Table of Contents

Support for the Codifying SAVE Plan Act, benefiting student loan borrowers
Consumer Action endorsed Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and congressional allies’ Codifying SAVE Plan Act, proposed legislation that would codify President Biden’s new income-driven repayment program into law.

CLASS Act would give students defrauded by for-profit colleges their day in court
Advocates supported members of Congress who proposed the Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act, legislation that would prohibit a school from receiving federal student aid if it requires mandatory arbitration or otherwise restricts students’ ability to pursue claims against the school in court.

Congress should increase maximum Pell Grant award
Consumer Action was among more than 100 groups urging Congress to make college more affordable and reduce student debt burdens by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award to $13,000.

Groups urge end to taxation of Pell Grant funds
Consumer Action was among 27 organizations urging Congressional leaders to adopt the bipartisan Tax-Free Pell Grant Act, which would end taxation of Federal Pell Grant funds. Doing so would make higher education more affordable and simplify the tax code for students and families with low and middle incomes. As you assemble a year-end tax relief package, we request that Congress adopt the bipartisan Tax-Free Pell Grant Act.

Congress members and advocacy groups urge Department of Education to extend Public Service Loan Forgiveness waiver
Members of Congress and consumer advocates joined in urging the Department of Education to extend the Public Service Loan Forgiveness waiver deadline until at least July 2, 2023, in order to allow more teacher, military service members and other public servants to benefit from the program despite sloppy loan servicing that had denied many borrowers the debt relief they had earned.

The system is still broken: It’s time for income-driven repayment reform
Today, a group of 116 diverse advocacy organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration calling on U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to reform dysfunctional income-driven repayment (IDR) programs and fulfil the promise of IDR. While student loan cancellation under IDR has been possible since 2016, just 32 borrowers have ever successfully had their loans cancelled. At the same time, over 4.4 million borrowers have been in repayment for 20 years or longer, despite theoretically being able to access forgiveness via IDR after 20 years.

The system is broken: It’s time for income-driven repayment reform
A group of 104 diverse advocacy organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration, calling on U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to reform broken, dysfunctional income-driven repayment (IDR) programs with the creation of an IDR restoration project or waiver. While student loan cancellation under IDR has been possible since 2016, just 32 borrowers have ever successfully had their loans cancelled. At the same time, over 4.4 million borrowers have been in repayment for 20 years or longer, despite theoretically being able to access forgiveness via IDR.

Advocates ask the CFPB to bring back public consumer complaint narratives
Dozens of consumer, civil rights, community, housing and privacy groups urged the new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Rohit Chopra, to stop burying the complaint details (called narratives) in the agency’s consumer complaint database. Under its Trump-appointed director, Kathy Kraninger, the CFPB made it more difficult for consumers to access the most useful portion of the complaints. Burying the complaint narratives was one of many big gifts Kraninger gave to financial firms that long fought public display of the consumer-provided descriptions that reveal the unfair practices companies would rather keep hidden.

Free community college is the boost the post-COVID-19 economy needs
Coalition members penned a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer announcing their support for President Biden’s plans for free college tuition. Advocates are urging Congress to act because they recognize that President Biden’s plans for free college tuition are vital to their states’ economic recovery and workforce competitiveness. President Biden’s plans would help nearly 2 million more students go to college, generate $169 billion in additional GDP and strengthen our nation’s recovery from COVID-19.

It’s time for the Department of Education to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in higher education
Groups wrote a joint letter to the Department of Education (ED) sharing their priorities for its negotiated rulemaking process that aim to protect student loan borrowers and taxpayers from waste, fraud and abuse. Advocates asked the ED to include substantial student and borrower representation among its negotiators, and to strengthen safeguards against predatory practices by for-profit institutions by reinstating strong borrower protection regulations, like the gainful employment and borrower defense rules.