Congresswoman Barbara Lee Blasts DeVos' Predatory Borrower Defense Rule

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.J.RES. 76, a resolution protecting defrauded students by immediately blocking Secretary DeVos' harmful Borrower Defense Rule.

"Students defrauded by predatory, for-profit colleges are often left with crushing debt, useless degrees, and none of the job opportunities they were promised.

"Yet, Secretary DeVos has refused to help these students, and instead is enriching these dangerous for-profit colleges. Since taking office, Secretary DeVos has refused to provide relief to borrowers defrauded by their colleges, eliminated key consumer protections in higher education, and weakened safeguards that prevent low-quality schools from receiving billions in taxpayer dollars.

"That's why we took action to ensure defrauded students get relief and to stop Secretary DeVos from shifting the cost from predatory, for-profit colleges to taxpayers. With this vote, we are working to reverse DeVos' latest giveaway to predatory schools. Under the new DeVos rule, defrauded borrowers can be denied relief even in cases when predatory schools clearly violate the law. For the few borrowers who get relief, the cost will likely be paid by taxpayers, not the schools that committed fraud.

"Make no mistake: Secretary DeVos never should have been confirmed. This is yet another example in a long line of policies she has enacted that prioritize her wealthy friends over our students. We must keep fighting back against her dangerous and disastrous policies and ensure that everyone has access to high- quality, affordable education."

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