One man had felony convictions for safecracking, breaking and entering, and larceny. Another came to Florida with $2.8-million in unpaid debts, after the Michigan Bar Association rapped his "cavalier approach to other people's money." Yet both found a lucrative niche in the federal student loan business.

Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) said last month's Times story about Roger Wayne Morgan and Joseph Pursley inspired her to seek federal legislation that would require stricter background checks for those who seek to sell student loans with Uncle Sam's backing.

Read about it in the Times' education blog, The Gradebook.