Merkley, Durbin, Krishnamoorthi Introduce Bill to Protect Students From Worthless Degrees – YubaNet.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. Nov. 21, 2019 – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8) today introduced the Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act of 2019 in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would close a loophole that allows for-profit colleges to take federal financial aid dollars for students to attend or enroll in unaccredited degree programs that often leave students deep in debt and unable to work in their chosen field.
The introduction comes amid an ongoing battle between lawmakers and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who refuses to forgive the debts of tens of thousands of Americans who were victimized by abusive for-profit colleges.
“Higher education should be a path to the American Dream, but that dream is shattered if students graduate with worthless degrees,” said Merkley. “American taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing predatory programs that claim to provide career preparation, but instead target financially vulnerable students with programs that will leave them with no job prospects. Betsy DeVos may be willing to do the bidding of for-profit colleges, but Congress needs to stand up to these predatory programs that are hurting students and families in communities across America.”