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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Student loan debt is the only type of consumer | ||||||
| 3 | debt in our nation's history to be categorically excluded from | ||||||
| 4 | protection under our bankruptcy code; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Less than 1% of federally guaranteed loans were | ||||||
| 6 | actually discharged in bankruptcy prior to the enactment of | ||||||
| 7 | this exclusion; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Both the Consumer Bankers Association and the | ||||||
| 9 | American Bankers Association openly opposed such | ||||||
| 10 | discriminatory treatment of student loans; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, The federal government has stripped away numerous | ||||||
| 12 | other consumer protections from borrowers of student debt, such | ||||||
| 13 | as statutes of limitation on the collection of such debt, the | ||||||
| 14 | ability to refinance interest rates, and protection under the | ||||||
| 15 | Truth in Lending Act; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, The federal government presently generates a | ||||||
| 17 | substantial profit from the origination of student loans, while | ||||||
| 18 | countless borrowers default on their repayment obligations, | ||||||
| 19 | because such loans are not protected under standard bankruptcy | ||||||
| 20 | and consumer law; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The removal of these basic consumer protections | ||||||
| 2 | has coincided with an exponential growth in the cost of | ||||||
| 3 | attending many of our State colleges and universities; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, The return of these standard consumer protections | ||||||
| 5 | will require the Department of Education to take its oversight | ||||||
| 6 | role seriously, reduce the cost of college tuition, and | ||||||
| 7 | decrease the current default rate; therefore, be it
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| 8 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 9 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 10 | we urge Congress to restore full bankruptcy protections to all | ||||||
| 11 | student loans, both private and federally guaranteed, as well | ||||||
| 12 | as other standard consumer protections, such as statutes of | ||||||
| 13 | limitation on the collection of student loan debt, protection | ||||||
| 14 | under the Truth in Lending Act, and the ability to refinance | ||||||
| 15 | interest rates on student loans; and be it further
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| 16 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 17 | delivered to the members of the Illinois congressional | ||||||
| 18 | delegation.
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