Congress started the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program in 2007, because they knew the cost of a college education made it almost impossible for public sector professionals to repay. PSLF was meant to encourage Americans to devote their lives to public service, and to ease the crushing burden of student debt for teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, and other public workers who met program criteria and made 120 on-time loan payments.

But while public workers held up their end of the bargain, Secretary DeVos and the Department of Education failed to hold up theirs. For years, DeVos and Department of Education officials wrongfully denied PSLF applications, forgiving loans for fewer than 1% of the thousands of eligible borrowers who applied.