Democrats press student loan cleanup drive (Reuters/CNN)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Opening a new line of inquiry into a scandal in the $85 billion student loan industry, the chairman of the House education committee asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Wednesday to investigate "unfair and deceptive" lender marketing practices.

With previous inquiries focused on conflicts of interest and stock dealings, California Democratic Rep. George Miller took aim at the besieged industry's promotional efforts.

"Every day, millions of students receive marketing letters from private lenders -- letters that are often intentionally designed to confuse or mislead students," he said.

"These tactics are nothing short of predatory lending. No company should be able to get away with using aggressive scare tactics to profit off students who are already taking on enormous amounts of college loan debt."

An FTC spokeswoman confirmed the commission received Miller's letter and would look into it.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/05/02/student.loans.congress.reut/index.html