[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5983-H5985]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Porter) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia 
(Mrs. McBath).
  Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the issue of college 
affordability. Too many of our students are

[[Page H5984]]

finding themselves saddled with student loan debt after attending 
predatory institutions. We cannot expect our students to repay these 
loans when they were not given the quality education and degree that 
they paid for.
  Students who pursue higher education degrees are sometimes faced with 
sudden school closures, or the institution's loss of accreditation. 
When this happens, students are often left with incredible debts, but 
no degree to show for it.
  This issue hits very close to home for me. In March, approximately 
1,500 of my constituents became all too familiar with this situation. 
Argosy University, an institution ran by Dream Center Education 
Holdings, LLC, closed, leaving its students with large debts and class 
credits they could not transfer. Student veterans were told their GI 
benefits were depleted, and that they would be unable to continue, or 
even start over, at another institution.
  That is why I am so very proud to have introduced H.R. 3662, the 
Relief for Defrauded Students Act. In 2016, the Department of Education 
issued a ruling allowing for students to have their debts relieved when 
it was found their universities severely misrepresented their services. 
My bill would codify this rule and protect students from the impacts of 
predatory institutions.
  Currently, there are over 180,000 applications for debt relief claims 
sitting at the Department of Education awaiting decisions. These 
students deserve action from the Department, not silence. H.R. 3662 
would provide them a quick and fair process for resolving these issues.
  I am happy to have introduced the Relief for Defrauded Students Act, 
along with Representatives Katie Porter, Abby Finkenauer, Cindy Axne, 
Mary Gay Scanlon, and Sharice Davids. Together, we are committed to 
protecting our students and holding these institutions accountable.
  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Georgia for her 
leadership on this issue and for being here tonight to talk about those 
defrauded students who are being hurt and suffering around this country 
and whose voices are not being heard here in Congress.

  I also rise to talk about the college affordability crisis in our 
country.
  Next week, freshmen in college and their families will be faced with 
their first tuition bill. According to the National Center for 
Education Statistics, the average cost per year is just over $19,000 
for a public 4-year university and nearly $40,000 for a private 
university. The price tag for postsecondary education is spiraling out 
of control, and the cost of college is increasing at a rate almost 
eight times faster than wages.
  Today, nearly 43 million Americans--that is one in six adults--have 
Federal student loan debt. The Federal student loan portfolio has risen 
to over $1.5 trillion, more than doubling from just a decade ago.
  Tomorrow's graduates will face an average debt of $30,000, a 
crippling amount for any young person to shoulder, before they have 
even entered the workforce. That amount of debt, that figure, increases 
every single year, while students' ability to pay off this debt does 
not.
  Even with the most generous interest rate--4 percent for Federal 
direct student loans--borrowers will owe over $300 a month on a 
standard repayment timeline of 10 years, and they will pay $6,500 in 
interest alone.
  In 2017, Young Invincibles released a report on the financial decline 
of millennials compared to baby boomers. Their findings are 
unsurprising for those of us familiar with college debt.
  Despite low unemployment and economic growth, young adults are 
significantly worse off than those in the generation before them. And 
for those students who are unable to complete their college degrees, 
the forecast is even worse. This is where the real problem lies. 
According to the Department of Education, only 56 percent of borrowers 
who left before completing their degrees are able to lift themselves 
out of that debt.
  In 2012, in my book, ``Broke: How Debt Bankrupts the Middle Class,'' 
I wrote about the financial risks of attending college, especially for 
those who are unable to complete their degrees.
  It is true that the typical worker with a bachelor's degree earns 71 
percent more than a worker with only a high school diploma. But those 
caught in the middle between the high school degree and the bachelor's 
degree are at the highest risk of financial instability.
  While the overall level of education in our country has increased, 
the largest group of people in bankruptcy remains those with some 
college.
  And let's be clear: Many of these students who are unable to complete 
degrees are not uninterested in an education. They enrolled in college 
and they wanted to earn that degree. And many would still love to 
finish their degrees. But according to the Department of Education, the 
majority of those who leave college do so because of job or financial 
demands. In fact, fewer than 8 percent of student loan debtors in 
bankruptcy reported that they left college because they did not want to 
continue their education.
  Many of these families and students face demands to care for family 
members or are unable to continue to pay their tuition or meet their 
living expenses.

