Providing for Congressional Disapproval of Rule Submitted By Department of Education Relating to ``Borrower Defense Institutional Accountability''

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.J. Res. 76.

I do agree with my colleagues across the aisle that as Members of Congress it is our job to ensure accountability over how taxpayer dollars are spent, and that is a very important aspect of our job here. And when tax dollars flow to an institution of higher education that has not lived up to its promises made to students, then defrauded individuals do deserve a transparent process to seek relief and have their student loans discharged.

Under Secretary DeVos' leadership, the U.S. Department of Education's new borrower defense rule replaces a flawed process with one that is fair for taxpayers and is fair for students. The new rule establishes a defined standard for borrower defense to repayment, clearing up years of confusion that has left students in financial hardship and schools exposed to increased risk of closure despite no intentional misrepresentation.

The Trump administration's rule also strengthens opportunities for relief for students who were misled by a school by expanding the window of time that students have to discharge their loans. But most importantly, this process, which was developed over many months and with stakeholder engagement through every step of the way, strengthened accountability on all institutions of higher education by ensuring that each and every school is held to the same standard, not just the taxpaying for-profit institutions.

Despite all of these commonsense measures, today's CRA seeks to move us backwards simply to undermine the Trump administration while preventing students from making educational choices that best meet their needs.

H.J. Res. 76 will repeal the Trump administration's rule to reinstate the flawed, confusing standards that were implemented in 2016. That rule, the Obama-era borrower defense rule, ignored due process, lowered the standard of proof, and left taxpayers on the hook for forgiving student loans to the tune of $42 billion regardless of an individual claim's merit.

The Trump administration's thorough methodology for borrower defense claims ensures any and every student will have a pathway to have their student loans discharged if they have been defrauded while protecting taxpayer dollars from massive loan forgiveness schemes. In fact, this new rule is estimated to save taxpayers $11 billion.

It is critical that we leave this rule in place to protect students and taxpayers alike. I urge my colleagues to place commonsense policy above politics and oppose this misguided CRA that ultimately will harm all Americans.

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