WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Wednesday released the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted to repeal the U.S. Department of Education’s regulation that rescinded protections for students who were defrauded by for-profit colleges. In 2018, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed a significant rollback of the “borrower defense” rule, making it much harder for students who were misled by colleges and left with mounting debt but no career pathways matching their education to receive the relief they deserve.  

“The Department of Education is supposed to help students—not hurt them. Secretary DeVos and President Trump have been on a crusade over the past three years to protect the interests of predatory for-profit colleges and corporations at the expense of vulnerable students. That’s just wrong,” said Murphy. “I’ve heard from people in Connecticut who were trying to do the right thing by getting an education to better themselves, and are now crippled by massive debt accumulated while attending these for-profit institutions. They need debt relief fast. Today, Republicans and Democrats joined together to say enough is enough. The ball is now in the court of the president and Secretary DeVos. They can either stand with the millions of Americans who have been scammed by these for-profit institutions or they can continue to side with corporations."

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