When the Department of Veterans Affairs announced a rule to waive federal ethics rules to specifically allow for-profit colleges to give gifts, money, stock options, salaries and more to VA employees, Veterans Education Success mobilized an impressive force of bipartisan ethics experts (including the top ethics official to both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama), veterans & military groups, consumer and education groups, individual student veterans who had been defrauded by for-profit colleges, and even the VA employees’ labor union to organize opposition letters. And we won! VA backed down and rescinded its proposal. We then worked closely with Congress to fine-tune the federal statute to make sure it remains strong.
Opposition letters to VA Proposals:
- Veterans Education Success (providing important historical and legal information) (Oct. 13, 2017)
- 42 federal ethics experts, national veterans and military service organizations, and consumer protection and education experts (June 20, 2018)
- Department of Veterans Affairs Ethics Waiver Plan (May 1, 2018)
- 21 national veterans and military service organizations (Oct. 13, 2017)
- Individual veterans at for-profit colleges share their experiences and object to VA’s proposal
- 21 education, civil rights, and consumer organizations (Oct. 13, 2017)
- Campaign Legal Center (Oct. 12, 2017)
- Center for Responsible Ethics in Washington, signed by the White House Ethics Directors for George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and others (Oct. 12, 2017)
- American Federation of Government Employees, representing VA employees (Oct. 12, 2017)
- Service Women’s Action Network
- Consumer organizations (Oct. 11, 2017) (press release)
- Student Veterans of America (Oct. 9, 2017)
- Veterans Student Loan Relief Fund (Oct. 14, 2017)
- U.S. Senators Murray, Brown, Durbin and Warren (Oct. 5, 2017) (press release)
- U.S. Senator Carper (Oct. 6 2017)
- The Century Foundation (Oct. 5, 2017)
- VA OGC Response to FOIA regarding 38 USC 3683
- Response from NASAA President to research questions April 15, 2022
- Letter from VA OGC Draves responding to FOIA request regarding ethics waivers 8/8/2022
- VA materials on waivers under 38 USC 3683 (Aug. 8. 2022)
Should @DeptVetAffairs allow #4profit colleges to give VA employees gifts, profits, dividends, salaries and more? Top US federal ethics experts, along with VA employees' labor union, consumer, and national #veterans & military groups, say "No way!" https://t.co/rIUOwkjq9r
— Veterans Education Success (@GIBillRights) June 21, 2018
We filed a public comment to protect #ethics at #VA for #veterans on https://t.co/kc4eEclfYk. #federalregister
— Veterans Education Success (@GIBillRights) October 13, 2017