Department of Defense Appropriations Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I thank my great colleague from Illinois and my friend and partner from Connecticut for their very powerful analysis, along with Senator Warren and Senator Carper, because there really is a need for dispassionate, objective, and targeted consideration of this area of education.

The Senator from Connecticut is absolutely right that we need accountability in both the for-profit and nonprofit areas. Senator Durbin has emphasized that fact repeatedly. I am here as a former member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee who participated with Senator Harkin in announcing a report more than 2 years ago that highlighted many of the abuses in this area. Still, Corinthian has happened since then. There are still abuses in the for-profit area. But there is a need for accountability in the nonprofit area as well.

In all of these areas, there is a need for facts. There are more facts that may be available more recently that ought to be considered, indications that some of the for-profit colleges are doing a better job than others. Kaplan, for example, has recently released facts. None of us can vouch for them independently. The Department of Education has an obligation to do better and more to make sure it keeps faith with American students and American taxpayers in the way dollars are allocated to those for-profits.

I am particularly concerned, as the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, with the impact of some of these abusive practices on veterans. One of the really unacceptable facts about this industry is the way it can sometimes exploit and take advantage of our veterans. Senator Carper put it very well when he discussed how the for-profit schools are prohibited from receiving more than 90 percent of their total revenue from Federal student aid, but VA educational benefits are not counted toward that 90 percent. This 90/10 loophole causes the for-profits to target veterans and to rake in billions of dollars in VA educational benefits. In fiscal year 2014, the for-profit schools received over $2 billion in VA educational benefits--that is our money, taxpayer funds--including post-9/11 GI benefits.

As ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am working to help protect our Nation's veterans and the GI bill benefits they have earned. In fact, I have introduced legislation--the Career-Ready Student Veterans Act--to ensure that GI bill funding is not squandered on education programs that lack appropriate programmatic accreditation.

Facts are stubborn things, as Ronald Reagan famously said. Facts are what we need. Accreditation and verification and credibility in this area is essential rather than painting with a broad brush every for-profit, rather than tarring all of them. Facts are necessary here, and there is a need for accreditation and for facts that show credibility and legitimate course work.

I will be introducing another bill this week to provide relief to veteran students who have been harmed by for-profit schools. I want to repeat that point. These veterans have been harmed directly and tragically by some of these practices. We owe them better. We need to keep faith with them. That is the reason I am going to be introducing the Veterans Education Relief and Reinstatement Act. That will give the VA Secretary authority to reinstate GI bill entitlements that a veteran has used at a school that abruptly closed--think Corinthian--where veterans have lost those benefits and they need a remedy, not just a right but a remedy.

I am hopeful that we can advance these bills through the Veterans' Affairs Committee and stop for-profit colleges like Corinthian from scamming our Nation's veterans. Like my colleagues, I could cite real-life instances of nonveterans as well. But the evidence is overwhelming, and it is acknowledged by some in the industry who say there is a need for corrective measures here, and some of the outliers need to be treated with the strong discipline and discouragement they merit.

I am proud to join my colleagues in this effort. I am hopeful that the report Senator Harkin and the HELP Committee produced years ago will finally reach fruition and that action will be taken by the Department of Education and by this Senate to take measures that protect taxpayer dollars, protect students of America, and protect our veterans.

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