News : POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: WARREN: Time ‘RUNNING OUT’ to CANCEL student loans — Diehl’s 1ST TEST

Friday, July 9, 2021

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: WARREN: Time ‘RUNNING OUT’ to CANCEL student loans — Diehl’s 1ST TEST — PURDUE SETTLEMENT

Jul 09, 2021

THE WARREN REPORT — Elizabeth Warren is in her element. The senator's back on the town hall circuit (with her constituents, not in the early presidential states), resurrecting her popular "selfie line," taking Republicans to task over voting restrictions and holding the Biden administration's feet to the fire on issues ranging from child care to student loan forgiveness.

Warren wants more investment in child care, more money for clean energy initiatives and a $6 trillion reconciliation package — paid for in part by her "two-cent wealth tax" — alongside Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal to make it all happen.

I caught up with Warren earlier this week to talk about infrastructure, her push to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower and more. Our conversation has been edited for length:

What is the latest on your push for student loan debt forgiveness?

It's clear that the president has the power to cancel student loan debt. It's clear that a majority of the American people want to see him do that. And it's clear that we're running out of time. The pause on student loan debt payments will expire Sept. 30. And neither the people wrestling with student loan debt nor our economy can take the hit of restarting those payments without warning. So I think this is the moment we've got literally millions of people across the country who have urged the president to do this. [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)] and I are going to continue to push as hard as we can for this.

There's a back-and-forth between the legislature and the governor right now about who should have the say in how that federal aid is spent … who do you think should have the decision?

I'm glad to see the legislature step up. They represent people all around the state, they know what the needs are. I want to see them spend on the kind of big projects that take big money, because this kind of help from the federal government is not likely to come around again in our lifetimes.

What do you think of the state GOP's new campaign for a 2022 ballot question on requiring voter identification at the ballot box?

I don't support Republican efforts to strip away the vote by putting a voter ID law on the 2022 ballot. At a time when more than 400 voter suppression laws have been introduced across this nation, it is time for the federal government to step up by passing S.1, the For the People Act.

GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. State Sen. Joe Boncore could become the second Winthrop Democrat to leave the legislature in a year, a move that would open an unexpected political door just months after voters sent Jeffrey Turco to the House of Representatives to succeed former Speaker Robert DeLeo.

Boncore's 1st Suffolk and Middlesex District spans Winthrop, Revere, and parts of Cambridge and Boston. It covers a much larger area than the representative seat Turco won earlier this year, which only includes Winthrop and part of Revere. And that could mean a much larger pool of potential candidates for what could be another special election.

Names already being floated include Revere School Committee member Anthony D'Ambrosio and former Boncore aide Juan Jaramillo of Revere, who also ran in the special election to replace DeLeo.

State Rep. Adrian Madaro of East Boston is calling around, sources say. He didn't respond to a call for comment yesterday. Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards of East Boston ran for the seat in the 2016 special election that Boncore won and could be a contender this time around. Edwards, who's currently running for council reelection, is also being floated for state attorney general, should the seat open up.

Here are a few people who say they're not looking at Boncore's seat: Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo, Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok and state Rep. Jay Livingstone, who ran in the 2016 special for the seat. Boncore and his office didn't respond to requests for comment yesterday.

TODAY — Warren hosts a meet-and-greet outside her Springfield office at noon, doors open at 11 a.m. Rep. Jake Auchincloss is a guest on GBH's Morning Edition at 8:20 a.m. Auchincloss also hosts community office hours at the Fall River Government Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey offers remarks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the reopening of Mabruuk Fashion at 11 a.m. and remarks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the New England Dental Group at 2:30 p.m.

THIS WEEKEND - Janey opens her Jamaica Plain mayoral campaign office at 10 a.m. Saturday, 405 Centre St. Boston City Councilor and mayoral candidate Annissa Essaibi George hosts meet-and-greets with City Council at-large candidates Kelly Bates at 5 p.m., Erin Murphy at 6 p.m. and Jon Spillane at 7:15 p.m. at her home in Dorchester.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: lkashinsky@politico.com.

