releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=867cfed9-d868-4241-bf63-af62fdf05531
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=867cfed9-d868-4241-bf63-af62fdf05531 | Heitkamp Warns of Student Loan Debt-Relief Companies | 2013-07-15 | 2013 | 2013-07 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | Contact: Todd Deutsch 202-224-9921 WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today urged students to be aware of companies that mischaracterize government loan programs as their own, and charge students fees to use government services that are actually free. After a recent report was released on the activity, Heitkamp called on the Obama Administration to investigate the practice, fully enforce relevant laws and consider new rules. “Americans with student loan debt should be protected from companies charging exorbitant fees to reconsolidate loans while using government programs,” Heitkamp said. “Student loan repayment should be a clear and manageable process—we owe that to our students.” Following a report from the National Consumer Law Center entitled “Desperate Borrowers and the Growing Student Loan Debt Relief Industry,” Heitkamp sent a letter urging the Department of Education, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look closely at student loan debt relief companies. The letter urges the federal government to enforce existing laws and consider new rules to protect American students. At a recent Banking hearing on private student loans, Heitkamp questioned a CFPB official about predatory lending in the private student loan market. “They sound a lot like the predatory lending that we’ve experienced with home mortgages and consumer debt,” Heitkamp said at the hearing, asking what the Federal Government is doing to educate consumers and to warn students about predatory lending practices. Click here to read the letter Senator Heitkamp sent to the Administration. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |