Senators urge education secretary pick Betsy DeVos to pay millions in overdue election fines
Several senators have sent a letter to Donald Trump's education secretary pick, Betsy DeVos, calling on her to pay more than $5 million in election fines owed by a school-choice advocacy group she once ran.
All Children Matter lobbies for school-choice legislation, and owes the state of Ohio more than $5.3 million for violations from nearly a decade ago, Politico reports. Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent DeVos a letter Wednesday addressing the "significant concerns" they had over the fines and urging her to take care of them. "If confirmed as secretary of education, you would be responsible for administering our nation's student loan programs and ensuring that borrowers repay their loans in a timely manner," the letter stated. "However, the PAC that you chaired failed to pay fines that were imposed on it over eight years ago. This demonstrates a serious lack of judgment by the PAC's board and a willingness to avoid paying legally obligated public debts."
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