan insolvency, which is roughly 70 percent below the benefits payable under the terms of the plan. That means, if not for the SFA Program, participants in the plan would have seen their monthly pension benefits reduced by roughly 70 percent. SFA will enable the plan to continue to pay retirement benefits without reduction for many years into the future.

The SFA Program was enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act – signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021.

“Millions of people work for years, looking forward to the day when the promise of a secure, dignified retirement is kept,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su. “Today, the Biden-Harris administration is delivering on that promise for 22,576 carpenters by providing Special Financial Assistance to the Detroit Carpenters Fund, which ensures they can retire with the dignity they deserve and that the drastic reductions in benefits they were facing will be avoided.”

PBGC Approves SFA Application for Detroit Carpenters Fund; Detroit Carpenters Fund Averts Insolvency and Reduction of Benefits Through Receipt of Special Financial Assistance. 10/17/2024.

About the Special Financial Assistance Program

The SFA Program provides funding to severely underfunded multiemployer pension plans and will ensure that millions of America’s workers, retirees, and their families receive the pension benefits they earned.

The SFA Program requires plans to demonstrate eligibility for SFA and to calculate the amount of assistance pursuant to ARP and PBGC’s regulations. SFA and earnings thereon must be segregated from other plan assets and may be used only to pay plan benefits and administrative expenses. Plans receiving SFA are also subject to certain terms, conditions and reporting requirements, including an annual statement documenting compliance with the terms and conditions. PBGC is authorized to conduct periodic audits of multiemployer plans that receive SFA.

As of October 17, 2024, PBGC has announced approval of about $68.6 billion in SFA to plans that cover about 1,179,000 workers, retirees, and beneficiaries.

The SFA Program operates under a final rule, published in the Federal Register on July 8, 2022, which became effective August 8, 2022, and was amended effective January 26, 2023.

PBGC Approves SFA Application for Detroit Carpenters Fund; Detroit Carpenters Fund Averts Insolvency and Reduction of Benefits Through Receipt of Special Financial Assistance. 10/17/2024.

This is an open thread

About the opinions in this article…

Any opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website or of the other authors/contributors who write for it.

About Tiff 3038 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.