Indivisibles,

Last week, Senators Schumer, Warnock, and Warren requested a meeting with President Biden to press him to go further on canceling federal student loan debt. This is big!

Now this week, Representative Mondaire Jones is leading a letter to Biden urging him not to include means-testing or other unnecessary restrictions for student debt cancellation. While well-intentioned, barriers like income caps mean setting up complicated application systems that would lead millions of folks to fall through the cracks -- especially the most vulnerable. The Senators, and Rep. Jones, understand that there is right now a window to make a big difference in the lives of borrowers burdened with student debt. Now is the time to ensure that the mechanism used to cancel that debt is straight-forward and benefits the most borrowers.

Also last week, Moderna privately argued that the federal government granting them permissions through executive action to use another company’s patented technology allowed them to produce their COVID-19 vaccine quickly, cheaply, and effectively. This is particularly important because Big Pharma regularly extends its patents far past their intended expiration dates in order to drive up profits. We can see, through their own words, that access to currently patented technology helps to ensure the best outcomes for the American people and that even Big Pharma understands that executive actions give President Biden the power to make it happen.

Here’s where you come in:

• Click here to email President Biden and tell him to lower prescription drug prices. Biden has the power to dramatically lower the costs of essential drugs like EpiPens, asthma inhalers, HIV/AIDS drugs, and cancer treatments. We know and Big Pharma knows that granting access to patents for these life-saving drugs will significantly reduce the prices that are passed on to patients. Americans deserve relief. Watch this video from Leah for more insight.
• Click here to call your House representative and tell them to sign on to Rep. Jones’ letter urging Biden not to attach means testing to student debt cancellation. Means testing would create a barrier to those most in need of cancellation -- twenty percent of those eligible for federal programs never receive assistance due to the barriers of means testing. Additionally, our government does not currently have the ability to clearly identify a borrower’s income; as such, means testing would create a bureaucratic nightmare preventing borrowers from seeing relief. (Here’s more information on why means testing can’t work.)
• Click here to register for Turning up the heat on REACH and DCEs next Monday, May 23 at 1pm ET/10am PT. Indivisible is cosponsoring a webinar with partners featuring congressional champions and issue experts discussing how to stop Medicare privatization through executive action. We need to ensure that more barriers are not put in place between providers and patients negatively affecting their access to care. We believe in Medicare for All, let’s make sure we are armed with the information to protect Medicare so we can get there.

Now is the exact time to push Biden to go big and give the American people some financial relief when we so desperately need it. Let’s give the American people a win.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team