Washington, D.C. — Today, President Donald Trump issued his first veto on domestic policy matters, H.J. Res. 76, a bipartisan resolution to overturn a September 2019 regulation issued by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos that would have made it nearly impossible for defrauded borrowers to get their loans canceled. In response, Ben Miller, vice president of Postsecondary Education at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
In issuing his first domestic policy veto, President Trump and Secretary DeVos are choosing to enrich predatory for-profit colleges over justice for cheated veterans and low-income borrowers. The administration’s regulation wields legalese and bureaucracy to trap harmed borrowers in a process they have no hope of successfully completing to get their loans canceled, sending a clear message that colleges’ bad behavior will go unpunished. Congress should see this bipartisan effort through and override President Trump’s veto, especially during a pandemic when so many people are suffering.
This is yet another Trump policy meant to create barriers for the country’s most vulnerable borrowers and students. In fact, Secretary DeVos was held in contempt of court for refusing to seize collection on the loans of defrauded students. In December 2019, she implemented the use of a deeply flawed formula that would only give partial debt relief to defrauded borrowers. And as recently as last month, DeVos issued guidance that will effectively exclude as many as one-third of undergraduate veterans from coronavirus emergency relief grants.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Colin Seeberger at [email protected] or 202-741-6292.