HUFFINGTON POST: The Education and Treasury departments face fresh scrutiny over their apparent inability to hold student lender Sallie Mae accountable, despite numerous alleged past violations of federal rules and government contracts.
The congressional probe, outlined in a Thursday letter sent to the agencies by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), comes as Sallie Mae, the nation’s largest student loan company and the biggest recipient of federal contracts from the Education Department, itself contends with numerous investigations from federal banking regulators, the Department of Justice and Education Department over its student loan practices…
“While the government has been quite tolerant of Sallie Mae’s failings and helped Sallie Mae maintain its profitability, it is not nearly as generous when it comes to student borrowers,” Warren said. Student borrowers face fees and penalties when they default; prohibition from further participation in federal student aid programs; withholding of tax refunds, wages, and federal benefits; and what Warren described as “onerous collection practices.”… (more)
