HARTFORD – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined 28 Senate Democrats in urging U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. John King to create strong protections and a streamlined path to debt relief for student loan borrowers in the Department’s forthcoming “borrower defense” rule. In their letter, the senators reinforced the need to ban mandatory arbitration—which limits students’ legal rights—in school enrollment agreements, and to eliminate the federal student loan debt of any student who is the victim of unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices in higher education. The letter also calls for giving students the right to use state consumer protection laws to receive relief and hold institutions accountable. 

“We believe strongly that it is time to improve the accountability system for our colleges and universities that collectively receive $150 billion in federal student aid revenue each year,” the Senators wrote. “This rule is a significant opportunity for the Department to improve upon proposals that were presented to negotiators and to further strengthen the outcome for students…We strongly encourage you to hold colleges accountable by banning mandatory arbitration requirements as a condition of the receipt of federal taxpayer dollars.”

During a negotiated rulemaking process this spring, negotiators discussed various proposals for how to provide defrauded borrowers with debt relief but were unable to reach agreement. The Department is now charged with producing a draft rule by July 1 and a final regulation by November 1 that goes into effect next year. 

In addition to Murphy and Blumenthal, the Senate letter was signed by: U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I,), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

A similar letter was sent to Secretary King by 13 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The list of cosigners in the U.S. House includes: Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio), Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Katherine M. Clark (D-Mass.), Mark Desaulnier (D-Calif.), and Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.).