February 21, 2019
The “borrower defense” rule was issued in 1995 to help students entering into a financial agreement with an academic institution. It has since been updated to protect against predatory practices and includes safeguards to establish school accountability measures, prohibit forced arbitration agreements that limit students' legal rights, and strengthen the ability to file class action lawsuits. Under Secretary DeVos, the Department continues to seek to collect on the loans of students who have been defrauded and has offered limited relief to students who have submitted claims.
“Seeking an education is an opportunity for a better life, but instead of moving forward, many students cheated or defrauded by schools are left with massive debt and without the career options that they were promised,” the senators wrote. “Students should never have to worry about predatory practices from academic institutions as they look to improve their lives and career prospects through postsecondary education. We urge you to immediately communicate the status of implementing the borrower defense rule and providing relief to affected students.”
Since joining the Senate, Senator Warren has made strong oversight of the U.S. Education Department's student loan program a top priority. She has been a champion for students, fighting to create more opportunities for young people and protect America’s students from fraudulent for-profit colleges and predatory student loan companies. She:
Warren Joins Klobuchar and Senate Colleagues in Letter Pressing Department of Education to Address Backlog of Student Loan Forgiveness Requests
The Department continues to fight to collect on the loans of—and limit relief to—students who have been defrauded by predatory colleges
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in a letter pressing the Department of Education to immediately address the backlog of federal student loan forgiveness requests from borrowers impacted by predatory practices. Also joining in this effort are Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY..), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).
The “borrower defense” rule was issued in 1995 to help students entering into a financial agreement with an academic institution. It has since been updated to protect against predatory practices and includes safeguards to establish school accountability measures, prohibit forced arbitration agreements that limit students' legal rights, and strengthen the ability to file class action lawsuits. Under Secretary DeVos, the Department continues to seek to collect on the loans of students who have been defrauded and has offered limited relief to students who have submitted claims.
“Seeking an education is an opportunity for a better life, but instead of moving forward, many students cheated or defrauded by schools are left with massive debt and without the career options that they were promised,” the senators wrote. “Students should never have to worry about predatory practices from academic institutions as they look to improve their lives and career prospects through postsecondary education. We urge you to immediately communicate the status of implementing the borrower defense rule and providing relief to affected students.”
Since joining the Senate, Senator Warren has made strong oversight of the U.S. Education Department's student loan program a top priority. She has been a champion for students, fighting to create more opportunities for young people and protect America’s students from fraudulent for-profit colleges and predatory student loan companies. She:
- Stood up for students cheated by for-profit colleges and fought to get their loans forgiven – tax-free – and successfully advocated for strong protections from predatory practices for all students;
- Secured three-quarters of a billion dollars in debt relief for students who were cheated, including 4,500 Massachusetts students and more than 28,000 students across the country;
- Called for the investigation of Secretary DeVos’s decision to reinstate failed accreditor ACICS;
- Passed bipartisan legislation that benefits student borrowers and taxpayers and is holding student loan companies and banks that cheat students accountable;
- Fought for additional federal funding for student loan forgiveness for police officers, teachers, firefighters, and others in public service;
- Released new evidence of Navient student loan malfeasance and called on Navient CEO to explain findings of previously undisclosed audit; and
- Worked with her Senate colleagues to examine and address disproportionate student debt burden among borrowers of color.
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