Members of Congress to Secretary DeVos: Stand Up for Students and Families, Reverse Delay of Protections for Defrauded Students

WASHINGTON, DC (June 30, 2017) — Led by U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Bobby Scott (VA-03), Susan Davis (CA-53), and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) and U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Dick Durbin (D-IL), 48 Members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, slamming her recent decision to delay the "borrower defense" rule that would provide defrauded students with debt relief and hold predatory institutions accountable for cheating students across the country.

"The widespread fraud committed by Corinthian wreaked havoc on the lives of tens of thousands of students nationwide, leaving them with high levels of debt, poor job prospects, useless degrees and credentials, and in many cases no degree at all," wrote the Members. "Delaying the provisions of the borrower defense rule will be enormously detrimental to states, taxpayers, and thousands of student loan borrowers."

The "borrower defense" rule was finalized in October 2016, and was set to go into effect July 1, 2017. Ahead of this deadline, Senators Murray, Warren, Brown, and Durbin urged Secretary DeVos to stand up for students and taxpayers and fully implement the rule. The rule included further protections for students, including banning forced arbitration, automatically discharging the loans for students who attended schools that collapsed, and requiring for-profit colleges to notify prospective students of poor repayment outcomes. Additionally, the rule protects taxpayers by placing risky schools on the hook to repay students and the federal government when they close or defraud students.

The full letter is available here.