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Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants President Donald Trump’s top education chief to answer for her policies that impact millions of student-loan borrowers.
Warren is holding a forum on May 14 to examine the Trump administration’s education policies and how Republicans’ plans for education, including a recent bill that would eliminate affordable monthly student-loan payment plans, will impact borrowers and America’s students.
A letter exclusively viewed by Business Insider and sent on Wednesday from Warren to Education Secretary Linda McMahon outlined the issues Warren plans to examine at the forum. It included an invitation for McMahon to attend and defend her policies to students and lawmakers.
“Your appearance will provide you with an opportunity to defend the Trump administration’s policies, offer context for your actions to dismantle the Department of Education, and share your vision for ensuring that the American Dream becomes more attainable for all,” Warren wrote.
Even before Trump signed an executive order in March directing McMahon to begin dismantling the Department of Education, the administration terminated half of its staff in an effort to reduce waste.
Warren wrote in the letter that gutting the agency would put its core responsibilities, like facilitating student loans and Pell Grants, at risk, leaving student-loan borrowers without the necessary resources to effectively make payments and get help managing their debt.
Additionally, Republicans on the House education committee unveiled a spending bill that would eliminate former President Joe Biden’s SAVE income-driven repayment plan, intended to give borrowers cheaper monthly payments. It also proposed eliminating PLUS student loans, which allow parents and graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance for themselves and their kids’ educations.
“These changes will make education less affordable and accessible for students from working families, single moms who hope to advance their careers, veterans and other public servants, and anyone who does not have the money or ability to pay out of pocket to attend school,” Warren wrote.
Eliminating the Department of Education requires congressional approval, and McMahon has repeatedly said that she intends to work with lawmakers to facilitate the department’s shutdown. She even made an impromptu appearance at a press conference held by Democratic lawmakers last month, saying that “what I believe is one of the most important things that we can have a discussion on or action on in our country, and that is the education of our young people.”
This letter comes amid an uncertain time for student-loan borrowers. On Monday, Trump restarted collections on defaulted student loans after a five-year pause, and 195,000 borrowers received notices that in 30 days, they could face garnishment of federal benefits if they don’t start making payments.
Following the restart of collections, the Department of Education sent a letter to universities asking them to remind student-loan borrowers of their repayment options and offer them resources to avoid default. McMahon said in a statement that the department will ensure that “colleges and universities are delivering a high-value degree to students.”
Still, the collections restart has some defaulted borrowers on edge.
“I’m barely scraping by just to make ends meet,” Matthew Green, a student-loan borrower behind on payments, previously told BI. “I’m going paycheck to paycheck, and this is going to kill me.”
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