Senate Dems Unveil Legislation To Protect Education Investments

By Gabriella Landeros

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) unveiled new legislation Wednesday aimed at ensuring tax dollars intended to help college students goes to fund education and service instead of marketing, advertising, and recruitment.

The Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act targets Pell Grants, federal student loans, the Post- 9/11 G.I. Bill and other federal education funds.”In these tough economic times, we need to protect taxpayers’ investment of billions of dollars in student financial aid by ensuring that it is used to help students succeed in college, not on out-of-control advertising, marketing and recruitment budgets,” said Hagan. “Find the money elsewhere, not from taxpayers.”

“In these tough economic times, we need to protect taxpayers’ investment of billions of dollars in student financial aid by ensuring that it is used to help students succeed in college, not on out-of-control advertising, marketing and recruitment budgets,” said Senator Hagan.

Harkin cited his committee’s investigation into for-profit colleges as grounds for the legislation.

“[It] revealed a staggering amount of money is being spent on advertising and recruiting from for-profit colleges that fail their students. Taxpayers should not be picking up the tab for colleges with dismal graduation rates that spend up to 30 percent of their revenue on marketing machines.”

Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.