Durbin Joins Warren To Urge Navient To Reform Flawed Process To Cancel Student Loans Pushed Onto Borrowers Attending Fraudulent, For-Profit Colleges

08.08.24

Durbin Joins Warren To Urge Navient To Reform Flawed Process To Cancel Student Loans Pushed Onto Borrowers Attending Fraudulent, For-Profit Colleges

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), U.S. Representatives Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), and 30 lawmakers in sending a letter urging student loan servicer Navient to reform its flawed process to cancel the private student loans of borrowers who attended fraudulent, for-profit colleges. The lawmakers argued that ??under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Holder Rule and due to Navient's misconduct, the company is liable for these predatory loans-and the school misconduct discharge application it has set up to relieve them is opaque and insufficient.

On April 17, 2024, Durbin joined Warren and seven other Senators in writing to Navient, urging the servicer to cancel private student loans pushed onto borrowers attending fraudulent, for-profit colleges that the servicer is responsible for. In its response, dated May 8, 2024, Navient claimed that it is "committed to canceling all loans that meet the Holder Rule criteria," but refused to share basic information about its cancellation process, or how many of its loans are eligible for cancellation, raising concerns that Navient may be improperly denying relief to defrauded borrowers.

"Navient's evasive response, paired with recent reporting on Navient's latest version of the misconduct application, suggests that Navient appears to be narrowly defining the criterion foreligibility," wrote the lawmakers in today's letter. "Navient should cancel all of the fraudulent debts for borrowers who have been harmed by this misconduct, all of whom Navient is able to identify without an application."

The lawmakers raised three primary concerns around Navient's conduct. First, Navient appears to be improperly rejecting applications by narrowly defining and inaccurately determining which borrowers-and which types of loans-are eligible for cancellation under the Holder Rule. Second, Navient is providing insufficient information to borrowers in its denials, making it harder forborrowers to exercise their rights to appeal. Third, Navient's response fails to address the fact that, beyond the FTC's Holder Rule, the company's misconduct itself is a basis for cancellation of these loans.

"It is disappointing that Navient has refused to divulge basic information regarding the loans in its portfolio that are eligible for cancellation under the Holder Rule and due to Navient's misconduct-and disgraceful that you appear to be evading your responsibility to cancel them," concluded the lawmakers. "As previously requested, Navient should conduct a group discharge for all debts involving fraudulent schools."

The lawmakers requested that Navient respond to questions about the servicer's conduct by August 22, 2024.

U.S. Senators Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Bernard Sanders (I-VT) joined the letter.

U.S. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), Becca Balint (D-VT), Nikema Williams (D-GA-05), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS-02), Dwight Evans (D-PA-03), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Val Hoyle (D-OR-04), Greg Casar (D-TX-35), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29), Alma S. Adams (D-NC-12), Summer L. Lee (D-PA-12), Katie Porter (D-CA-47), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL-24), André Carson (D-IN-07), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), James P. McGovern (D-MA-02), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29), and Seth Moulton (D-MA-06) joined the letter as well.

A copy of the letter is available here.

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