Unanimous Consent Request--S. 2253

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I support Senator Sherrod Brown's unanimous consent request that the Senate adopt the Veterans Education Relief and Restoration Act, S. 2253, to support veterans who were harmed by the closure of ITT Tech.

ITT Tech's predatory practices led to its sudden closure early this month, leaving tens of thousands of students in the lurch. Many veterans using GI bill benefits at ITT Tech have been particularly affected by this company's practices and now its closure and bankruptcy.

ITT Tech has for years been a major recipient of GI bill benefits.

According to a 2014 report by Senator Tom Harkin's HELP Committee, ITT Tech was the third largest recipient in 2012-13, receiving $161 million in GI bill funds. When it closed earlier this month, an estimated 7,000 veterans were enrolled at ITT Tech.

Not only have these veterans used up part or in some cases all of their limited GI bill education benefits, some of them relied on VA housing assistance to pay their rent and afford a place to live for themselves and their families. Veterans can only receive this housing stipend if they are enrolled in a school that qualifies for GI bill benefits, so the closure of ITT Tech has put them at risk of being unable to afford their current housing and further disrupting their lives.

I support the bipartisan Veterans Education Relief and Restoration Act, or VERRA, introduced by Senators Blumenthal and Tillis, to reinstate GI bill education benefits in certain cases and to give the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the authority to temporarily extend housing benefits to veterans, including those who attended ITT Tech, who find their education interrupted by a sudden closure of a school.

The closure of ITT Tech makes the need to pass VERRA an emergency for so many veterans across the country. This is a commonsense bill--it's bipartisan--and it's time sensitive.

I urge Republicans not to block this effort to extend this modest and much-needed relief to our veterans who have been put in this terrible position by ITT Tech.

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