Consumer Protection
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Thursday defended her decision to move ahead with partial loan forgiveness for students defrauded by for-profit colleges, pushing back on criticism from Democrats over her approach.
We're closing in on year three since the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) was tasked with canceling federal student loans for thousands of consumers. These students were victimized by predatory for-profit colleges like Corinthian Colleges, which, at its peak, operated more than 100 campuses in the U.S. and Canada.
Tensions ran high at a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on Thursday, where Democrats questioned U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos about her implementation of the borrower's defense rule, the provision that allows loan forgiveness for defrauded students.
Two-year-old memos took center stage at a House Education Committee hearing on Thursday where Education Secretary Betsy Devos defended her position to only issue partial relief to some students who were defrauded by their schools.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos endured a withering barrage of questions on Thursday about her handling of a program meant to provide debt relief to federal student loan borrowers who say they were defrauded by for-profit colleges.
The education secretary said "many students" got "a valuable education" from for-profit colleges as officials planned a round of notifications to applicants for full relief, 95 percent denials.
Healthcare professionals, advocates, and families impacted by diabetes say the cost to treat diabetes in Oregon continues to increase.
According to a study by Quote Wizard, Oregon diabetics have the eighth highest average annual medical expenses in the nation.
Oregon Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici says the source of the soaring prices starts with the cost of medication, Insulin in particular.
Two lawmakers from Oregon are looking into how much people with diabetes pay for the insulin they need.
Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced the End Price Gouging for Insulin Act following a report prepared for fellow Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici found that people in the region pay about $1,000 more a year on insulin than people in other countries — a "rip-off" according to Merkley.
Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced legislation to end "exorbitant price hikes" on insulin.
The End Price Gouging for Insulin Act comes as a new report highlights the high cost of insulin in Northwest Oregon.
The report, produced for U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, found that Medicare beneficiaries in the region pay more than $1,000 more per year in out-of-pocket costs for some diabetes medications than people in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.