Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following yesterday:
Department of Education proposing to scrap an Obama-era rule to protect students from predatory career training programs
By Department’s own estimates, abandoning this rule will cost taxpayers $5.3 billion
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty
Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement today on
the Department of Education’s proposal to abandon an Obama
Administration-era “gainful employment” rule—which would hold predatory
career training programs accountable when their students are unable to
find jobs that allow them pay back their loans. By its own analysis, the
Department’s proposal will cost taxpayers $5.3 billion over ten years.
“The gainful employment
rule empowers students to make meaningful choices about their education
and employment opportunities—and yet Secretary DeVos is proposing to
completely abandon this common-sense and effective consumer
protection that helps students decide whether a career training program
is worth the investment, and would hold predatory for-profit
colleges and career training programs accountable for leaving students
with extensive debt they cannot repay. Her extreme proposal to rescind
this rule is further proof that there is no line Secretary DeVos won’t
cross to pad the pockets of for-profit colleges—even leaving students
and taxpayers to foot the bill.”
