President Biden Signs Landmark Inflation Reduction Act

Posted August 16, 2022
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President Biden Signs Landmark Inflation Reduction Act

Young Adults Urge Executive Action on Broad Student Debt Cancellation Without Means-Testing to Provide Historic Relief 

(Washington, DC) – Today, President Joe Biden officially signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 after Congress approved the measure through the reconciliation process, narrowly advancing in the US Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote. The landmark economic package includes historic investments in climate change action and the most significant federal health care policy expansions since the Affordable Care Act of 2010. The IRA is the fourth major piece of legislation in the first two years of the Biden Administration, following the historic American Rescue Act of 2020, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021, and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 – the first significant gun safety legislation in the 21st century.  Positive unemployment figures and a slowing inflation rate have tamped down fears of the United States entering an economic downturn for now. Still, inflation concerns and increasing costs for everyday goods continue to strain young adults’ finances, complicating their ability to make ends meet. Broad student debt cancellation remains within President Biden’s grasp. It represents the next major step in the effort to provide substantial relief for over 44 million borrowers enduring the effects of high inflation.  In response, Mervyn Jones, Director of External Affairs for Young Invincibles issued the following response:

“There is no question President Biden has defied the odds in his nearly first two years in office. In the face of unrelenting gridlock and rampant hyperpolarization, he has secured multiple, historic victories broadly considered to be out of reach. While the Inflation Reduction Act is an urgently necessary step – not only to stem inflation but strategically interwoven to move the needle on critical areas of domestic and global significance – more can be done. This is not the time for President Biden to take his foot off the pedal. There is still a major outstanding step – squarely within his reach – to provide significant economic relief for 44 million Americans saddled with $1.9 trillion in student loan debt. It is imperative that any action by the President on debt cancellation explicitly exclude any means-testing measures.  Means-testing would significantly water down the economic relief potential of broad cancellation among the borrowers who need it most. Young adults facing the unforgiving economic landscape wrought by the global pandemic would be forced to engage in unnecessary bureaucratic red tape with a Department of Education marred by endemic mismanagement and confusion courtesy of a reduced number of loan servicers.  The answer is resoundingly clear. Broad student debt cancellation without means-testing or asterisks is the right move. It would cement President Biden’s legacy as a decisive leader who rose to meet the challenges of our time and at long last provide critical relief for millions.”

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Contact: Juan Ramiro Sarmiento