Washington, DC — Following an announcement by the Department of Education that it will forgive $500 million in loans for 18,000 student borrowers who were misled or defrauded by the for-profit chain ITT Technical Institute, Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Marietta), a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, released the following statement applauding the decision:

“Since coming to Congress, I have fought on behalf of student borrowers to make sure there is a quick and fair process to secure financial relief when an institution misleads them. It is why I introduced the Relief for Defrauded Students Act, so that we could protect the success of our students as they pursue higher education. Today, I applaud the Biden Administration and the Education Department for taking another step in providing relief for students, many of them veterans who have served our country, who were defrauded by predatory institutions.

“I’m grateful that thousands of students from ITT will finally receive the relief they deserve through the borrower defense program. We will continue our work in the Committee on Education and Labor and with the Department to deliver relief to student borrowers, protect the wellbeing of all our students, make sure that future generations are protected from institutions who cannot and will not deliver on their promises."

McBath has been a strong advocate on behalf of students who have been defrauded and misled by institutions of higher education following the March 2019 closure of the Argosy University campus in the Sixth District that left 1,500 students without a transferrable degree or loan forgiveness. She introduced legislation to make permanent the Obama-era borrower defense program that allows for relief for student borrowers, and the bill was included in the landmark College Affordability Act.