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THE LATEST NUMBERS

– "Massachusetts hits record low for coronavirus patients who are currently intubated," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "Massachusetts health officials on Thursday reported that just nine coronavirus patients are currently intubated in hospitals across the state — the first time the Bay State reported less than 10 COVID patients on ventilators since last March. … Meanwhile, state health officials on Thursday reported three more COVID deaths and 99 new cases."

DATELINE BEACON HILL

– "House, Senate Negotiators Agree to $48.1 Billion Budget," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service (paywall): "A deal to raise tax collection estimates by more than $4.2 billion and spend nearly $48.1 billion in fiscal year 2022 came together Thursday with House and Senate lawmakers filing a compromise budget that would also make the state's controversial film tax credit permanent."

– More: "Mariano scores big victory on film tax credit," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "House Speaker Ron Mariano won a major victory in budget negotiations with the Senate as the January 2023 sunset date for the state's film tax credit was eliminated and all the major financial incentives associated with the credit were retained. The one concession the House made to the Senate was acceptance of a provision requiring film and TV production crews to spend 75 percent of either their budget or their filming days in Massachusetts, up from 50 percent in the current law."

– "Three Biz Groups Take Sides in Debate Over App-Based Drivers, Benefits," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service (paywall): "The Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, One SouthCoast Chamber and the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce, together representing more than 2,300 members, on Wednesday joined the Massachusetts Coalition for Independent Work fighting to keep ride-hailing and delivery drivers designated as independent contractors. With the addition of the three chambers, the coalition funded by Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart now counts a total of 15 members including other statewide business groups such as the Massachusetts High Technology Council and the Associated Industries of Massachusetts."

– "Data-sharing with immigration authorities prompt legislators, advocates to tweak Massachusetts driver's license bill," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "Some of the 16 states with laws allowing immigrants without legal status to obtain driver's licenses promised to block federal agencies from getting ahold of those drivers' personal information — only to learn the federal government gained access anyway. Now advocates and lawmakers pushing for a similar driving bill in Massachusetts are refining the proposal in hopes of avoiding those loopholes, which led to civil immigration arrests in other states."

– "Mariano: Complete State House Reopening Not Expected by Oct. 1," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service (paywall): "The State House will not have a 'complete reopening' before the start of October, Speaker Ronald Mariano said Wednesday, adding that he is hopeful that the building will be at least more populated at that point as legislative leaders target some time in autumn to welcome the public back to Beacon Hill."

– "Massachusetts sees fewer new unemployment claims after late June spike," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "There were 8,943 new unemployment claims filed in Massachusetts during the week of July 3, according to the federal Labor Department. That's good news because the number of new claims in Massachusetts shot up by 2,994 the week of June 26 to 10,899. The state blamed that increase on the end of the school year and seasonal layoffs for workers."

VAX-ACHUSETTS

– "The Vax Express Keeps Rolling But Vaccine Inequity Remains," by Aaron Schachter, GBH News: "At Union Station in Worcester Thursday, the mood was jubilant, the tunes from a local DJ were hits of the '80s and '90s and Massachusetts' lieutenant governor couldn't have been more excited about what the state's 'Vax Express' is trying to do: get needles in the arms of people who might otherwise not get a vaccine. … While [Carlene Pavlos] and other advocates for low-income communities appreciate the state's efforts, they question why communities hardest hit by the pandemic are being treated as an afterthought with what they see as a kind of second tier urgency."

FROM THE HUB

– "$8: The Complicated Story Behind One Of The Most Repeated Statistics About Boston," by Simón Rios, WBUR: "A 2015 study found the median net worth for white households in Greater Boston was a quarter million dollars. For Black families, it was just $8. Yet few people know the figure comes with important caveats — or the full story of how it became so well known."

