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Democrats Work to Roll Back Efforts to Assist Defrauded Students

Later today, the House will vote to overturn President Trump’s veto of a resolution (H.J. Res. 76) that would roll back the Education Department’s efforts to assist students who have been defrauded by colleges and universities, while also taking necessary precautions to protect taxpayer interests.
 
Background:
Borrower defense is a process to forgive the student loan debt of borrowers who attended schools found to have engaged in fraudulent misrepresentation such as false advertisements of job placement rates. In 2015, when a large for-profit school closed, the Obama administration used this opportunity to issue new regulations on borrower defense that could cost taxpayers $42 billion and encouraged tens of thousands of borrowers – whether they were harmed or not – to apply to have their loans forgiven.
 
Realizing the Obama administration got it woefully wrong, President Trump and Secretary DeVos acted quickly to protect borrowers and taxpayers and create the 2019 borrower defense rule. Among its many improvements, the 2019 rule delivers relief to ALL students, including veterans, who have suffered financial harm; saves taxpayers $11 billion; holds ALL institutions accountable for misrepresentation; preserves student choice; and ensures due process for all parties.
 
Don’t just take our word for it, here’s what others are saying:
 
From the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board:The DeVos revision would provide more due process by requiring borrowers to show they relied on misrepresentations by colleges that were made ‘with knowledge of its false, misleading, or deceptive nature.’ Bad actors could still be held accountable but, as Mr. Trump noted in his veto statement, the DeVos redo provides a ‘fair process’ and ‘needed transparency to both students and schools.’”
 
From the Society for Human Resource Management: “… the Department’s new borrower defense rules protect individual borrowers from fraud, ensures accountability across institutions of higher education, and protects taxpayers.”
 
From commentary in the Washington Times: “If the Obama version of the rule was to actually be put back into effect, taxpayers and colleges and universities would lose millions of dollars for no logical reason. These costs could break many private institutions of higher learning since state schools already enjoy greater protection. Putting such institutions out of business and creating a crisis in higher education wouldn’t be good for students, but could be used to advance the progressive desire to provide free education for all — at government-run and controlled institutions.”
 
From the Daily Signal: “Taxpayers could be on the hook for student loan payments that are discharged under the [borrower defense] rule. Given significant taxpayer exposure, the Obama-era borrower defense rule was rightly deemed by many as far too broad. DeVos has noted of that iteration, ‘All one had to do was raise his or her hand to be entitled to so-called free money.’ Importantly, the 2019 rewrite of the borrower defense to repayment rule would protect the due process rights of universities and American taxpayers from frivolous requests for student loan discharge.”
 
From the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: “Colleges around the country are struggling because of the pandemic, and some could close. Yet now Congress is creating a new threat by using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to revive an Obama rule that puts them on the hook for loans of discontented students.” 
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