Democrats in Congress Question DeVos on Relief for Defrauded Students

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.

Democrats have criticized DeVos for failing to process defrauded students' claims over an 18-month period, with more than 240,000 claims pending. Former students from Corinthian Colleges sued DeVos over their delayed loan repayments, and in October, she was held in contempt of court for mistakenly continuing to collect on loan payments against a court order.

Democrats sparred with DeVos over partial versus full loan forgiveness, repeatedly bringing up the stories of constituents who are struggling, defrauded students.

"There's literally no other consumer protection that does not restore full repayment of a fraudulent product," said Rep. Susan Davis.

Or as Rep. Suzanne Bonamici put it, the plan implies "if you're making money, you're not defrauded – that's not justice."