– "Organization calls Boston students sharing their unlicensed counseling experiences an 'attack'," by Laura Crimaldi, Naomi Martin and James Vaznis, Boston Globe: "The international organization that promotes Re-evaluation Counseling, an unorthodox brand of peer counseling, is dismissing criticism by Boston students who said they were pressured to participate in traumatizing sessions, calling it an 'attack' on what they consider a powerful form of therapy."

– "100% tiered exam school admissions policy back on the table, per Boston Public Schools," by Alexi Cohan, Boston Herald: "Boston education advocates are pushing for an exam school admissions policy that ranks students by socioeconomic tiers, a plan that is now back up for consideration after a task force had abruptly abandoned it last week."

– "BUREAUCRATIC DYSFUNCTION & PHYSICAL RESTRAINT IN BPS," by Daniel DeFraia, Dig Boston/Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism: "In BPS, the larger story of physical student restraint … remains incomplete, concealed behind a dysfunctional bureaucracy that hides trouble spots and curbs accountability, increasing risk of student mistreatment."

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

– "Where District 4 Candidates stand on issues," by Rebeca Pereira, Dorchester Reporter: "Nine candidates for city council have launched bids to represent District 4, an area that primarily includes parts of Dorchester and Mattapan, including Codman Square, Franklin Field, Four Corners, Fields Corner and Bowdoin-Geneva. The seat also includes parts of Roslindale and Jamaica Plain. It is currently represented by Councillor Andrea Campbell, whose run for mayor clears a path for both veteran campaigners and emerging political organizers."

FEELING '22

– "Diehl's first test: Can he force Baker to make a decision earlier than he wants?" by James Pindell, Boston Globe: "Ideally, Baker would like to wait as long as possible to announce whether he is a candidate. There is, in fact, no incentive for him to become a declared candidate until late in the game. … There is only one catch though: If Diehl starts to draw support from Republicans and forces Baker to respond by announcing his own plans."

DAY IN COURT

– "Purdue Pharma to pay $4.3b settlement — $90m to Mass.," by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: "Members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma will pay $4.3 billion to settle a lawsuit over Purdue's role in perpetuating the opioid addiction epidemic, a lawsuit first initiated by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey in 2018. The company will have to disband or be sold by 2024, and the Sacklers will be permanently banned from selling opioid pain medication. Attorney General Maura Healey said this is the highest settlement ever paid out in a law enforcement action." More from GBH News' Mike Deehan and the Boston Globe's Priyanka Dayal McCluskey.

– "Rise of the Moors member sued Danvers police, then sought to pay filing fees with a silver coin," by Tonya Alanez, Boston Globe: "A self-identified member of the group Rise of the Moors sued Danvers police after a traffic stop in November 2019. The federal case didn't go far. The member, Mooreno Bey, also known as Lesley Malave, refused to pay filing fees in US dollars, instead offering a single silver coin as payment, court records show. … Several members of the Rhode Island-based group, jailed since an armed standoff on Interstate 95 over the holiday weekend, echoed Malave's legalese during their arraignments this week, reading from crumpled notes balled in their cuffed hands."

– "Civil-rights, hate-crime charge for man accused of stabbing Brighton rabbi," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "The man charged with stabbing a rabbi multiple times in Brighton now faces civil-rights and hate-crime charges as he's shuffled off to a mental hospital for further evaluation and is under an ICE detainer."

FROM THE DELEGATION

– "Elizabeth Warren and Ayanna Pressley urge Baker administration to reconsider change to COVID-19 hospitalization data reporting," by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley are urging Gov. Charlie Baker's administration to reconsider the state's recent move to stop reporting demographic data on COVID-19 hospitalizations, calling the metric a critical part of ensuring an equitable recovery from the pandemic."

DATELINE D.C.

