The CFPB Has All But Declared War on the Department of Education

Finally, there’s a crack in the wall of silence at the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and this time it comes from one of President Trump’s own appointees.

Kathy Kraninger, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – the Watchdog Government Agency responsible for overseeing the Federal Government’s student loan lender, servicers and debt collectors, has accused Betsy DeVos’s Department of Education of “getting in the way of efforts to police the student loan industry”.

But this isn’t the first time we’ve heard issues from the CFPB, as previous Director Seth Frotman wrote a scathing resignation letter about the Trump Administration’s efforts to prevent CFPB from carrying out their mission on his way out the door just last year.

What Do the Experts Have to Say About This Situation?

There’s a great quote in the NPR article that’s blown the lid of this story, where Mr. Frotman comments on the political crisis, saying:

The head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is telling the world that the Secretary of Education has put in place a series of policies that are obstructing federal law enforcement officials from standing up for the millions of Americans with student debt.

Mr. Frotman may not be an impartial observer, after all, this is the man who resigned to found his own new consumer watchdog agency, called the Student Borrower Protection Center, which I covered here, but he is someone we can trust to tell the truth about this space, and someone that the Politicians should certainly be listening to.

With both the old and now new Directors of the CFPB basically at war with the Department of Education, is it any wonder that the Student Loan Crisis Continues to Get Worse?

If You’re Already Buried in Student Debt…

No matter what kind of trouble Betsy DeVos and her minions end up getting in for their wanton display of corruption, any benefits or assistance programs that eventually emerge from this will take years to go into effect.

Sitting around and waiting for someone to swoop in and save the day for you is not a good plan!

If you’re truly struggling with student debt, then you should also consider paying a Student Loan Debt Relief Agency for help. Why? Because the people working at these companies deal with student loans all day, every day, and they’re your best chance at figuring out how to get your loans back under control.

I’ve interviewed all sorts of debt relief agencies over the past 10 years, talking to all sorts of so-called “experts”, and I can tell you that in all honesty I’ve only found two companies I trust to offer actual financial relief to people struggling with student loans.

For help with FEDERAL Student Loans: Call the Student Loan Relief Helpline at 1-888-906-3065. They will review your case, evaluate your options for switching repayment plans, consolidating your loans, or pursuing forgiveness benefits, then set you up to get rid of the debt as quickly as possible.

For help with PRIVATE Student Loans: Call McCarthy Law PLC at 1-877-317-0455. They will negotiate with your lender to settle your private loans for much less than you owe, then get you a new loan for the much lower, settled amount. NOTE: McCarthy Law can ONLY help with Private student loans.

If you do decide to call one of these companies and you have a bad experience with either of them, PLEASE make sure to come back and let me know about it in the Comments!

What is Going on at the Education Department?

Betsy DeVos is no stranger to controversy; her appointment was roundly criticized as soon President Trump announced it, and she’s faced complaints at every turn as her repeated efforts to streamline DOE processes have utterly failed to win public approval, but things have gotten much worse in recent months.

Not only has it become quite clear that under her guidance, the Department of Education has all but halted issuing forgiveness and discharge benefits that people actually do deserve to be receiving, but we just found out that her DOE has also hit new record highs in collections enforcement activity, pursuing Delinquent and Defaulted Federal Student Loan Borrowers at a record pace.

I think that Ms. DeVos and her allies (the for-profit schools, student loan servicing companies and debt collection agencies) have seen the writing on the wall for President Trump’s chances of winning reelection in 2020, and are basically making a grab for every last penny that they can claim before they’re booted from office when the Democrats retake the White House.

Why else would Borrower’s Defense to Repayment Program Applications be taking over 2 years to get reviewed, and how could over 99% of candidates applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Benefits be getting rejected?

By the way, these moves come after a long history of Ms. DeVos’s Education Department outright battling with the CFPB, from forcing them to Shut Down Their Student Loan Protection Unit, to cutting off their access to important student loan data they used to track complaints about specific servicing companies.

How Could We Turn This Mess Around?

Unfortunately, it’s no easy thing to get rid of a Department Secretary, as that requires activity from the President himself, and thus far, there are zero indications signalling that Mr. Trump is in any way displeased with Ms. DeVos’s performance.

Change.org petitions have gone nowhere, repeated accusations from sitting Senators, and now 2020 Presidential Election Candidates have done nothing, and the record-setting number of complaints received by the CFPB about problems with Federal student loan servicing companies and debt collectors have basically fallen entirely on deaf ears as well.

The only way to get rid of this corrupt regime at the Department of Education is for the Democrats to retake the White House, then throw Betsy DeVos out of office. Fortunately, we’re already hearing plenty of signals that this would be one of the first things done by a few of the student loan-friendly candidates on the Democratic side, especially from Elizabeth Warren.

Elizabeth Warren’s Plan to Reform The Broken Student Loan System

Senator Warren recently announced that one of her first acts as President would be to get rid of Betsy DeVos and replace her with someone who had actual teaching experience, which is a breath of fresh air from the way these appointments have been handled in recent years, but she’s also proposed the single-most revolutionary plan for reforming student loans that’s ever been introduced.

For details about Elizabeth Warren’s stance on student debt, make sure to look at my Guide to the 2020 Presidential Election Candidate’s Views on Student Loans, as well as my Guide to Elizabeth Warren’s Student Loan Plan.

If you’re truly passionate about reforming the broken student debt system, then you might also want to review my post on Bernie Sanders’s Student Loan Proposal, which comes in 2nd to Warren’s in terms of the scale and scope of suggested changes.

Get Help With Your Loans Now!

For those of you already facing huge student loans, I’ve got good news – if you aren’t already aware of it, there are tons of benefits and financial relief programs already on offer, including tons of assistance available to people with Federal Loans, and even some for those with Private Debt.

On this site, I’ve spent the past decade building over 100 different Guides covering all parts of the repayment process, so you’re in the right spot if you’re looking to get your debt back under control.

Be sure to visit some of my other pages, where I offer extensive advice about every component of dealing with student loans, including the excellent forgiveness, discharge, cancellation and debt relief programs on offer, and you’re virtually certain to find some form of financial assistance that you can start tapping into today!

How to Deal with Federal Student Loans

For Help Dealing with Federal Student Debt, be sure to look at my Guides on:

Keep in mind that all the programs listed above are for borrowers with Federal loans. If you have Private debt, skip down to the next section instead.

How to Deal With Private Student Loans

For Help Dealing with Private Student Debt, you’ll want to view my Guides on:

Though it is much less likely that you’ll be able to access significant financial assistance for Private student loans, there are packages out there designed specifically to help with them, so don’t give up just yet!

Read through my Guides listed above, think about what you may qualify for, then if you still have questions about what you should do, post them in the Comments section below and I’ll do my best to get you a quick response.

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Email one of my Guides to your friends, family members, colleagues or fellow students! Ever little thing helps, and the more people who visit FSLD, the more time I can dedicate to updating this site, and helping people like you!

Thank you so much for your support, and thanks for visiting. Be sure to check back soon as I will continue to Blog and update Guides as news emerges.