Got Millenials? Democrats Should Address the Student Loan Crisis Immediately

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18. Here's something President Obama can do TOMORROW, mostly through Executive Order

Get the fucking insane collection agencies off student debtor's backs:

http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/new-nclc-report-pounding-student-loan-borrowers/


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Key Recommendations

Eliminate the use of private collection agencies and move toward a comprehensive and individualized counseling model. In deciding how to work with borrowers in default, the Department should study alternatives and create pilot projects with empirical research to test these options. The goal of this model should be to match the borrower with the right program based upon his or her circumstances, not just to collect the most money for the Department.

Reform the debt collection agency evaluation system so that performance is about more than dollars collected. The evaluation system should ensure that government contractors follow the law and act in the best interest of student loan borrowers.

Congress and the President should improve the Department of Education’s oversight of collection agencies and require the Department to make public information about how performance is tracked and the results. The Department’s Office of the Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office (along with Congress and the general public) should continue to monitor the Department’s oversight.

Improve transparency and provide public information about the private debt collectors’ performance, including complaints and any investigations or disciplinary actions taken against private debt collectors and the cost of outsourcing to them.

Improve the complaint system so that student loan borrowers can easily file complaints about collection agencies. The Department should follow the lead of federal agencies, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and create user‐friendly complaint systems with easy to find instructions and contact information.