Florida
Florida Republican, Democrat team up to tackle student loan debt as Biden-Harris forgiveness bids derail
A seemingly unlikely duo is pushing for Congress to do something about ballooning college debt that’s plaguing millions of Americans.
Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., introduced a bill to cap federal student loan interest at 3% this week, and Luna told Fox News Digital that she’s already gearing up to lobby Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for a House-wide vote.
“I actually fully anticipate having that conversation in person when we return next week,” Luna said.
TRUMP AND HARRIS IN TOSS-UP RACES IN KEY SWING STATES PENNSYLVANIA, GEORGIA, NEVADA: POLL
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Jared Moskowitz are engaged in serious bipartisan talks to get a bill to limit federal student loan debt interest. (Getty Images)
She wants Johnson to fast-track the bill under a procedure known as “suspension of the rules,” which allows legislation to bypass the normal committee process in exchange for raising the threshold for passage from a simple majority to two-thirds – which both Luna and Moskowitz anticipated the bill would see.
“I think this would pass if you put this to the floor. In fact, if you bypass committee, I think this would probably get two-thirds. I mean, I think it would pass overwhelmingly,” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital.
Luna similarly said, “I think it would be really hard for any member to vote against it.”
She also suggested creating a discharge petition for the bill – a measure that would force a piece of legislation up for a vote if the petition got a majority of House lawmakers’ signatures.
KAMALA HARRIS GOES VIRAL WITH ‘CRINGE’ NEW ACCENT AT DETROIT RALLY, SPARKS ‘FOGHORN LEGHORN’ COMPARISONS
Discharge petitions rarely, if ever, succeed in forcing a House-wide vote themselves, but Luna said that just the creation of one could be enough to pressure leadership into action.
“I talk to people that are just like, ‘I am literally paying off loans from 15, 20 years ago, and because the interest rate is so high, we’re not even able to make a dent,” Luna said. “It’s turning Americans into indentured servants.”
President Biden has tried to implement broad student loan forgiveness multiple times. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
It comes after the Biden-Harris administration’s multiple attempts at mass student loan forgiveness keep getting blocked by GOP-led states and even the conservative-leaning Supreme Court. President Biden has managed to implement more narrowly targeted forgiveness measures, however.
And while Luna and Moskowitz’s opinions on Biden’s initiative differ, both said they have heard people on both sides of the aisle express a need for reform to the student debt system.
“Quite frankly, we both, we both were working on this issue in a silo, and then in a conversation one day, we both brought it up,” Moskowitz said of how their partnership on the issue came about.
KAMALA HARRIS HAS YET TO DO FORMAL PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE
“Everybody knows it’s a problem. . . . Let’s start here, where we have some common ground, where people who can’t afford an education can go get a loan, but they won’t be saddled with debt for the rest of their lives.”
Both also dismissed concerns about giving each other’s side a win during the hyper-partisan environment of an election year.
“I can’t be concerned about that, because at the end of the day, if we’re going to make progress for the American family, I’m not interested in this credit nonsense,” Moskowitz said. “If I’m out there criticizing Republicans who wanted to deny Joe Biden a win on something, I can’t then partake in that behavior myself, right?”
Both lawmakers said college and university debt is a bipartisan issue. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Luna said, “Ultimately, we as a country will take a win.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“I know that we’re in an election year, and I will say that I wish, and I hope that [Democrats] will look at this legislation not like it’s being drawn from, and passed by, the Republican body, but that, you know, it’s something that would be a net positive,” she said.
At of the end of 2023, roughly 43 million Americans shared the burden of some $1.6 trillion student loan debt in the country, according to federal data.
Nearly 95% of that debt is in federal loans, according to the Education Data Initiative, which also cited the average federal student loan interest rate as 5.99%.
Florida
Man convicted of 1991 fatal shooting of police officer is set to be executed in Florida
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
Final appeals were pending Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
Florida
Florida High School Boys Basketball 2026 Playoff Brackets, Schedule (FHSAA) – March 2, 2026
Gray Reid has spent most of his career in basketball and sports media. He began as a student manager for the Nevada men’s basketball team, then went on to coach overseas in China and later joined the LC State men’s basketball program as a graduate assistant. After coaching, Gray joined SBLive Sports as a videographer and video editor, eventually moving into his current role as Regional Marketing Director.
Florida
South Florida reacts: Mixed emotions after U.S. and Israeli strikes kill Iran’s Supreme Leader
-
World5 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts6 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO6 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oregon4 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Technology1 week agoArturia’s FX Collection 6 adds two new effects and a $99 intro version
-
News1 week agoVideo: How Lunar New Year Traditions Take Root Across America
-
Florida2 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days