One company now run by one of Trump`s most trusted supporters, David Urban, who oversaw his victorious campaign in Pennsylvania, has been his washington lobbying firm since at least 1999, and Urban was personally listed as a lobbyist until last year, according to federal lobbying records. On July 6, 2017, Democratic attorneys general in 18 states and Washington, D.C., led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, filed a federal lawsuit against DeVos for suspending the implementation of rules designed to protect students attending for-profit colleges. The rules developed under the Obama administration were set to take effect on July 1, 2017. [103] [104] ”In my experience and that of many of my friends, FedLoan Servicing and other domestic credit providers made many, many mistakes, and it took me a long time to fix them and process the documents properly,” Kristi Fouts, a fourth-grade teacher in Oregon, told NEA Today last year. On May 10, 2017, DeVos gave an inaugural speech at Bethune-Cookman University, a historically black college, and during his speech, a majority of DeVo students booed, about half of them standing up and turning their backs on him. [127] She also received an honorary doctorate from the university. [128] Now, that`s the favorite for the biggest plum to date: a federal contract to build and manage a single online platform for all federal student loan debt, the key component of ED`s ”NextGen” credit service plan. DeVos attracted attention before their hearing for an investment in SoFi, a company that refinances federal student loans into private student loans. The EMB form shows that DeVos recently liquidated its stake in the company that invested in SoFi, RPM Ventures, in January 2017. DeVos suggested that the FSA should be an autonomous government corporation run by a professional, competent and apolitical Board of Governors.
She believes this would help the FSA provide first-rate service to students and families. DeVos doesn`t think the FSA should report to the Ministry of Education. DeVos is married to former Amway CEO Dick DeVos. [8] [9] His brother, Erik Prince, a former OFFICER in the US Navy SEAL, is the founder of Blackwater USA. [10] [11] [12] His father was billionaire industrialist Edgar Prince, founder of the Prince Corporation. [11] [12] [13] [14] In 2016, the Forbes family was listed as the 88th richest in America with an estimated net worth of $5.4 billion. [15] In 2009, Betsy DeVos` son, Rick DeVos, founded ArtPrize, an international art competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2016, about 16% of ArtPrize`s $3.5 million annual budget was provided by various deVos family foundations, the rest by other foundations as well as local and national companies.
[156] [157] At least when Trump spoke of being a king of debt, he meant going into debt himself to advance his interests. As the queen of student debt, DeVos addicts students to debt that she knows many can`t pay to promote the interests of those who profit from it. This dizzying debt is a major problem for students, parents and society as a whole. Student loan payments surpass food as the largest monthly expense for many households. The crisis prompted Senator Bernie Sanders to propose a bold solution during the election campaign, free education in public institutions. The latest federal data from April revealed that 75,138 of the 76,002 public sector loan forgiveness applicants had been rejected. PHEAA ”did not meet” the Trump administration`s performance expectations, Brown wrote in his April letter to the company received by POLITICO. He cited, among other things, the increase in wait times for calls, which ”has led to borrowers not being able to resolve their concerns or questions in a timely manner.” Pages 15 and 45 of the ethics literature list investments in the Avery Point VII SCO.
While the fund`s full investments are unclear, it appears to be a key investment in a modified loan agreement with Laureate Education – a private for-profit college operator. Laureate is also the company for which former President Bill Clinton served as Honorary Chancellor. Laureate, which has a considerable international presence, also owns Walden University – the largest recipient of federal loans for PhD students. The winner is expected to go public soon, which could mean significant strokes of luck for the company. In particular, the ethics agreement signed by DeVos in connection with his appointment does not require it to divest its stakes in Avery Point VII. ”Have you ever managed or supervised a $1 trillion loan program?” asked Warren. Performante recently lost a contract with the U.S. Department of Education and is appealing the decision to the Government Accountability Office. Performant desperately needs this contract because, according to the company`s SEC report, it accounts for 24% of its business and its stock falls to $2 per share. If confirmed as minister, DeVos would be able to influence the awarding of these contracts and would be responsible for overseeing private debt collectors working for the government, the Washington Post explains. Perhaps one of the biggest developments for FedLoan`s parent company, however, was the Trump administration`s decision in mid-August to appoint Robert Cameron, a PHEAA executive, as a senior student loans official at a federal agency that oversees and regulates the company.
On the 13th. In July 2017, Candice Jackson, who is a sexual assault survivor, arranged a meeting with DeVos, victims of sexual assault at the college, charged with the abusers and college officials, and said she would review the Obama administration`s guidelines on allegations of sexual assault on campus to see if the accused students were being treated under their rights. [110] Asked by CBS 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl about her repeal of the Obama administration`s guidelines for colleges dealing with sexual assault reports, she said her concern was for men who are falsely accused of such assaults. .