Congresswoman DeLauro Applauds Biden Administration for Forgiving Billions in Debt of Defrauded Borrowers
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro today released the following statement in response to an announcement from the Biden administration’s Department of Education that they approved borrower defense claims for 560,000 borrowers:
"Predatory, for-profit colleges account for nearly one third of defaults. These institutions mislead students, pressure them into taking out costly loans, overpromise on their future earnings, and scam taxpayers and working families out of millions of dollars. We have a duty to hold these perpetrators accountable. I applaud the Biden administration and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona for cancelling all remaining loans for borrowers defrauded by Corinthian Colleges.
"Moving forward, we must ensure that bad actors cannot take advantage of vulnerable students by improving borrower defense regulations and increasing protections for students and taxpayers. I look forward to working with the Biden administration and Secretary Cardona to prevent these predatory schemes in the future."
As Chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, DeLauro has a long history of working to protect students from abusive lending practices. In March 2019, DeLauro led an appropriations oversight hearing on predatory for-profit colleges. In October 2021, DeLauro urged Cardona to establish a stronger process for recouping funds from predatory colleges. The Department later strengthened its proposed process. At the hearing for the Department of Education's FY 2023 budget request, DeLauro urged Cardona to provide more relief for groups of defrauded borrowers waiting for their borrower defense claims to be adjudicated.