美国国家公共电台 NPR CFPB Chief Says Education Department Is Blocking Student Loan Oversight

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - the CFPB - says the Trump¹ administration's education department is getting in the way of efforts to police the student loan industry. This comes amid lawsuits² that allege³ widespread wrongdoing by student loan companies. Here's NPR's Chris Arnold.

CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE⁴: The head of the CFPB, Kathy Kraninger, is responding to Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats⁵ who wanted to know whether the Consumer Protection Bureau is doing its job protecting student borrowers. And her answer is pretty striking.

The letter, obtained by NPR, is carefully worded. But in essence, Kraninger is saying that the CFPB is trying to do its job. But she says the companies that manage student loans are not handing over information that the bureau needs to do supervision⁶ because, they say, the Education Department told them not to. In other words, the Education Department is getting in the way.

SETH FROTMAN: It's actually quite remarkable⁷.

ARNOLD: Seth Frotman heads up the nonprofit Student Borrower Protection Center. He used to be the CFPB student loan ombudsman but quit last summer over frustrations⁸ with the Trump administration.

FROTMAN: 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 obstructing⁹ federal law enforcement officials from standing¹⁰ up for the millions of Americans with student debt.

ARNOLD: Americans like Jessica Saint-Paul. She was grappling with about $80,000 in student loans. Then when she heard about a program called Public Service Loan Forgiveness, she was ecstatic. The program's designed to encourage public service.

So police officers, government workers, teachers, people who work for nonprofits - if they make payments for 10 years, they can get the remainder of their student loan debt forgiven. Saint-Paul worked for a nonprofit that provides services to foster children.

JESSICA SAINT-PAUL: I was like, oh, this is perfect. So I called, you know, I'm interested in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

ARNOLD: That was nine years ago. She says over the years, she called the companies servicing her loans to check in.

SAINT-PAUL: Just want to make sure, you know, I'm on track. OK. No problem. The conversation was quick. I mean, I'm saying they were so kind.

ARNOLD: But Saint-Paul says she was getting bad information, she says she found out just last year at a conference. There was an information session on loan forgiveness, and she was told that she was in the wrong kind of loan and wrong payment plan so that she couldn't qualify. And she says a lot of other people were finding out the same thing right there at the conference.

SAINT-PAUL: It's like a support group almost - it turned into. Because people were like, no, that can't be true. And people were - I went on my phone. People were going on their phones, their laptops, checking their loan, what type of loan they were in. And we were all sitting there, like, just frantic¹¹. Like, what loan am I in? Wait. Wait. Wait. Let me pull this up. Let me see.

ARNOLD: But Saint-Paul says it was true. If, nine years ago, her loan servicer just told her to take a few simple steps to convert to the right loan and payment plan, everything would have been OK. Instead, she says she feels like somebody stole tens of thousands of dollars from her.

SAINT-PAUL: Oh, it's just frustrating¹². And I just cannot believe this happened to me.

ARNOLD: It's happening to a lot of people. So far, about 99% of people applying for this loan forgiveness program are getting rejected. And more than 1 million people are actively¹³ pursuing it and hoping to qualify. Saint-Paul is a plaintiff in one of the many lawsuits by advocacy groups and regulators related to this program and other problems.

This is why Democratic lawmakers say they want to be sure that perhaps the most powerful federal watchdog for consumers is on top of all this. In March, Senator Bob Menendez pressed the issue at a hearing with CFPB Director Kraninger.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BOB MENENDEZ: Have you examined why 99% of applicants¹⁴ have been rejected?

KATHY KRANINGER: Senator, again, I understand why you're asking a question and it's an important one. I don't have a specific answer to your question on this topic.

MENENDEZ: So you...

ARNOLD: Now that lawmakers have Kraninger's answer, Elizabeth Warren and four other senators called the revelations disturbing in a round of letters they've just fired off to student loan servicing companies. The CFPB, in a statement, says it's confident that it can resolve the issues and achieve its mission of protecting borrowers.

But for its part, the Education Department appears to be defending its stance that loan servicers should not hand over information to the CFPB. The department says in a statement that it takes privacy seriously and says requests for information about student loan borrowers should be made to the Education Department.

Seth Frotman says that the CFPB should flex¹⁵ its muscles more and take loan servicers to court, if necessary, to get them to comply with its oversight¹⁶ efforts.

Chris Arnold, NPR News.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

3 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

9 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

12 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

14 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

15 flex   

n.皮线，花线；vt.弯曲或伸展

参考例句：

• We wound off a couple of yards of wire for a new lamp flex.我们解开几码电线作为新的电灯花线。
• He gave his biceps a flex to impress the ladies.他收缩他的肱二头肌以吸引那些女士们的目光。

16 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。