Murray Statement on DeVos Rule to Cut Billions of Debt Relief from Cheated Students: “A Clear Sign That Students Cannot Rely On Secretary DeVos”

Secretary DeVos’ proposed borrower defense rule would cut $12.7 billion dollars in relief to students who were cheated or defrauded by predatory colleges

Secretary DeVos delayed a previous rule that would have provided cheated students with relief and attempted to provide students with partial relief

Murray: “For more than a year… desperate student loan borrowers pleaded with Secretary DeVos to help them with unmanageable debt, and at every turn she ignored them and instead prioritized the bottom lines of corporations”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement of a “borrower defense” rule that would cut $12.7 billion in debt relief from students who were cheated or defrauded by predatory for-profit college chains like Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech. Secretary DeVos’ proposed rule also proposes to force students to default on their loans before they are eligible for debt relief.

“For more than a year, as Secretary DeVos continued to delay and chip away at the protections guaranteed to cheated and defrauded students, desperate student loan borrowers pleaded with Secretary DeVos to help them with unmanageable debt, and at every turn she ignored them and instead prioritized the bottom lines of corporations. This rule would cut billions in debt relief to students who were simply trying to better themselves and instead were cheated out of their education and savings. This is a clear sign that students cannot rely on Secretary DeVos, and that she will continue to give predatory for-profit colleges and corporations a free pass when they mislead, cheat, and defraud students.”

Secretary DeVos repeatedly delayed an Obama Administration-era “borrower defense” rule from going into effect in order to rewrite the rule to deny cheated and defrauded students the relief they are owed.  Secretary DeVos also attempted to provide partial relief to students—a move that was blocked by a U.S. District Court.

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