In the News

During a virtual event led by advocacy group Student Borrower Protection Center on Tuesday, Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal joined to speak on the issues that arise when student-loan borrowers default — or fall behind — on their debt payments.

Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, makes the case that clawbacks violate consumer-protection laws, particularly those forbidding unfair lending and debt collection practices, and he’s been eager to find the right case to test his theories. “You have this other body of rights and protections,” he...

“Congress is having a lot of challenges on getting bipartisan consensus on a lot of reforms," Persis Yu, policy director and managing counsel at the advocacy group Student Borrower Protection Center said. “The political system, as it is, is unlikely to bring about a lot of these reforms through Congress...

The U.S. Department of Education has also not made good on many of its promises, said Persis Yu, policy director for the Student Borrower Protection Center.

Persis Yu, policy director and managing counsel at the Student Borrower Protection Center, said in a statement that "distressed federal student loan borrowers are left waiting for President Biden to make good on his promise of delivering relief."

A coalition of over 130 organizations wrote to President Biden on Thursday, urging him to extend temporary student loan forgiveness initiatives and the student loan pause that are set to end within a matter of weeks.

The number of applicants actually receiving loan relief from PSLF has been low. "Just 1 in 5 of the 1.3 million borrowers pursuing debt discharge through PSLF are on track to see relief by 2026, according to a September report by the Student Borrower Protection Center."

"...recent analysis from the advocacy group Student Borrower Protection Center found that while 9 million public servants were eligible for student-loan forgiveness, only 2% of them had gotten their debt wiped out since November 2020 — and fewer than 15% had filed paperwork to track their PSLF progress."

“The borrowers are just screwed,” Ben Kaufman said, director of research and investigations at the Student Borrower Protection Center. “They are made to be catnip for these scammers.”

“We’ve seen, throughout the 14 years, so many people set back by administrative hurdles and burdens [within the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program], not knowing they had access to this program or being told they couldn’t get access even though they worked in qualified employment,” said Kat Welbeck, Civil Rights Counsel...