John – Welcome back to another edition of BNC Insider, your weekly recap of everything that’s happening in the world of Brand New Congress.

In this issue:

Countdown to Election Day
Katie Porter closes a major gap in Obamacare
AOC reveals student loan forgiveness hack that could save you $20K
Livestream replay
Ways to take action

Get ready to dive in.

A graphic depicting buttons that say “Vote” with the caption “Upcoming Elections”

Countdown to Election Day

We encourage everyone to visit Vote.org to check their voter registration status, look up deadlines for requesting a ballot, find your polling place, and much more.

Don’t wait until November. Make a plan to vote today!

A graphic depicting the U.S. Capitol Building with the caption “Happening on the Hill”

Katie Porter closes the “Family Glitch” in Obamacare

The Affordable Care Act has long had a loophole that left families in a lurch. Thanks to pressure from BNC Rep. Katie Porter, that loophole is now closed.

A screenshot of a tweet from BNC Rep. Katie Porter sent October 11, 2022, which reads: “Earlier this year, I called out a loophole that makes ACA insurance more expensive for certain families. I’m glad that a fix for this “family glitch” was finalized today, which will bring down health care costs for a million Americans.” Included is a link preview to a CNN article with the headline: “Biden finalizes plan to open up Obamacare subsidies to more families” and a screengrab of the Healthcare dot Gov website.

Here’s the scoop: Under the original text of the law, people with employer provided health insurance qualified for subsidized coverage on the federal exchange if their coverage cost 10% or more of their income – for THEIR individual coverage ONLY.

The problem is for-profit insurers jack up the premiums when employees add family members to their employer-provided health insurance plan. As CNN reported recently, “The average annual premium for a single worker was just over $7,700 in 2021 but topped $22,000 for a family, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.”

This change from the Biden administration will help countless working people get insurance coverage for their partners and children, but ultimately it’s just another Band-Aid.

Brand New Congress believes healthcare is a human right, and we will continue fighting for Medicare for All until NO ONE falls through the cracks.

Want to help elect candidates who will fight for universal healthcare? Sign up for a monthly recurring contribution to Brand New Congress now.

AOC reveals a student loan forgiveness hack on Instagram Live

Also last Tuesday, while most people were winding down for bed or doomscrolling on Twitter, BNC Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held an impromptu digital town hall on Instagram Live with some really important information you may have missed about the student loan forgiveness program.

Screenshot of BNC Representative AOC delivering an Instagram Live conversation in which she shared information about student debt relief applications. Overlaid is a tweet from user Rafael Shimunov which reads: “So rather than not working at 10PM like I am not working, AOC is teaching people a new student loan hack for families who took out loans for kids. Live on IG right now.”

AOC spotted his tweet and added some more information about how families who took out loans to pay for their children’s education could also qualify for debt relief, effectively doubling the loan forgiveness for some borrowers.

A screenshot of a tweet from AOC which reads: “Student loan hack: not only are standard Fed loans eligible but so are parent PLUS loans. That means a family could 2x or 3x their loan cancellation. Example: if a parent making less than $125,000 took out a PLUS loan for their kid and got a Pell grant themselves, they EACH get $20,000 cancelled.”

We love to see our representatives breaking down complicated policies and making the process more transparent and accessible to hardworking, busy Americans. Keep it up, AOC!

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Watch the replay: BNC Today

Last week BNC’s Executive Director Adrienne Bell hosted a livestream with our two Texas candidates – Michelle Vallejo (TX-15) and Greg Casar (TX-35). It was a lively conversation about the challenges progressives face running for office, and how they’re overcoming those challenges in a state like Texas.

If you missed it, you can catch the replay on the BNC YouTube channel.

Watch >>

A graphic featuring a faded photo of Cori Bush wearing a “Bans Off Our Bodies” t-shirt at a protest with the caption “TAKE ACTION”

Each week we highlight volunteer opportunities for different BNC candidates. This week we are featuring our two Senate candidates, John Fetterman and Charles Booker.

Team Fetterman has multiple virtual events available this week. Head over to Mobilize to learn more.

Organize online for John!

A screenshot of multiple event invitations for John Fetterman available on Mobilize. Go to mobilize dot us slash john fetterman for senate to learn more.

Team Booker is looking for volunteers in Campbell County, Kentucky to knock doors. If you’re in the area, sign up for a canvassing shift on Mobilize below.

Knock doors for Charles!

A screenshot of multiple event invitations for Charles Booker available on Mobilize. Go to mobilize dot us slash booker for kentucky to learn more.

Thanks for reading our BNC Insider! 💜 Watch for this update every Monday to stay on top of what’s happening in the world of BNC.

Until next week,

The entire team at Brand New Congress

P.S. If you appreciate this content, please consider signing up for a monthly recurring contribution to sustain our work.

Since 2016 BNC has led the way in advancing popular policies like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal and electing bold progressive fighters. We recruited and elected AOC in 2018 and Cori Bush in 2020. With seven BNC Reps currently in office, we are growing progressive power in Congress.

This November we’re working to flip multiple red seats, fill open seats with bold progressives, and elect our first BNC Senator by defeating Rand Paul.

Pitch in today and join us as we take over Congress and return power to the people.

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