Senator Alexander backs a bill aimed at recruiting of student veterans by for-profits, a compromise amid negotiations with Democrats over his proposed package of higher education bills.
The powerful Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate’s education committee is backing a bipartisan bill aimed at for-profit colleges and their recruiting of students who are veterans of the U.S. military.
Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee this week told Bloomberg Government that he supports a bill that would count GI Bill and active-duty service-member tuition benefits as federal aid under the so-called 90-10 rule, which requires that for-profit colleges get no more than 90 percent of their revenue from federal sources.
“I appreciate the work Senators Carper, Cassidy, Lankford and Tester have done to take a highly partisan issue and create a bipartisan solution,” Alexander said in a written statement. “This is a responsible and reasonable step to ensure that all of our military and veteran students are attending quality institutions worth their time and money.”
Alexander is leaving the Senate next year. The former education secretary and university president is pushing hard to pass several bills on higher education. This package of legislation, which includes proposals with bipartisan support, would serve as a narrow update to the Higher Education Act. That law, which oversees federal financial aid, has not been reauthorized in 11 years.