Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Higher Education
Scott Statement on Trump Vetoing Bipartisan Resolution to Protect Students from Predatory Schools
05.29.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump vetoed legislation, passed in March, to reverse the Department of Education's Borrower Defense rule. The Department's rule would deny debt relief to students defrauded by predatory colleges. "Earlier this year, Democrats and Republicans came together to block Secretary DeVos' Borrower Defense rule that shields predatory schools from accountability and denies relief to student borrowers who… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott to Secretary DeVos: Stop Illegally Garnishing Wages on Student Loan Borrowers
05.20.20 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Department of Education Secretary DeVos, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) demanded an explanation for the Department illegally garnishing the wages on student loan borrowers amid the COVID-19-a direct violation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law on March 27. In the letter, Chairman Scott notes that as recently as May 6, employers indicated that they could not stop garnishing wag… Continue Reading
Scott, Nadler Statement on Education Department’s Final Title IX Rule
05.06.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) issued the following statement after the Department of Education finalized a rule to revise standards for schools' responsibility under the Title IX to respond to campus sexual assault and harassment. "It is alarming that instead of focusing on helping students, educators, and institutions cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department wasted valuable time finalizing a rule that will erode … Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Call on Secretary DeVos to Fix Borrower Defense Application Process
05.04.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Democrats sent a comment letter to Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos opposing some of the Department's proposed changes to the application to the Borrower Defense program. The Members expressed serious concerns that some of Department's proposed changes are unnecessary and may deter applicants. The Borrower Defense program allows student loan borrowers to seek debt relief if they are defrauded by their institution. In the letter, the Memb… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Senate Voting to Reverse DeVos’ Harmful Borrower Defense Rule
03.11.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Senate passed S.J.Res.56, the Senate version of House Democrats' first use of the Congressional Review Act that reverses the Department of Education's Borrower Defense rule, which would deny debt relief to students defrauded by predatory colleges. "Student borrowers who are defrauded by predatory colleges should have access to timely and meaningful debt relief. But under Secretary DeVos's rewrite of … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Asks Education Department Watchdog to Investigate DeVos’ Plan to Deny Full Debt Relief for Defrauded Borrowers
03.09.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to the Education Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) requesting an investigation into the Department's plan to deny full debt relief for borrowers defrauded by for-profit colleges. The request comes after multiple independent analyses found that the Department's new plan to provide only partial relief to defrauded borrowers was "nonsensical and harmful to students." On Decembe… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on President Trump’s FY 2021 Budget Proposal
02.10.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the White House released its Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021) budget priorities. "President Trump's budget proposal is another shocking demonstration of the administration's willingness to break its promises to the American people. Just two days after President Trump pledged that he would not cut Social Security or Medicare, the president released a FY 2021 budget proposal that cuts more than $1 trillion over the next deca… Continue Reading
Scott, Trahan Seek Explanation for Education Department’s Scheme to Deny Full Debt Relief for Thousands of Defrauded Borrowers
02.03.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Representative Lori Trahan (MA-03) sent a letter to Education Department Secretary Betsy DeVos requesting documents and further information regarding the Department's deeply flawed partial relief formula and the Department's efforts to alter the formula. Two days before Secretary DeVos' testimony before the Committee, the Department unveiled a new formula to process claims by defrauded borrowers … Continue Reading
Lawmakers Question Education Department and Accreditor About Fake Universities Used to Entrap Foreign-National Students
01.16.20 Text of the Letter to Education Department (PDF) | Text of the Letter to Accreditor (PDF) Washington, DC - House Education and Labor Committee Vice Chair Andy Levin (D-Mich.), House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment Chair Susan Davis (D-Calif.); and United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; sent letters to the Department of Education and the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools an… Continue Reading
Bonamici Votes to Block DeVos Rule that Hurts Defrauded Students
01.16.20 WASHINGTON, DC - Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Chair of the Education and Labor Committee's Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee, supported a House vote to block a Trump administration rule that would hurt students who have been defrauded by unscrupulous for-profit institutions. Hundreds of thousands of students, including thousands in Oregon, were left with burdensome loans and useless degrees after the collapse of Corinthian Colleges and other for-profit institutions t… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Stands Up for Students, and Votes to Reverse Devos’ Harmful Borrower Defense Rule
