In an interview with Chris Ryan, the Representative from New Hampshire’s First Congressional District, Chris Pappas, discusses President Biden’s promise to reopen schools for in person learning within the first 100 days of his term, evaluates proposed solutions to the student loan debt problem, assesses the many ambitious proposals being made by the Biden Administration in its first 100 days, and puts forward the aspects of immigration reform that he thinks should be included in US Citizenship Act of 2021
Congressman Pappas discussed the many difficulties which might prevent President Biden from fulfilling his promise to reopen all the schools: the federal government has limited authority over local schools; and not enough money was allocated for schools in the last COVID relief act. The Congressman is hopeful that the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill will have provisions for safely reopening schools.
Senators Warren and Sanders have proposed student loan forgiveness of up to $50,000, and President Biden has proposed $10,000. Congressman Pappas is in favor of a moratorium on debt collection during the pandemic, and he thinks that $10,000 is a good place to start. However, he believes that the issue deserves more study.
Congressman Pappas is confident that Congress has the ability to multitask and can work simultaneously on immigration reform, climate change, COVID Relief, education, etc. The Congressman considers COVID Relief to be the highest priority item on the Congressional To Do List.
The US Citizenship Act of 2021, according to Chris Pappas should have bipartisan support and should include the following: the children of unauthorized immigrants, who are known as the Dreamers, will be given a pathway to citizenship; our doors will be open to people seeking asylum in the United States; and our worker visa programs should be updated to provide employment needs.