Moments ago, the United States Senate voted to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, joining the House of Representatives to reject the Trump Administration’s borrower defense rule with bipartisan majorities in both chambers. This Congress’ bipartisan rejection of the administration’s borrower defense rule is especially noteworthy, given the current partisan gridlock in Washington.

The rejected rule would make it more difficult for defrauded borrowers to obtain relief afforded them under federal law. For instance, the rule would remove the ability of defrauded borrowers to seek relief as a group, cut the period of time borrowers can pursue a claim in half from six to three years, impose an undue burden of proof for borrowers to show institutions willfully defrauded them, and remove the ability to pursue an appeal of a denied claim.

Following the rejection of the new borrower defense rule by Congress, Dr. Kyle Southern, Higher Education Policy and Advocacy Director for Young Invincibles, issued the following statement:

“In an exceedingly rare move for this Congress, members of both parties have taken a stand for defrauded student borrowers. Leaders from both sides of the aisle, including Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, came together today around the shared belief that protecting defrauded borrowers is more important than empowering deceptive schools. We thank every member of Congress who stood by the strength of their convictions to reject this attempt to weaken borrower protections.

In a Congress that can’t agree on much of anything, the fact that bipartisan majorities of both chambers would strike down this rule should be a clear sign to the Trump Administration that they need to reverse course. President Trump needs to sign this resolution immediately and commit his administration to improving the current borrower defense rule rather than gutting its ability to protect student borrowers.”

The Borrower Defense Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval will now go to President Trump’s desk to be signed or vetoed.

On behalf of borrowers nationwide, Young Invincibles thanks Senator Dick Durbin for leading the charge to protect defrauded students. We are also grateful to have joined dozens of advocacy groups, including Veterans Education Success and Student Veterans of America, in urging Members of Congress to pass the resolution with bipartisan support in both chambers.