PHEAA Refuses to Testify Before Congress On The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Despite Its Central Role As The Only Loan Servicer For The Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the revelation that the President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency is refusing to testify at an oversight hearing about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program despite PHEAA being the sole student loan servicer involved with the program, Derek Martin, director of consumer watchdog group Allied Progress, issued the following statement:
“Taking a page out of the President’s ‘never testify’ playbook, PHEAA doesn’t want to face the music about their terrible record of servicing student loans. If Secretary Betsy DeVos doesn’t call them out for this slap in the face to our federal system, she either doesn’t care or she’s complicit in their defiance of Congress. Neither is acceptable.”
BACKGROUND:
PHEAA President And CEO James Steeley Refused “To Testify At [A House Education] Oversight Hearing” On The Basis That “PHEAA Is Strictly Bound” By Laws And Regulations And Therefore “Must Respectfully Decline.”“James H. Steeley, the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, wrote in a letter on Tuesday to Rep. Bobby Scott, the chairman of the House education committee, that he was turning down Scott’s invitation to testify at an oversight hearing. ‘As a federal servicer, PHEAA is strictly bound by the laws, regulations and guidance of the programs put forward by Congress and the Department; therefore, I must respectfully decline your invitation,’ Steeley wrote in the letter, which was obtained by POLITICO.” [Michael Stratford, “Company managing public service loan forgiveness refuses to testify before House panel,”Politico, 09/17/19]
- The Hearing Specifically Concerns The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. “The hearing is meant to examine the Trump administration’s implementation of the public service loan forgiveness program, which has been rejecting the vast majority of borrowers who apply.” [Michael Stratford, “Company managing public service loan forgiveness refuses to testify before House panel,”Politico, 09/17/19]
PHEAA, As The “The Exclusive Contractor For The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program,” Is “At The Center Of The Growing Dispute” Over Public Servants Overwhelmingly Being Denied Loan Forgiveness.PHEAA Is “one of several companies hired by the Education Department to collect federal student loans and it serves as the exclusive contractor for the public service loan forgiveness program. The company has been at the center of the growing dispute over why tens of thousands of teachers, public-sector employees and nonprofit charity workers who expected to have their loans wiped out are being denied the benefit. The company has drawn the ire of government watchdogs, state attorneys general and congressional Democrats.” [Michael Stratford, “Company managing public service loan forgiveness refuses to testify before House panel,”Politico, 09/17/19]
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