This morning, the House will consider H.J. Res. 76, a resolution that would overturn the Education Department’s efforts to assist students who have been defrauded by colleges and universities while also protecting taxpayer interests.
On the House floor, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Republican Leader of the Education and Labor Committee, delivered the following remarks (as prepared for delivery):
"Any school that has taken advantage of students must be held accountable. Students who have been lied to and suffered financial harm are entitled to relief and forgiveness.
"We can and should have bipartisan agreement on these points.
"Sadly, Democrats have a long track record of pursuing radical ideological objectives at the expense of taxpayers, students, and schools. Today, it is clear that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are more interested in tearing down the Trump administration than providing real solutions.
"Before I touch upon the advantages of the Trump administration’s new rule, I’d like to provide some context on the previous administration’s borrow defense rule, and its many shortcomings.
"The Obama administration’s over zealous political actions created a dangerous domino effect.
"In 2016, during the final months of his presidency, President Obama implemented a borrow defense regulation that was irresponsible, drastically exceeded the scope of current practice and came with the shocking price tag of $42 billion dollars.
"The Obama regulations blurred the line between fraud and inadvertent mistakes made by schools.
"The difference between the two is critical because the Education Department can levy significant financial penalties on institutions found to engage in fraud, which can cause a school to have to close despite no intentional wrongdoing. Most schools do not have a reckless disregard for the truth.
"With this flawed rule in place, many schools could face harsh financial penalties forcing them to close, leaving millions of students without access to their higher education opportunity.
"In fact, several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) wrote to President Obama’s Education Secretary John King Jr. with concern about Obama’s borrower defense rule. Their letter stated, 'In fact, the proposed regulation language could undermine the financial viability of a number of academic institutions and could possibly bankrupt less-financially secured colleges and universities.'
"In the end, the Obama regulations created more chaos than clarity and encouraged tens of thousands of borrowers, whether they were harmed or not, to apply to have their loans forgiven. This was nothing more than a political move by the left to provide a backdoor scheme to hand out free education. So, it is not surprising that claim filings for loan forgiveness went from 59 submitted in the first 20 years to roughly 300,000 claims submitted in the last five years.
"President Trump realized quickly that placing a $42 billion burden on the backs of taxpayers was not the answer, and his administration made it a priority to halt the Obama-era regulation from going into effect.
"The Trump administration worked to instill some common sense into the rulemaking process.
"As a result, the administration produced a rule with clearer standards for borrower defense and increased transparency for both students and institutions. Among other benefits the new rule:
- Makes sure students who have been lied to and suffered financial harm receive relief;
- Reduces the cost of the 2016 Obama-era regulations by $11 billion because it helps students go to and complete their education rather than indiscriminately closing schools;
- Holds all institutions, not just for-profit colleges, accountable for misrepresentations instead of picking winners and losers at considerable cost to taxpayers;
- Ensures due process for all parties;
- Extends the look-back window to qualify for closed school loan discharges from 120 to 180 days so when schools close more students are eligible for forgiveness; and
- Allows for arbitration, which could result in borrowers recovering resources not provided by the Education Department such as cash payments or other expenses.
"Bottom line, the Trump administration’s borrower defense rule protects student borrowers, holds all higher education institutions accountable, and saves taxpayers $11 billion.
"The American people sent us to Washington to work together and solve important issues. Our constituents would be far better served if the Democrat Majority used their time to find real solutions to our nation’s issues instead of continuing to lament the 2016 election results.
"Republicans stand ready to provide relief to students who have been harmed by fraud, and the borrower defense rule issued by the Trump administration is the answer.
"I encourage my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to do away with the political blame game so we can move forward and work in a bipartisan manner to address issues facing Americans."
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