March 11, 2024
The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
Minority Leader
United States 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, 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 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 dollars 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, College Cost Reduction Act, be removed from the legislation.
Respectfully,
American GI Forum of the U.S.
AMVETS
Black Veterans Project
Blue Star Families
Commissioned Officers Association of the USPHS
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America
Marine Corps Reserve Association
Military Chaplains Association
Military Child Education Coalition
Military Family Advisory Network
Military Officers Association of America
Modern Military Association of America
National Association of American Veterans, Inc.
National Military Family Association
No Greater Sacrifice
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Service Women’s Action Network
Student Veterans of America
Swords to Plowshares
The American Legion
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors
Travis Manion Foundation
U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association
U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association & Enlisted Association
Veterans Education Success
Veterans for Common Sense
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States
Vietnam Veterans of America
cc:
Virginia Foxx, Chair, House Education and the Workforce Committee
Mike Bost, Chair, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee