Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Higher Education
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
Ranking Member Scott Statement on Court Ruling in Borrower Defense Lawsuit
10.16.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after a federal court judge ruled the Department of Education illegally delayed the "Borrower Defense" (BD) rule. The rule was established under President Obama in the wake of two massive for-profit college closures to provide relief to defrauded students. "Today's court ruling is a major victory for students. In September, the Court found the Department illegally delayed the Borrower's Defense regulations, delaying … Continue Reading
Rep. Mark Takano Statement on Court Decision Regarding Borrowers’ Defense Rule
10.16.18 WASHINGTON - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released the following statement after a U.S. District Court judge denied an injunction that would have reversed a rule promulgated in 2016 to protect student loan borrowers from misleading, deceitful, and predatory practices: "Today's court decision on the 2016 borrowers' defense rule is a major victory for students across the United States. The court's ruling has permitted these much-needed consumer protections to take effect at noon today, putting an… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Education Department Missing Deadline to Finalize Rollback of Consumer Protections
10.03.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in response to reports that the Education Department will miss a deadline to finalize its rollback of rules that protect students from predatory schools. The delay, which is a result of the overwhelming number of public comments submitted in response to the proposals, means the Obama-era protections for students and taxpayers will remain in effect until at least July 1, 2020. "The reported delay in the Trump administ… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on the Recognition ACICS
10.01.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after Diane Auer Jones, a senior official at the Department of Education and former for-profit college executive, submitted a recommendation that Secretary DeVos grant the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) an additional year as a recognized accreditor despite continued lack of compliance with federal standards for accrediting agencies. "Students, their families, and the federal governmen… Continue Reading
GAO Report: Trump Administration Causes Confusion, Uncertainty in Loan Forgiveness Program
09.27.18 WASHINGTON- Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce and Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA-53), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, released a GAO report that found serious shortcomings in the Trump administration's implementation of the popular Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Established in 2007, PSLF offers loan forgiveness to public servants who work for a qualified employ… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Highlight Importance of Civil Rights Protections During Hearing on Campus Free Speech
09.26.18 WASHINGTON - Today, during a full Committee hearing examining First Amendment rights on college campuses, Committee Democrats described how the Trump administration's one-sided approach to free speech protections is politicizing and undermining the practice of free expression. Democratic members highlighted examples of the administration engaging in a partisan defense of free speech, while ignoring the federal government's responsibility to support colleges and universities in protecting the civ… Continue Reading
House and Senate Democrats Condemn DeVos for Her Latest Attempt to Put Predatory Corporations and Institutions Over Students
09.17.18 WASHINGTON - Led by Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, 108 Members of Congress submitted a comment letter to Secretary DeVos urging the Department of Education (ED) to suspend the new, aggressive rulemaking process that could abandon key protections and give free rein to predatory institutions. "Over the past 18 mon… Continue Reading
Scott Urges DeVos to Protect Students from Predatory For-Profit Colleges and Reverse Proposal to Eliminate Gainful Employment Rule
09.13.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), the top Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, submitted a public comment to the Department of Education today urging the Department to abandon its proposed repeal of the "Gainful Employment" (GE) rule. The GE rule sets the enforcement standard to ensure that career programs and for-profit institutions, many of which have a demonstrated history of leaving students with debt they cannot repay, comply with federal law. In the let… Continue Reading
Scott, Foxx Praise House Passage of Bipartisan Financial Aid Legislation
09.05.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1635, the bipartisan Empowering Students through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act. Sponsored by Reps. Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), the legislation will improve financial aid counseling for students receiving a Pell Grant or a federal loan. "The decision to take out student loans can have lifelong consequences f… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott: Draft DeVos Proposal on Sexual Misconduct is a Major Step Backwards
08.30.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to a report from the New York Times that revealed Secretary DeVos's draft proposal to rewrite policies for addressing sexual misconduct on campus. "The draft regulation regarding sexual harassment and misconduct that is reportedly under consideration by Secretary DeVos would be a major step backward in our collective effort to provide a safe learning environment for all students. The proposed rule creat… Continue Reading