Bonamici Slams Mulvaney for Closing CFPB Office for Students

WASHINGTON, DC [05/09/18] – Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, a leader on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, made the following statement after Acting Director Mick Mulvaney announced that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will be closing its Office for Students and Young Consumers:

"The Trump Administration has once again shown that it cares more about corporate interests than it does about the interests of students who are trying to afford higher education. Shutting down the Office for Students and Young Consumers will diminish the consumer bureau's mission and weaken its enforcement capabilities. Since its creation, the Office for Students and Young Consumers has returned more than $750 million to students and student loan borrowers through actions against unscrupulous student loan servicers. They also helped more than 60,000 borrowers who submitted complaints about the student loan industry to the CFPB.

"This reckless and shortsighted decision by the Trump Administration has far-reaching consequences and will harm millions of students who are already struggling with debt or those who are seeking an affordable education. There are 44 million Americans who collectively owe nearly $1.5 trillion in federal student loan debt, and the number of borrowers who continue to fall into default and complaints about student loan servicers continue to increase. In January 2017, the CFPB and the Office for Students and Young Consumers sued Navient, the nation's largest student loan servicer, for misallocating payments and improperly steering borrowers away from income-based repayment plans. It is clear there is more work to be done to support and protect student loan borrowers, and the Office for Students and Young Consumers is the only office in the CFPB working for student loan borrowers. Our nation's students deserve better, and I urge Acting Director Mick Mulvaney to reverse this harmful decision."

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