Bynum, Bonamici, Lee Introduce Legislation to Reopen Office for Students and Young Consumers

Representatives Janelle Bynum (OR-05), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Summer Lee (PA-12) introduced legislation to reestablish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Office for Students and Young Consumers.

The Trump administration abruptly shuttered the Office for Students and Young Consumers in 2018. The Students and Young Consumers Empowerment Act will reopen this critical office, which assisted more than 60,000 borrowers who submitted complaints about the student loan industry to the CFPB. The legislation will empower the office with new tools and a fresh mandate to demand industry data about risky loan practices and advocate for young consumers and student borrowers who have been wronged by unscrupulous student loan companies and for-profit colleges.

"Our students deserve access to a high quality and affordable education," said Rep. Bynum. "This bill puts an end to predatory lenders taking advantage of young Americans that are just trying to get a good education. I'll always fight to make our education system more fair and to support the next generation."

"We have a responsibility to protect students and young consumers from fraudulent and dishonest lenders," said Rep. Bonamici. "Reopening this important CFPB office is an important step forward for accountability in the student loan system. The bill also expands the resources available for those who have been cheated by student loan companies and for-profit colleges."

"For too long, students and young consumers have been left to navigate a financial system that too often puts profit ahead of people," said Rep. Lee."Restoring the Office for Students and Young Consumers is about making sure young borrowers have a real advocate in their corner, one that will hold predatory lenders and servicers accountable. As millions of borrowers continue to shoulder the burden of student debt, we need stronger oversight, better protections, and clear pathways to relief. This legislation takes an important step toward rebuilding the safeguards that were stripped away and ensuring the CFPB can fully deliver on its mission. I'm proud to support this effort to protect students, defend working families, and build a fairer financial future for the next generation."

This bill is an extension of Rep. Bynum's work to make life better for the next generation. In January, in an effort to confront the rising economic pressures on young Americans, U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR) launched her signature "K-30" agenda- a platform focused on supporting young Americans by improving access to education, housing, and the job market.

The Students and Young Consumers Empowerment Act:

• Establishes the position of the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate as head of a statutorily mandated Office for Students and Young Consumers (Office) to:
  • empower students, young consumers, and their families to make better informed decisions regarding consumer financial products and services;
  • identify new risks to consumers and referring cases for enforcement; and
  • make recommendations to Congress about how to protect young consumers;
    
• Empowers the Office to work with private and Federal student loan borrowers to resolve complaints against lenders, servicers, and debt collectors;

• Codifies information sharing between the head of the Office, senior federal officials, and the Department of Education to allow both agencies to effectively protect student loan borrowers;
  
• Gives the Office new tools to demand data from the industry about risky practices, and requires annual reports about the student loan marketplace, campus banking, and risks to young consumers; and

• Provides Congress with new tools to hold CFPB accountable for the requirements in this Act.

The full bill text can be found here.

###