Lesser Statement On DeVos Decision To Strike Down State Laws Protecting Student Loan Borrowers

Editor's note:  Lesser makes no mention of what the interpretation is or just how it will lift "protections" for borrowers.  One thing is certain, though, it will not leave the "student loan industry 100% unregulated; the government leaves nothing unregulated.  If, as he says, this has no legal force, then why is he even talking about it?

In response to news today that the Department of Education has issued a “notice of interpretation” seeking to strike down every state law designed to protect student loan borrowers, Connecticut State Rep. Matthew Lesser, author of Connecticut’s landmark 2015 Student Loan Bill of Rights, issued the following statement:

“Betsy DeVos has her opinion and we have ours. But Betsy is flat out wrong here – wrong on the law, wrong in putting the interests of special interest student loan debt companies ahead of the 40 million Americans paying back their student loans. I’m not sure why she’s doing this – it makes zero sense to leave the student loan industry 100 percent unregulated. And the good news is her opinion has no legal effect. I have every confidence that the state of Connecticut will continue to enforce our laws vigorously.  Any student loan servicer who thinks that they’re off the hook and that they no longer have to treat borrowers in Connecticut fairly is going to be very disappointed.”

In 2015, Lesser authored the nation’s first state regulations of student loan servicing companies. Similar legislation has since been introduced or passed in dozens of states across the country. Lesser serves as the House Chairman of the General Assembly’s Banking Committee.