{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://richmond.house.gov/press-release/rep-richmond-cbc-members-introduces-bill-reverse-department-education-decision-plus", "Rep. Richmond, CBC Members Introduces Bill to Reverse Department of Education Decision on PLUS Loan Program", "2014-04-10", "2014", "2014-04", "Democrat", "House", "LA", "Cedric Richmond", "R000588", "richmond.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Today Rep. Cedric Richmond (LA-02) and Rep. Corrine Brown (FL-05) introduced the Protecting Educational Loans for Underserved Students Act (the PLUS Act), a bill that will restore core credit standards used by the Department of Education (ED) prior to the change to the definition of \u201cadverse credit\u201d made in 2011.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\nThe bill establishes criteria for determining whether a parent has an \u201cadverse credit history\u201d and includes a provision for loan counseling to ensure parents who receive disbursements have a full understanding of the terms and conditions of the loans and their repayment obligations.\n\u201cHigher education is the most powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty in America,\u201d said Rep. Richmond. The federal Parent PLUS Loan program is pivotal because it gives students the opportunity to attend a top tier college or university they would otherwise be unable to afford. There must be a fair standard when determining eligibility for this program, one that reflects the tough financial challenges of the past decade. This legislation, which I have introduced along with my colleagues in the CBC, establishes this standard and provides a fair shot for all students to earn a quality education.\u201d\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://richmond.house.gov/press-release/rep-richmond-cbc-members-introduces-bill-reverse-department-education-decision-plus"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7521179504692554, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}