By Nick Gale, WLS-AM 890 News
(CHICAGO) — Attorney General Lisa Madigan Tuesday joined with 19 attorneys general and the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection to send a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos demanding the department stop its systematic roll back of critical protections for student loan borrowers.
“Secretary DeVos and the Department of Education continue to send the message that when it comes to standing up to the powerful student loan industry, students and their families are on their own,” Madigan said. “As the federal government abdicates its responsibility to students, I am committed to pushing for reforms that put borrowers before the profits of large corporations.”
Madigan and the coalition sent the letter to Secretary DeVos in response to a decision by DOE to terminate two memoranda of understanding with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that contained critical protections designed to streamline the supervision of student loan servicers. Madigan and the coalition argue that DOE’s action harms American families and makes it more difficult for the CFPB to assist and protect student borrowers.
Madigan and the coalition noted that DOE’s decision is the latest in a series of DOE actions to strip critical protections for millions of students and families repaying student loans. In justifying its decision, Madigan and the coalition argue that:
DOE falsely asserted it has exclusive jurisdiction over companies that service federal student loans when, in fact, student loan servicers are under the jurisdiction of the CFPB, Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, state attorneys general and other law enforcement agencies; and DOE misrepresents the strong work done by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on behalf of students and families across the country.
Joining Madigan in sending the letter were attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, as well as the executive director of the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection.
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