Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor introduced the College Affordability Act, a bill to lower the costs of college for students and improve the quality of education. The bill includes important provisions to make quality higher education more accessible and affordable for students and families, including indexing the Pell Grant to inflation...

2008 Crisis Echoes Through American Politics As Americans Seek More WASHINGTON, DC – As candidates vie to set the agenda for the next presidency, Democratic primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina strongly support a tough approach to oversight and reform of Wall Street, according to a new poll conducted by the bipartisan team of Lake Research...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Strong majorities across political parties show concern about the level of student debt in the United States and oppose the Department of Education’s and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) recent actions to weaken protections for students, according to a new poll released by Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). The...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) Committee, unveiled a package of eight bills to rewrite parts of the Higher Education Act. This action comes after Alexander once again blocked consideration of the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act, which would have extended...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act (FAIR Act) (H.R. 1423), a bill that would restore the ability of Americans to take their disputes with companies to a real court of law. Specifically, the legislation would prohibit contracts from requiring civil rights, consumer, or employment disputes be settled in arbitration –...

“Without significant changes, we believe the proposed rule will perpetuate abusive practices, harm already economically distressed families, and widen the racial wealth gap.” WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the time for the public to weigh in on a proposed rule governing debt collection practices comes to a close, a coalition of national consumer advocates and civil rights organizations sent a comment...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) Committee, blocked consideration of the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act. The bipartisan bill, introduced by Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), extends important mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic...

NCUA votes for changes to Payday Alternative Loan program; while addressing some key concerns of community groups, overall the vote is a step in the wrong direction WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) voted to approve a final rule governing Payday Alternative Loans, referred to as PAL II. In response, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL)...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Unsealed court documents are shedding new light on student loan servicing company Navient and its practice of steering student loan borrowers into forbearance rather than helping them enroll in affordable income-base repayment plans (IBR). According to the documents, an internal memo outlining Navient’s predecessor’s forbearance strategy was: “forbear them, forbear them, make them relinquish the ball...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act introduced by Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) and Representative Mark Walker (R-NC). The FUTURE Act extends important mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribally Controlled Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions...