Investigations Continue Into Improper Lending
April 14, 2007
As investigations continue into the improper actions of private lending companies on our nation's campuses (see our previous editorials Cuomo Student Loan and Cuomo Student Loans), a number of imporant questions are raised; of utmost importance is a rather simple one: Where is the federal government in this emerging scandal?
While I laud the actions of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, he can only do so much within his home state. He has been eager to share the information of his investigations with other state offices, including Illinois and Missouri most recently. The Secretary of Education under George W. Bush is Margaret Spellings (no, we're not making that up -- the head teacher has a name of Spellings!), who has stated her intentions to begin a nationwide investigation into why private loan companies were able to manipulate students at campuses such as the University of Texas-Austin, Columbia University, and the University of Southern California, among others.
While the federal government continues to drag its feet however, it is good to see Mr. Cuomo continuing to aggressively investigate the private loan companies already implicated in this scandal, specifically Student Loan Xpress. As more details emerge, we will provide you with updates on the investigation and what actions, if any, the federal government is undertaking.