GOP bill repeals rule on how for-profit schools count vets benefits
House Republicans are moving to repeal rules preventing for-profit colleges from counting military education benefits as non-government funding in their financial accounting, a move that advocates said could allow predatory companies to prey upon student veterans.
Members of the House Education and Workforce Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to advance their section of the massive congressional reconciliation bill, which includes $330 billion in cuts to education spending over the next decade.
Panel Democrats objected to multiple portions of the bill and the GOP's overall approach to federal programming cuts.
But language in the bill repealing the '90/10 loophole' regarding GI Bill benefits drew particular concern from veterans advocates, who said the move represents an attack on oversight and accountability for post-military education benefits.
Feds close 90/10 loophole involving veterans education benefits
'The closing of this loophole was widely celebrated as a bipartisan success in 2021,' said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., a panel member and the top Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, during debate on the reconciliation measure Tuesday.
'Congress deemed that holding predatory for-profits accountable was necessary to safeguard federal education benefits and ultimately protect both taxpayers and students.'
By law, colleges and universities must have at least 10% of their revenues derived from non-federal sources in order to qualify for federal benefits. The idea behind the regulation is to ensure that for-profit institutions aren't funded solely by federal monies, but instead also include significant investment by students interested in furthering their education.
But for years, GI Bill benefits and Defense Department Tuition Assistance programs were not counted as federal dollars for the 90/10 calculation, despite being taxpayer-funded benefits. As a result, schools could target veterans or troops receiving federal education payouts to boost their government funding well beyond the 90% cap.
Four years ago, as part of an emergency funding bill, lawmakers closed that loophole, reclassifying the GI Bill money and other military education programs as federal funding in the 90/10 calculations. The new rule has been in place for about three years.
But the Republican-backed reconciliation bill would revert to the pre-2021 rules. GOP committee members argued the change was needed to reduce regulations and promote more affordable options for student veterans.
'Rather than using the regulatory hammer to pick winners and losers, we should encourage all colleges to focus on student success,' said Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah.
Democrats disagreed. Advocates for years have argued that the loophole incentivized schools to recruit veterans to plus-up the amount of steady, government dollars they could collect, even in cases where the programs did not provide long-term benefits to the students.
'Unscrupulous institutions were using this to exploit student veterans,' said Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore. 'Now Republicans want to eliminate the rule altogether, removing a vital consumer protection and giving for-profit colleges free rein to continue to prey on students.'
VA pays out more than $8 billion in education payments annually.
A Democratic amendment to strip the repeal language from the reconciliation measure failed along party lines.
The provision could still be removed by House leadership before a full chamber vote, or by Senate lawmakers before final passage of the budgetary measure. Veterans groups who have been advocating on the issue for years promised to highlight it in coming weeks.
'The House of Representatives should be ashamed that they're even entertaining the idea of reinstating this costly and wrongheaded policy that would threaten the future of veterans' education,' Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America CEO Allison Jaslow said in a statement.
Republican leaders have said they hope to pass a final reconciliation bill package by mid-June.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
18 minutes ago
- CNBC
Elon Musk's favorability among Republicans dropped 16 points since March, Quinnipiac says
Elon Musk's official role in the Trump administration recently came to an end. Many Republicans won't be sad to see less of him, according to the results of Quinnipiac University's latest public opinion survey. While a majority of Republicans still hold a favorable view of Musk, the number fell to 62% in the poll out Wednesday, down from 78% in March, Quinnipiac said. Overall, the Quinnipiac poll found that 30% of self-identified voters surveyed in the U.S. hold a favorable opinion of Musk, according to polling from June 5 to June 9. Republican and Democratic voters remain deeply divided in their views of the world's richest man, who contributed nearly $300 million to propel President Donald Trump back to the White House. Only 3% of Democrats surveyed said they held a favorable of view of the Tesla CEO, who was once seen as an environmental leader appealing to liberal values. Musk didn't respond to a request for comment. Musk and Trump had a very public falling out last week that started with Musk's disapproval of the president's spending bill and escalated into an all-out war of words that played out on social media. Musk said on Wednesday that he regretted some of the posts he made about Trump last week, adding that "they went too far." Even with a slide in his favorability, Musk is still popular among Republicans after his time running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an effort to dramatically slash the size of the federal government. Among the Republican respondents to the early June poll, 80% rated Musk and DOGE's work as either excellent or good, while 13% said it was either not so good or poor. In the March poll, 82% of Republicans surveyed said they thought Musk and DOGE were helping the country. Read the full survey results here.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Embattled DNC vice chair decides not to run after diversity re-vote called
