Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) spoke out in April about the difficulties of restarting student loan payments last fall, leaving borrowers with inaccurate bills and no answers on how to repay them. The head of MOHELA, a student loan collection agency, was invited to testify before the Senate. Please fix them.
In a letter sent Monday, Warren announced that a Senate Economic Policy Subcommittee hearing titled “MOHELA’s Performance as a Student Loan Servicer” will be held on April 10.
“This hearing will examine the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority’s (MOHELA) performance as a student loan servicer, focusing on student loan borrowers’ experiences with repayment restarts and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. ” said the letter to MOHELA CEO Scott Giles.
PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program) provides student loan forgiveness for people who work for the government or some nonprofit organizations and make 120 consecutive student loan payments. MOHELA is currently the only student loan provider that accepts PSLF.
“By mishandling borrowers’ resumption of repayments following payment, interest, and collection suspensions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and by preventing public officials from accessing PSLF relief, your company contributed to hardship for many of its borrowers,” Warren said in the paper. letter.
MOHELA was fined $7.2 million by the Department of Education in October while resuming student loan payments. That’s because the company sent incorrect balances to 2.5 million borrowers, causing many to default on their payments.
“Your testimony will provide an opportunity to provide context on MOHELA’s role as a student loan servicer during a critical transition period for the federal student loan program,” Warren said, also asking the CEO to It requested that the evaluation results be provided to the committee. Experience with resuming student loans.
Warren, along with other Democratic leaders, called for an investigation into MOHELA in late February.
The investigation and Senate hearing were a victory for the Student Borrower Protection Center and the American Federation of Teachers, who released a report accusing MOHELA of intentionally deflecting borrower questions and failing to help PSLF people.
“We call on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state attorneys general to investigate MOHELA and take action to the fullest extent possible under the law. Our nation’s public servants, military members, and first responders should He deserves a much better rating,” the Democrat said.
The Hill has reached out to MOHELA for comment.
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