Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley accused the U.S. Department of Education of obstructing congressional oversight of federal student loan servicers. In a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon (PDF File), the senators wrote that the department “appears to have progressed to active obstruction” of lawmakers’ efforts to obtain servicer performance data.

The dispute centers on basic service metrics: how long borrowers wait on hold, how often calls are dropped, how quickly written inquiries are answered, and how satisfied borrowers report being.

For families navigating student loan repayment (especially with all the changes), those details can mean the difference between staying current and slipping into delinquency.

With more than 42 million Americans holding federal student loans totaling over $1.81 trillion, even slight declines in servicing quality can ripple across household budgets.

Breakdown In Transparency

For years, the Education Department has published or provided detailed servicer performance data - both online and to Congress upon request. That included metrics for companies such as MOHELA, Nelnet, EdFinancial, Aidvantage, and CRI. You can see that the data published online goes back to 2009, but suddenly stopped in 2024.

Those reports included call center volume, average speed to answer, call abandonment rates (the share of borrowers who hang up before reaching a representative), and complaint trends. Lawmakers argue that such transparency is essential, especially given past documented failures in loan servicing - from misapplied payments to inaccurate information about income-driven repayment plans.

According to the senators’ letter, when Congress sought updated data covering performance since June 2025, the department did not provide it. When lawmakers wrote directly to the servicers, the companies reportedly responded that the Education Department had instructed them to redirect the requests back to the Department.

The senators set a March 5, 2026 deadline for the department to respond.

The Education Department has said it continues to “review the performance of all our current contractors” and that Federal Student Aid is prioritizing improved customer service. But without public metrics, outside experts and lawmakers say it is difficult to independently assess those claims.

Why Loan Servicer Performance Matters

Servicers are the primary point of contact for borrowers. They process payments, enroll borrowers in income-driven repayment plans, manage deferments and forbearances, and handle loan forgiveness processing.

When servicing breaks down, borrowers can pay the price.

During past transitions (including the resumption of payments after the pandemic pause) borrowers reported hours-long hold times and delayed processing of income-driven repayment applications.

Call abandonment rates and response times are not abstract statistics. A borrower who cannot reach a representative to correct an error may see interest accrue unnecessarily or miss a deadline. Delinquency can damage credit scores, increasing the cost of mortgages, car loans, and even insurance.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has historically played a watchdog role in monitoring student-loan servicing and addressing borrower complaints. Consumer advocates warn that as the CFPB’s authority is scaled back and enforcement slows, federal oversight of servicers could weaken further.

And it's important to note that the data does exist. In response to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) lawsuit against MOHELA, loan servicer performance data was provided in court filings:

The Bigger Picture

Student loan servicing rarely attracts headlines, but it's one of the most critical roles in the higher education financing system. When oversight weakens or transparency fades, borrowers often discover the consequences only after problems arise.

Lawmakers argue that access to performance data is a minimal standard for accountability.

For the 42 million Americans repaying federal loans, that oversight could influence everything from customer service experiences to which companies even are allowed to be loan servicers.

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