Senate Republican ad links Casey’s support for student loan forgiveness to pro-Palestinian protests
WASHINGTON — As he seeks to appeal to young voters this fall, President Joe Biden has pushed policies to forgive some student loan debt.
But now the Senate Republicans’ political arm says that means they want to use tax dollars to back the students involved in the proPalestinian and anti-Israel protests on their campuses, and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is part of it.
A new advertisement says the student loan forgiveness backed by Mr. Biden and Mr. Casey is supporting “antisemitic mobs” that are “taking over our universities.”
“Bob Casey is so beholden to the radical, anti-Israel wing of his party that he thinks hardworking taxpayers should cover pro-Hamas students’ tuition,” said Philip Letsou, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
The Casey campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In other Washington news:
Casey wants to save residents from a big tax bill
Residents affected by the February 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio — including those across the border in Pennsylvania’s Beaver County — shouldn’t have to pay taxes on the money they receive to compensate them for the costs incurred by the incident, Mr. Casey said.
Mr. Casey sent a letter to Treasury Secrertary Janet Yellen and Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Danny Werfel, saying funds for things like shelter, food, and clothing after the derailment should not be considered taxable income.
“Impacted individuals and families faced great hardships and disruption during this period and were forced to deal with sudden unexpected evacuations and school
closures with little access to their belongings or homes,” Mr. Casey wrote. “Victims of this disaster should not be forced to pay tax on reimbursements for the hardship they endured and the losses they suffered.”
The U.S. House in January passed a bipartisan tax package that would exempt from taxes disaster relief payments paid by Norfolk Southern or any government agency to cover losses, damages, declines in property values, or inconvenience.
The bill has yet to be considered in the Senate.
GAO says agencies can buy from local farmers
A report by the investigative arm of Congress says there are plenty of opportunities for federal agencies to buy their fruits and vegetables from local farmers.
The Government Accountability Office report was requested by two members of the Senate
Agriculture Committee, U.S. Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Cory Booker, D-N.J. It looks at spending by the Agriculture Department’s Agricultural Marketing Service and the Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency, which together account for 90% of food purchases for schools, food banks, Indian reservations and military installations.
While the agencies for the most part must buy the food from domestic sources, there is no requirement
that it come from local farmers. The agencies say they try to buy local, but don’t have the data to show how successful they are in doing so, the report said.
“We must invest in small farmers — and this report gives us the data we need to do just that,’’ Mr. Fetterman said.