Student Forum Newsletter

Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Implement 32-hour Workweek

IN MARCH, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) introduced the “Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act” in their respective chambers. If passed, the legislation would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to reduce the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours per week for non-exempt (salaried) employees.

Over a four-year period, the legislation would lower the threshold required for overtime pay, from 40 to 32 hours; require overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times a worker’s regular salary for workdays longer than 8 hours; and require overtime pay at double a worker’s regular salary for workdays longer than 12 hours.

Due to technological advances in automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence, Sanders says U.S. businesses can now afford to give employees more time off without cutting their pay.

Back in the Saddle Again: U.S. Voters Face Election Rematch

ON MARCH 5, U.S. voters participated in the Super Tuesday contests, resulting in both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump securing their respective parties’ nominations for president, setting up a déjà vu of the 2020 election.

Shortly after Super Tuesday, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley announced she was suspending her campaign, leaving Trump with no major opponents left to block him from becoming the 2024 Republican nominee.

For the first time in more than 60 years, the 2024 presidential election will be a rematch, forcing U.S. voters to choose between the same two presidential candidates from the 2020 election.

The last presidential rematch came in 1956, when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower again defeated Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic opponent he had four years prior.

The 2024 general election promises to be a bitter fight, with both candidates facing more negatives than they did in 2020—Trump beset by legal woes and Biden confronting multiple criticisms, including the hyperinflation of today’s economy. Both candidates are older—Biden is 81 and Trump is 77—and deeply polarizing.

As the two campaigns pivot to the general election, voters face a choice between candidates whose differences reflect a nation split not just by political preference but also by profound social, ideological, and cultural divisions.

Senate Passes National Security Package, but Prospects Look ‘Iffy’ in House
ON FEB. 13, senators passed a national security package to provide military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The foreign-aid measure includes $95.3 billion in funding, down from the original $118.3 billion which included funds and policy provisions to secure the southern border. The so-called “Plan B” bill was supported by the White House.

Many Republicans opposed the motion, saying they wanted border measures added back into the bill.

“We should lock in an effort to make the border better,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “I think this is a really bad idea. You’re actually losing votes for Ukraine here. Some people believe that the border hasn’t been adequately addressed. I agree.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson Blames Biden for Border Crisis During Texas Visit
ON JAN. 3, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) traveled with 60 other House Republicans to Eagle Pass, Texas, to assess the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. At the same time, Republican and Democratic senators attempted to negotiate a border agreement as part of a funding package for aid to Ukraine and Israel, and border security.

“If President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it better begin by defending America’s national security,” Johnson said. “It begins right here on our southern border.”

Border Crisis Stats
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, encounters at the Southwest border in FY2023 increased over 40% since FY2021, 4% compared to FY2022, and more than 100% compared to FY2019, making last fiscal year the highest on record.

House Elects Rep. Mike Johnson as Speaker
ON OCT. 25, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected as Speaker of the House, after weeks of infighting that saw Republicans reject three nominees before turning to Johnson to end the deadlock.

Johnson received votes from all 220 Republicans present. Democrats nominated House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as speaker; he received votes from all 209 Democrats present.

“The people’s house is back in business,” Johnson said in remarks in the House chamber following his election. He thanked Republicans for their trust in him and vowed to work with Democrats where possible.

McCarthy Ousted as House Speaker, GOP Scrambles to Choose Nominee

ON OCT. 3, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted as House speaker by far-right Republicans along with Democrats, ending his nine months in the position and sending a fractious Congress into further disarray.

The ousting was set in motion by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who followed through on the threat he made to remove McCarthy if he relied on Democratic votes to pass any spending legislation—as he did to narrowly avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

McCarthy’s ousting marked the first time in U.S. history that a speaker of the House was removed from office.

Federal Deficit Explodes Even as Economy Grows

ON SEPT. 3, budget experts announced that the federal deficit is projected to roughly double this year, as bigger interest payments and lower tax receipts widen the nation’s spending imbalance despite overall economic growth.

After the government’s record spending in 2020 and 2021 to combat the impact of covid-19, the deficit dropped by the greatest amount ever in 2022, falling from close to $3 trillion to roughly $1 trillion. But rather than continue to fall to its pre-pandemic levels, the deficit then shot upward.

The federal deficit will likely rise to about $2 trillion for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group that advocates for lower deficits.

In June, the Supreme Court issued some of the biggest decisions of its term, including curtailing affirmative action in college admissions; rejecting President Biden’s plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts; and dismissing the “independent state legislature” theory, which would have given states greater power
over federal elections.

President Biden Proposes Stiff EPA Emission Limits to Boost U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales
ON APRIL 12, the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency proposed the nation’s most ambitious climate regulations to date—plans designed to ensure two-thirds of new passenger cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the United States are all-electric by 2032.

The new rules would require nothing short of a revolution in the U.S. auto industry. The Biden administration is proposing to crack down on vehicle pollution with tailpipe emission limits so tough they will compel automakers to ensure two out of every three cars and light trucks sold in 2032 are electric models. 

The government’s challenge to automakers is monumental. Last year, all-electric vehicles accounted for just 5.8 percent of new cars sold in the United States.

U.S. TikTok Ban Legislation Advances in House

ON MARCH 1, Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee forced through a bill that could effectively ban TikTok from all mobile devices in the U.S. despite united opposition from Democrats.

“Everybody knows what TikTok is,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the bill’s sponsor. “It’s too dangerous to be on our phones as members of Congress. It’s too dangerous to be on our children’s phones. That’s the whole point of this bill.”

The committee ultimately advanced Rep. McCaul’s DATA Act, H.R.1153, by a vote of 24 to 16, with all Democrats voting no.