Harkin Statement on Servicemember Loan Abuses by Sallie Mae

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after today’s law enforcement announcement against Sallie Mae for violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

“As Chairman of the Senate’s education committee, I am dismayed to learn of the problems and practices identified in the settlement reached today between the Department of Justice and Sallie Mae.  Our servicemembers, who have been systematically denied the benefits to which they are entitled under the law and which were put in place to ensure they have an affordable education, deserve better. Today’s settlement only strengthens my resolve to put in place strong rules to ensure that all borrowers, especially those that sacrifice so much for this nation, are better protected from these abuses.  While some of these bad actors might think that they are too big to fail, I am committed to ensuring that student loan borrowers are no longer too small to ignore.”  

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