Jason S. Miyares
Attorney General of Virginia

Image of the Virginia AG Seal

Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of the Attorney General

Mark Herring
Attorney General

202 North Ninth Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

 

For media inquiries only, contact:  
Charlotte Gomer, Press Secretary
Phone: (804)786-1022 
Mobile: (804) 512-2552
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STATEMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL MARK R. HERRING

~ On the Department of Education's announcement they will cancel $150 million in student loan debt ~

Attorney General Mark R. Herring issued the below statement following the Department of Education's announcement that they will be canceling $150 million in student loan debt connected to for-profit colleges that had closed in recent years. This announcement comes following a lawsuit AG Herring and 19 state attorneys general filed last year against Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and DOE for rescinding the Borrower Defense Rule and abandoning critical federal protections for student borrowers and taxpayers, as well as a letter from AG Herring and fellow state attorneys generaldemanding that Sec. DeVos and DOE process loan forgiveness applications for the 23,000 students who had already been approved. In Virginia, at least 5,000 students were eligible for loan forgiveness based on their attendance at the now defunct Corinthian Colleges schools.

 

"Canceling student loan debt for thousands of students who were taken advantage of by for-profit colleges is a win for student loan borrowers across the country, but it is disappointing that it took a court order for Secretary DeVos to do the right thing,” said Attorney General Herring. "The Trump Administration has shown time and again that they are more concerned with protecting for-profit colleges than taking care of students and student loan borrowers. I will continue to fight to protect student borrowers from predatory lenders, for-profit schools and the Trump Administration's negligent policies.”

 

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