01.16.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement as the House voted to pass H.J.Res.76. This resolution, House Democrats' first use of the Congressional Review Act, reverses the Department of Education's harmful Borrower Defense rule, which would deny debt relief to students defrauded by predatory colleges. "The students we are trying to protect are victims of widespread, proven fraud from predatory schools about graduation rates, job placement rates, and t… Continue Reading
Committee Report Highlights Inequitable Funding for HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs
09.12.19 WASHINGTON - A report released this morning by the Committee on Education and Labor highlights the chronic underfunding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The report, titled "Investing in Economic Mobility: The Important Role of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in Closing Racial and Wealth Gaps in Higher Education" pulls together a mountain of evidence showing that greater federal investment in HBCUs, T… Continue Reading
GAO Report Reveals Education Department’s Failure to Implement Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
09.05.19 WASHINGTON - A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today reveals that the Department of Education is denying 99 percent of student borrowers applying for loan forgiveness under the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (TEPSLF). Congress established the emergency TEPSLF program last year in response to extremely high denial rates for the original Public Loan Service Forgiveness (PSLF) program, giving the Department specific instructions to simplify and exp… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Foxx Announce Five Bipartisan Hearings on Higher Education
02.21.19 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (NC-05) announced plans to hold five bipartisan hearings on higher education, marking the formal start of an effort the reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) in the 116th Congress. The joint announcement reflects the Committee's shared intention to host a thoughtful and open exchange of ideas for improving America's higher education system. The five hearings will be: The Cost of College: Student Centered … Continue Reading
Top Democrats Call for Investigation into Education Department’s Decision to Re-Recognize For-Profit Accreditor ACICS
12.18.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, requested the U.S. Department of Education Office of the Inspector General to investigate the Department's decision to re-recognize the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). In 2016, the Obama administration withdrew ACICS' federal recognition as an accrediting agency followi… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Statement on Education Corporation of America
12.05.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) statement on today's announcement that the Education Corporation of America (ECA) will close all of its more than 75 campuses, affecting roughly 20,000 students. ECA is accredited by ACICS and makes up about half of ACICS accredited schools. ECA's abrupt closure calls into question the Department's recent decision to reinstate ACICS as a recognized accreditor. "We have repeatedly warned about the risks low-quality, for-profit education companies a… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott: Title IX Proposal Would Be “Damaging Setback” for Efforts to Prevent Campus Sexual Misconduct
11.16.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to the Education Department's proposed rule, released today, which revises standards for schools' responsibility under the Title IX to respond to campus sexual assault and harassment. "The Title IX proposal released today would be a damaging setback for our efforts to prevent campus sexual harassment and assault. The bottom line is that by allowing schools to use this new process and evidentiary standa… Continue Reading
Scott, Murray Blast DeVos for Deeply Flawed Rulemaking Process That Could Weaken Key Protections for Students
10.31.18 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, sent a letter to Secretary Betsy DeVos urging the Department of Education (ED) to suspend the flawed, forthcoming negotiated rulemaking process that could abandon key protections for students and give predatory institutions free reign to take advantage of st… Continue Reading
Over 150 Democrats Call on DeVos to Release More Information about the Department’s Failure to Faithfully Implement the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
10.17.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, along with Representatives Susan Davis (CA-53) and John Sarbanes (MD-03), and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), led more than 150 Democrats requesting Education Secretary Betsy DeVos turn over more information-and swiftly act to fix- regarding the Department's flawed handling … Continue Reading
Bonamici Applauds Court Decision on Student Debt Relief
10.17.18 WASHINGTON, DC [10/16/18] - Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) applauded a court decision that allowed an Obama-era rule that protects student loan borrowers and holds predatory for-profit colleges accountable to go into effect today. The decision ended months of delay for the enforcement of the Borrower Defense rule, which was originally announced in 2016. More than 100,000 borrowers in the country, including many Oregonians, were deceived by for-profit colleges. Many of the students who w… Continue Reading