Murray: “Secretary DeVos’ Repeal of the Gainful Employment Rule Is A Gift to Predatory Programs and For-Profit Colleges”

Department of Education withdrew the Obama Administration-era “gainful employment” rule, which will hurt students and cost taxpayers at least $6.2 billion over ten years

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement today on the Department of Education’s final repeal of the “gainful employment” rule. Last year, Secretary DeVos announced the Department would abandon the Obama Administration-era “gainful employment” rule—which would hold predatory career training programs accountable when their students are unable to find jobs that allow them to pay back their loans. The Department’s own analysis estimated that withdrawing the Obama Administration-era rule will cost taxpayers $6.2 billion in Pell Grants and student loans. The repeal will continue to send students to risky career programs that could have otherwise closed and will jeopardize students’ financial wellbeing.

“Instead of protecting students from predatory career training programs and giving them the information they need to make informed decisions about their education and employment opportunities, Secretary DeVos’ repeal of the gainful employment rule is a gift to predatory programs and for-profit colleges that want to take unsuspecting students for a ride. If Secretary DeVos had students’ best interests at heart, she would withdraw this repeal immediately and reinstate the common-sense and effective consumer protections put in place by the Obama Administration.”

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