FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 11, 2017
Contact: James Hallinan (505) 660-2216
Albuquerque, NM – This afternoon, Attorney General Hector Balderas released a statement in response to an announcement by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to revoke guidance that would reform the student loan servicing industry to better protect and assist millions of student loan borrowers across the country.
“With today’s announcement, President Trump and Secretary DeVos have turned their backs on New Mexico’s students who are working to better their lives,” said
Attorney General Balderas. “I am extremely concerned that this decision sends the wrong message to student loan servicers and that it will encourage more predatory lending practices. My Consumer and Environmental Protection Division is working hard to protect New Mexicans from predatory student loans and to hold the bad actors in the for-profit education industry accountable when they harm New Mexicans.”
Attorney General Balderas supported the guidance issued last year by the Department of Education that would have required student loan servicers to reform poor practices that led to many students struggling to repay their loans or entering into default, despite the availability of many affordable income-based repayment plans.
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