David Hogg, the 25-year-old progressive firebrand, will not compete in the new Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair elections that were decided today after a majority of members voted for a new election. After three days of submitting electronic ballots, DNC members voted to uphold the Credentials Committee's resolution proposed by longtime Democratic Party activist Kalyn Free to host a re-election for two vice-chair positions, currently held by Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta. Seventy-five percent of those who cast a ballot voted in favor of the resolution, while 25% voted against it. A total of 89% of DNC members cast a ballot. "The DNC will immediately move to administer new ballots for the final two Vice Chair positions, one of which must be held by a male and one of which may be held by a candidate of any gender," said the DNC's Deputy Press Secretary Nina Raneses. "The election for the male Vice Chair position will commence tomorrow morning at 10:00AM ET." Democrats' Vice Chair Gets Ultimatum: Stay Neutral In Primaries Or Step Down From Party Leadership With Hogg's withdrawal, Kenyatta is now the only candidate for the male vice chair slot. The DNC's decision is the latest political blow to Hogg, who stirred up intraparty divisions this year for his $20 million pledge to primary-challenge older Democrats in safe blue districts he said are "asleep at the wheel" through his outside political action group, Leaders We Deserve. Read On The Fox News App "I came into this role to play a positive role in creating the change our party needs," Hogg wrote in a statement to the New York Times. "It is clear that there is a fundamental disagreement about the role of a Vice Chair — and it's OK to have disagreements. What isn't OK is allowing this to remain our focus when there is so much more we need to be focused on." "Ultimately, I have decided to not run in this upcoming election so the party can focus on what really matters," Hogg added. Meanwhile, Hogg also published a lengthy X thread explaining his decision not to run for reelection and criticizing many aspects of the Democratic Party, but deleted it shortly after posting. Hogg's decision to leave the DNC comes on the heels of a damning Politico report, which included leaked audio from a Zoom meeting of DNC Chair Ken Martin lamenting Hogg's fallout at the DNC, claiming it has made it harder for Democrats to do their jobs and for Martin to demonstrate his ability to lead. "No one knows who the hell I am, right? I'm trying to get my sea legs underneath of me and actually develop any amount of credibility so I can go out there and raise the money and do the job I need to put ourselves in a position to win," Martin told Hogg on the May 15 Zoom call. "I don't think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So it's really frustrating," But the criticism didn't stop Hogg from defying advice and wading into additional Democrat primaries by endorsing Virginia state Del. Irene Shin in the special election to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. Dnc Chair Ripped David Hogg Over Party Infighting In Leaked Meeting Audio: 'Really Frustrating' Martin affirmed the DNC would stay neutral in Democratic primaries following Hogg's multimillion-dollar announcement. And the DNC chair gave Hogg the ultimatum to either rescind his vice-chair position or forego his political influence through his PAC. "I commend David for his years of activism, organizing, and fighting for his generation, and while I continue to believe he is a powerful voice for this party, I respect his decision to step back from his post as Vice Chair," Martin said in a statement following Hogg's announcement he would not seek reelection as DNC vice chair. "I have no doubt that he will remain an important advocate for Democrats across the map. I appreciate his service as an officer, his hard work, and his dedication to the party." While DNC officials, past and present, said the vote to host vice chair re-elections had nothing to do with Hogg personally, the progressive Gan Z activist framed the DNC's vote as an expedited plan to remove him as vice chair. Hogg said Martin's newly proposed "neutrality pledge" was "trying to change the rules because I'm not currently breaking them." David Hogg Slams 'Fast-track' Effort To Oust Him As Dnc Vice Chair "While this vote was based on how the DNC conducted its officers' elections, which I had nothing to do with, it is also impossible to ignore the broader context of my work to reform the party which loomed large over this vote," Hogg said after the Credentials Committee voted to elevate Free's complaint before the full committee. Free submitted her complaint following the DNC's Feb. 1 officer elections, in which Hogg and Kenyatta were elected vice chairs. Free claimed the DNC's tabulation method violated the charter's provision and parliamentary procedure and "discriminated against three women of color candidates." Last month, the Credentials Committee found the vice-chair officer elections violated parliamentary procedure and voted to recommend the DNC conduct a new election for the two vice-chair positions. Now that the full DNC has called for a new vote, they will conduct a re-election from June 12-17. One vice-chair position may be filled by a male and one may be a candidate of any gender, according to the DNC. Only the candidates who were eligible for the third ballot during the Feb. 1 election qualify for the re-election, which includes Kenyatta, Free, Jeanna Repass and Shasti Conrad. Kenyatta is reportedly the only male. "This was never about Malcolm Kenyatta or David Hogg," Free told Fox News Digital after the Credentials Committee elevated her complaint. "For me, this was about ensuring that the Democratic Party lives up to our ideals as the only political party to believe in and stand up for election integrity and a free and fair democracy." But Kenyatta, who picked up the most votes during the Feb. 1 election, has criticized Hogg for playing "fast and loose with the facts without rebuttal." "Any story about this that neatly places this into a narrative about David Hogg is wrong," Kenyatta said of the re-election buzz. "I worked my a-- off to get this role and have done the job every day since I've held it. This story is complex, and I'm frustrated — but it's not about @davidhogg111. Even though he clearly wants it to be."Original article source: Embattled DNC vice chair decides not to run after diversity re-vote called
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Appeals court ruled against New Orleans mayor in stalking case
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell in a stalking case. Flood Warning & Advisory to impact evening commute Cantrell claims a woman, Anne Breaud, was stalking her when she took photos of the mayor dining at a French Quarter restaurant. Breaud took the photos from her own balcony in the Upper Pontalba building. In its decision the court is also requiring Cantrell to pay $8,000 in court costs and attorney fees to Breaud.'Immaturity': Rand Paul rips White House after being 'uninvited' from picnic Learning dance moves from 'Velma Kelly' from Broadway's 'Chicago' Senate GOP seeks to cut SALT cap, triggering fight with House Appeals court ruled against New Orleans mayor in stalking case ATF campaigning in New Orleans against illegal firearm purchases Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