– From POLITICO'S Morning Shift: Labor Secretary Marty Walsh's chief of staff, Dan Koh, owns as much as $250,000 in Amazon stock, according to his personal financial disclosures, Motherboard's Lauren Kaori Gurley tweeted Thursday . DOL enforces workplace health and safety laws, as well as wage theft laws — which, Gurley writes, Amazon has been caught violating. DOL did not respond to Morning Shift's request for comment.

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

– SHOT: "'A one-stop shop': Officials tout New Bedford's future offshore wind training facility," by Anastasia E. Lennon, Standard-Times: "As early as next spring, a facility that once manufactured seafood packaging will house classrooms, obstacle courses and a deepwater pool to train workers for the offshore wind industry, which is scheduled to start delivering energy to Massachusetts in 2023. The National Offshore Wind Institute training facility in New Bedford, which has yet to be built, will offer hands-on safety training and classroom technical training."

– CHASER: "Maine Prohibits Offshore Wind Projects In State Waters," by Fred Bever, Maine Public Radio: "Maine Gov. Janet Mills has signed compromise legislation to permanently bar future development of offshore wind projects in state waters. At the same time, momentum is building behind her plan to develop, for research purposes, a 16-square mile wind farm in federal waters."

FROM THE 413

– "Springfield councilors, police commissioner Cheryl Clapprood agree to work more closely on reform," by Peter Goonan, Springfield Republican: "City councilors who met with police commissioner Cheryl Clapprood on Thursday said they were pleased to hear of progress in reform efforts in the aftermath of a highly critical U.S. Department of Justice report and council recommendations for change a year ago." More from the Republican: "Springfield police announce new use-of-force policy; chokeholds by police prohibited in most cases" and "Springfield police create firearms investigation unit to crack down on gun violence, eliminate narcotics unit"

THE LOCAL ELECTIONS ROUNDUP

– "Jennifer Macksey enters race for North Adams mayor," by Berkshire Eagle staff: "Jennifer Macksey took out papers Thursday to run for the position, the city clerk's office confirmed. She enters a race that includes Lynette Bond, Joshua Vallieres, Rachel Branch and Aprilyn Carsno. Mayor Tom Bernard is not seeking reelection this fall."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

– "Andrew Yang's Loss Fits a Pattern. Why Do Asian Americans Struggle in Mayoral Races?" by Joel Lau, POLITICO: "What explains the dearth of Asian American mayors, and can it change? To gain insight on the unique challenges Asian American candidates face in mayoral elections, POLITICO Magazine spoke with Sam Yoon, the first Asian American to run for mayor of Boston, in 2009. As the city's first Asian councilor, Yoon, a Democrat who is Korean American, garnered support during his run for mayor from Asians across America, in states like California and New York. But he ultimately finished third in the preliminary election."

– "'Boo Boo,' Bear Spotted in Several Mass. Towns, Was Killed in Marion Van Crash," by Kaitlin McKinley Becker, NBC 10 Boston: "According to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the bear — [affectionately] dubbed 'Boo Boo' — died from its injuries after it was struck by a van on Route 195 in Marion two weeks ago."

– IN MEMORIUM: "An 'unimaginable' absence: Mahaiwe founder Lola Jaffe dies at 95," by Heather Bellow, Berkshire Eagle: "Lola Jaffe, the force behind the reawakening of one of the Berkshires' most beloved cultural institutions, died Wednesday, at the age of 95."

TRANSITIONS – Gena Frank joins SEIU 509 as deputy legislative director. Frank is an alum of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and state Rep. Smitty Pignatelli's office.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Rachel Dec, Ryan Boehm, 60 Minutes+/CBS News correspondent and Boston Globe alum Wesley Lowery, George-Alexander Attia and MassGOP operations director Madeleine Cammarano.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Edie Mead Holway, Andy Flic and Samuel Weinstock, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sen. Ed Markey, who turns 75, WBUR's Jack Lepiarz, Maximos Nikitas and Chris Maloney, partner at the Black Rock Group and a Mitt Romney alum, who celebrate Sunday.

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