New York AG Applaudes U.S. Congress For Passing Legislation To Protect College Borrowers

New York, NY (AHN) - New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday announced federal passage of legislation designed to protect students, and families of students, who borrow money for college expenses from deceptive loan practices.

Congress passed the landmark Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 late Thursday night. The bill was based on New York's code of conduct to protect college students from deceptive practices in the student loan industry.

"This historic legislation allows the rest of the nation to follow New York State's lead in cracking down on the deceptive student loan industry," Cuomo said in a statement. "Last year my office's investigation set the benchmark for reining in unscrupulous student lenders, who we discovered were all too intent to ensnare students in loan packages that left them drowning in unnecessarily high debt. Today's legislation will make it easier for millions of students to afford a college education."

New York's code came about after Cuomo conducted a nationwide investigation into the student loan industry last year that revealed widespread conflict of interest between colleges and lenders. The new law prohibits those conflicted relationships and extends the protections that New York lawmakers had developed to students and families nationwide.