July 15, 2023

Dear Friends,

The U.S. Supreme Court closed their term at the end of June with a yet another string of disastrous rulings that have solidified its status as one of the most corrupt and backward courts in our nation’s history. Since last year’s disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade eliminated federal protections for women seeking abortion care, this Court has continued on its downward spiral, with ruling after ruling moving them ever further from the will of the people. And with some of the Court’s most right-wing justices embroiled in ethical scandals related to some of these very decisions, public confidence in the Supreme Court is justifiably at an all-time low.

The Supreme Court and its justices possess immense power to shape American society by judicial decree. But with that power comes an obligation to use this authority soberly and cautiously, adhering to settled legal precedents and keeping the will and well-being of the American people foremost in mind. This Court has emphatically abandoned that responsibility, leaving these critical considerations by the wayside and instead simply checking off the policy wish lists of their wealthy right-wing backers.

In a span of just two days, the Supreme Court issued a trio of rulings this term that will cause untold damage to some of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens. In the first of these decisions, the Court dealt a severe blow to minority communities by effectively ending the use of race-conscious admissions on college campuses, rolling back decades of precedent to impose “a superficial rule of colorblindness” that disregards the realities of discrimination in our society, all while choosing to ignore the numerous other ways in which the admissions process continues to prioritize privileged applicants through legacies and donors. But as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in her dissent, “deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”

The following day, the Court handed down another devastating ruling that blocked the U.S. Department of Education from implementing its plan to cancel up to $20,000 of student loan debt for 42 million Americans. 97 percent of these borrowers are low- or middle-income, and before the pandemic, more than 25 percent of borrowers were behind on payments. With new research showing that 1 in 5 borrowers will face significant financial struggles when payments resume, this ruling is a disastrous setback for millions of Americans who relied on financial assistance to obtain a good education.

In a final lawless decision, the Supreme Court overturned more than a half-century of precedent to grant businesses the license to discriminate against LGBTQ+ customers. By establishing for the first time “a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class,” the Court continued its assault on the rights of minorities, flying in the face of the vast majority of Americans who support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people.

Make no mistake, we will not sit by as these rights are erased. The Supreme Court may have abdicated its responsibility to ensure equal opportunity for all, but I’ll never stop pushing in Congress to secure justice for every American. In the wake of the ruling on 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, I co-sponsored the Customer Non-Discrimination Act that expands the definition of a place of public accommodation under existing law and offers protections from discriminating based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity; effectively reversing this ruling. President Biden and Democrats remain unwavering in our commitment to delivering student debt relief for as many borrowers as possible. Just yesterday in fact, the Department of Education announced that they will forgive $39 billion in student loan debt for more than 800,000 Americans. And Colleges and universities in our Capital Region and beyond have also affirmed their commitment to ensuring a diverse body of students, and I will do all I possibly can to support them in that critical effort.

For years, the extreme Roberts Court has worked alongside wealthy special interests to roll back decades of progress, inflicting immeasurable harm on the rights of women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ Americans. While this Court denies loan relief to tens of millions of people in need, justices accept lavish gifts from right-wing donors. While in one breath decreeing that colleges and universities cannot use race as a factor in student admissions, the Court declares in the next that businesses can use sexual orientation as grounds to discriminate.

The American people see the hypocrisy on display, and now the Court is facing a reckoning of its own making. If they refuse to take steps to restore their own legitimacy, Congress can and must act to bring justice back to the highest court in the land.

As always, thank you for reading.

Your friend,

DID YOU KNOW?

My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:

• Last week, the FDA granted full approval to Leqembi, the first approved medication to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
• This historic action shines a light of hope for millions of Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s and their loved ones.
• With FDA approval secured, broader Medicare coverage is now available for Leqembi.
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has created fact sheets about the new drug for patients and providers.
• Clinicians can also access a CMS-facilitated registry to enroll their patients in a Coverage with Evidence Development (CED) study for Leqembi.
  • A video demonstrating completion of the registry form can be found HERE.
  • A glossary for data elements in the registry can be found HERE.