10.16.18

Rep. Mark Takano Statement on Court Decision Regarding Borrowers’ Defense Rule

WASHINGTON – Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released the following statement after a U.S. District Court judge denied an injunction that would have reversed a rule promulgated in 2016 to protect student loan borrowers from misleading, deceitful, and predatory practices:

“Today’s court decision on the 2016 borrowers’ defense rule is a major victory for students across the United States.  The court’s ruling has permitted these much-needed consumer protections to take effect at noon today, putting an end to further delays of the rule’s implementation by Secretary DeVos and her industry backers.

“More than 20,000 borrowers throughout California stand to benefit from today’s ruling.  Borrowers’ defense was created to provide the framework through which students can seek debt relief if they attended fraudulent for-profit colleges – such as Corinthian Colleges – using taxpayer dollars.  We have waited far too long for students who have been cheated to be able to seek relief from the tremendous debt burden caused by predatory for-profit colleges.  I applaud the court’s ruling and urge the Department of Education to faithfully implement the rule as we aggressively pursue for-profit institutions that have adopted the exploitation of students as a core business model.”

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