Despite having his student loan forgiveness program shut down by the Supreme Court, President Biden is plowing ahead with plans to wipe out the debt of student borrowers.
On Wednesday, the Department of Education (DOE) announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has approved the cancelation of $72 million in federal student loan debt “for more than 2,300 students who applied for relief from loans they took out to attend Ashford University (Ashford), which was an online for-profit school based in San Diego.”
The approvals followed a review by the DOE of “evidence presented by the California Department of Justice during a successful lawsuit brought against Ashford and its parent company, Zovio, Inc. (Zovio), which resulted in a judgment against both entities in March 2022.”
“Based upon evidence presented in that lawsuit, which covered the period from March 1, 2009, through April 30, 2020, the Department concluded Ashford and Zovio made numerous substantial misrepresentations during that period that borrowers relied upon to their detriment,” the DOE stated. “The approved claims are from borrowers who enrolled in Ashford during this period and filed applications for borrower defense with allegations corroborated by these findings.”
“As the California Department of Justice proved in court, Ashford relied extensively on high-pressure and deceptive recruiting tactics to lure students,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “Today we are protecting the students who were cheated by Ashford, and we will also hold the perpetrators accountable, protect taxpayers, and deter future wrongdoing.”
As BizPac Review reported, in July, Biden snubbed the Supreme Court and announced he would be erasing $39 billion in federal student loans.
The DOE announced at the time that it “will begin notifying more than 804,000 borrowers that they have a total of $39 billion in federal student loans that will be automatically discharged in the coming weeks.”
Biden goes ahead and forgives $39 BILLION in student loans, SCOTUS be damned https://t.co/wxJu01udqB via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) July 14, 2023
According to CNN, “Altogether, the Biden administration has approved the cancellation of more than $116 billion of student loan debt for over 3.4 million people – about 1.1 million of whom are borrowers who were misled by a for-profit college and granted relief under a program known as borrower defense to repayment.”
In Wednesday’s press release, the DOE vowed it “will also review the evidence to examine whether members of Ashford’s management and leadership took actions that violated Federal laws or regulations and threatened the integrity of the federal student financial aid programs.”
“If the evidence shows they did,” the DOE stated, “the Department may pursue appropriate remedies to enforce those rules.”
“What Ashford University did to its students was unconscionable and illegal. That’s why the California Department of Justice took Ashford and its parent company to court. Ultimately, we prevailed, securing more than $22 million in penalties,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “I want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration for changing the lives of thousands of former Ashford students today. They have lived a nightmare for too long. I encourage other individuals who took out federal student loans to attend Ashford, and were subject to its deceptive or misleading tactics, to apply for relief from the U.S. Department of Education as soon as possible.”
“Our Administration approved $72 million in debt relief for more than 2300 borrowers who were deceived by Ashford University,” Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on X on Wednesday. “The student loan system has failed borrowers, but @POTUS and I will never stop fighting to make college more affordable and for debt relief for borrowers.”
Our Administration approved $72 million in debt relief for more than 2300 borrowers who were deceived by Ashford University.
The student loan system has failed borrowers, but @POTUS and I will never stop fighting to make college more affordable and for debt relief for borrowers.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) August 30, 2023
Her post drew immediate backlash from furious taxpayers.
“You also heaped billions of dollars of colossal debt on taxpayers who didn’t sign up to repay the loans,” wrote one user on X.
You also heaped billions of dollars of colossal debt on taxpayers who didn’t sign up to repay the loans. ♂️ pic.twitter.com/Rn5OSs4pxp
— DryOldFox (@DryOldFox1) August 31, 2023
If the loans were so toxic, shouldn’t Ashford University give the money back instead of burdening the tax payers? https://t.co/uRUR5N7Awt
— Tony Morocco (@AJMorocco) August 31, 2023
The Biden administration doesn’t have the constitutional right to cancel student loans.
SCOTUS already ruled on this.
Moreover, it’s wrong to use US tax dollars to bail out deadbeat students who didn’t manage their finances responsibly.
Biden is trying to buy votes again.
— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) August 30, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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