The private student loan industry, unlike other unsecured lenders, has no reason to regulate itself because it has no fear its loans will be discharged if the borrower fails in his or her endeavors.
Because of this, educational lenders do not have risk, and the costs of education are out of control. To (1) get the costs under control and (2) allow overburdened graduates to reenter the economy, the risk must return to the equation!
This Petition is not some utopian idea to universally forgive all debt; instead, through a revision of the bankruptcy code back to where it stood pre-2005, private lenders will not be free to lend with abandon. Likewise, in order to seek relief, borrowers will have to file bankruptcy and suffer the consequences.