Advisory for Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mike Pierce, executive director of Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulator, will testify on Wednesday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). The hearing, titled “The State of Higher Education,” will be the first Senate HELP Committee hearing dedicated to examining a broad range of issues in higher education.
Mike Pierce’s testimony will sound the alarms on how the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans’ tax bill will drastically raise education costs for tens of millions of working families. Mike’s testimony will spotlight:
- The human cost of the Trump Administration’s student loan policies, including through borrower stories and evidence that 1-in-12 U.S. adults will experience immediate, negative financial harm.
- Why Trump’s Project 2025 vision for higher education is a major threat to the U.S. economy.
- A “carnival of corruption” at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that will allow companies like MOHELA, which are paid billions by ED, to avoid accountability for failing borrowers.
- How House Republicans’ radical higher education bill, which would slash Pell Grants and other critical aid, would reduce college access and squeeze state budgets.
- The dangers of a lurking private student loan industry, ready to pounce on the opportunities provided by the education policies laid out by Trump and his allies in Congress.
To arrange time to speak with Mike before or after the hearing, email press@protectborrowers.org
View a copy of Mike’s written testimony here.
What: Senate HELP Committee hearing, “The State of Higher Education”
When: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 10 AM ET
Where: 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington D.C. | Livestream will be available here.
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About Student Borrower Protection Center
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) is a nonprofit organization focused on eliminating the burden of student debt for millions of Americans. We engage in advocacy, policymaking, and litigation strategy to rein in industry abuses, protect borrowers’ rights, and advance racial and economic justice.
Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow SBPC on Twitter @theSBPC.