                              {time}  1930

  And those who are most harmed are those who come from economically 
disadvantaged backgrounds to begin with.
  The power of Pell grants and other Federal funding streams has 
dropped dramatically as the cost of a college education has 
skyrocketed. And to make matters worse, this administration is rolling 
back protections for students attending for-profit colleges where some 
of the worst abuses have occurred.
  I recently spoke with one of my constituents, a 30-year-old man named 
Tom who lives in Irvine. Tom's parents didn't earn high school degrees. 
Not only did he want to finish high school, he wanted to get a college 
degree.
  A few years after graduating from high school, after working multiple 
jobs to make ends meet, Tom started searching for a program that would 
help him pursue his passion for graphic design.
  He found The Art Institute of California online and filled out an 
interest form. A recruiter soon called him, and he was incredibly 
excited to join the program and work toward a degree. He didn't realize 
at that time that ``anyone who could find a way to pay'' would likely 
be accepted.
  Tom explained to me that the tools and code that they taught were 
outdated and that his access to his instructors was nearly nonexistent. 
He graduated with an associate's degree and with more than $50,000 in 
debt.
  But he graduated with none of the skills that he needed for success. 
While working jobs completely unrelated to his field of study, Tom 
worked to teach himself the skills he actually needed, and today he has 
managed to become a senior designer for a digital marketing agency. But 
his student loan debt is a constant weight on his shoulders.
  He recently got married, and as he considers starting a family, he 
finds himself wondering if he will be able to financially provide for 
his children when he, himself, still owes tens of thousands of dollars.
  I recently joined with my colleagues in introducing the Relief for 
Defrauded Students Act of 2019, which would help borrowers who were 
defrauded or misled by their colleges, as the Department of Education 
Undersecretary Betsy DeVos has failed to follow through with promises 
made to protect borrowers.
  But this is not enough. As we have seen all too frequently, the 
Department of Education and Secretary DeVos cannot be trusted to 
safeguard the interests of students whom, by law, they are obligated to 
protect. Because of that, I believe that we should require information 
sharing between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the 
Department of Education and that this information sharing would help 
make sure that the consumer agency's student loan ombudsman has the 
data necessary to understand the challenges that borrowers are facing.
  That is why I introduced the CFPB Student Loan Integrity and 
Transparency Act. The bill does just what its name suggests. It 
mandates that the Department of Education and student loan servicers 
share information and cooperate with the Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau's student loan education ombudsman. That ombudsman

[[Page H5985]]

is the number one Federal official tasked with advocating for students 
struggling to repay Federal student loans.
  The bill also requires that the ombudsman's office be fully staffed 
at all times so that the office can conduct the level of oversight 
necessary to protect student borrowers.
  On the ninth anniversary of the passage of Dodd-Frank, it is time 
that we take stock of the protections of that landmark legislation that 
prevents another financial crisis. Many of these protections, the 
administration and my Republican colleagues have chosen to strip away. 
Even if piecemeal, we must reanimate those protections established 
under Dodd-Frank or we will again face the kind of dire consequences 
that fell on the shoulders of American families in 2008.
  I wrote my book, ``Broke: How Debt Bankrupts the Middle Class,'' in 
2012. That was 7 years ago. The college affordability crisis is not new 
to this country, and it is not new to this Congress. The crisis has 
been going on for years.
  While students are unable to finish their educations because of the 
financial burdens and lack of student supports, while thousands face 
bankruptcy because of the high costs of college, Congress has done 
nothing. In the 7 months that I have been here, Congress has done 
nothing.
  How much longer will we wait to address the student loan crisis? 
Because the students who are buried in debt, many from degrees that 
they were unable to finish because of financial pressure, cannot keep 
waiting.
  Every day that we do nothing, we are failing every single person in 
this country who pursues a postsecondary education. We are stifling our 
economy and actively preventing the most vulnerable people from 
achieving economic stability and success. No one in Congress, Democrat 
or Republican, should accept this. We are failing our Nation's 
students.
  As a mother of three young children, I refuse to stand by and let 
this happen. That is why I have joined with my colleague, 
Representative Jahana Hayes, to found the first-ever Congressional 
College Affordability Caucus.
  Before being elected to Congress, I was a university professor, and I 
spent nearly two decades helping consumers who were facing bankruptcy. 
The mission of the College Affordability Caucus is to convene a diverse 
group of Congress Members to discuss the main drivers of the increasing 
cost of higher education and the resulting accessibility barriers to 
students who are seeking a postsecondary degree or credential.
  The College Affordability Caucus will highlight solutions to the 
student loan default crisis, ensure that adequate guardrails are in 
place to protect every student from predatory actors, and reduce 
barriers to college completion that subsequently heighten college debt 
repayment problems for far too many students.
  As we move forward to a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, 
I hope that the College Affordability Caucus can work with other 
congressional leaders for whom this is a priority to make sure that we 
are protecting our students and ensuring that everyone has access to a 
high-quality, affordable education.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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