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

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this action to overturn Secretary DeVos' misguided policy against defrauded students.

Predatory, for-profit colleges are scamming students and taxpayers out of millions of dollars. Secretary DeVos is helping them to get away with it.

I held an oversight hearing in my Committee on Appropriations subcommittee, and what did we find? While accounting for only 9 percent of all students enrolled in post-secondary education, predatory, for- profit colleges account for 34 percent of all defaults.

Under Secretary DeVos' new rule, students may not receive the financial relief that they deserve and are entitled to under the borrower defense to repayment provision of the Higher Education Act.

While the Obama administration created a streamlined process to help students access the relief, the Trump administration is making it nearly impossible.

Under the Secretary's new rule, if borrowers cannot prove the school intentionally defrauded them or if they cannot file their claim fast enough or if they cannot document their exact financial harm, they lose out. As little as 3 percent of eligible debt will be forgiven now.

With the Secretary's rule, what little relief there is will likely be shouldered by taxpayers, not the schools that are committing the fraud. It is wrong.

In Connecticut, 1,100 defrauded students are waiting to be made whole. They need help, not Secretary DeVos' cruel policy.

We must pass this Congressional Review Act resolution and stop her.

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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