December 5, 2024
The Honorable Mike Johnson, Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C., 20515
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C., 20515
Dear Mr. Speaker and Mr. Minority Leader,
On behalf of the undersigned organizations representing millions of veterans, service members, families, and survivors, we want to express our strong opposition to Section 302(a) of H.R. 6951, the College Cost Reduction Act. This provision would repeal the 90/10 Rule, along with the veteran education loophole fix, an important protection for our nation’s veterans and all beneficiaries using Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) education benefits, like the GI Bill.
For years, our organizations fought to pass legislation to set limits on the amount of federal funds that for-profit higher education institutions could receive. The 90/10 Rule limits schools to receive not more than 90 percent of their funding from Title 4 grants and loans and at least 10 percent from non-federal funding. A loophole of the 90/10 Rule excluded VA benefits from the federal funding designation. In 2021, bipartisan legislation passed into law to fix this problem and the final regulations followed in 2022.
Closing the 90/10 loophole was a necessary protection for our nation’s veterans and all beneficiaries of VA education benefits. Without this protection, predatory schools would be able to target these students, seeing them as dollar signs to boost their profits. We must protect this important population from bad actors and safeguard taxpayer dollars. We urge that Section 302(a) of H.R. 6951, the College Cost Reduction Act, be removed from the legislation before its final consideration on the Union Calendar, as presently scheduled.
Respectfully,
Air Force Sergeants Association
AMVETS
Blue Star Families
Commissioned Officers Association of the USPHS
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America
Military Child Education Coalition
Military Officers Association of America
Military Order of the Purple Heart
Modern Military Association of America
National Military Family Association
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Student Veterans of America
Swords to Plowshares
The American Legion
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors
Veterans Education Success
Veterans for Common Sense
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States
Vietnam Veterans of America
cc:
Virginia Foxx, Chair,
U.S. House of Representatives
Education and the Workforce Committee
Mike Bost, Chair,
U.S. House of Representatives
Veterans’ Affairs Committee