Murray Statement on DeVos Proposal to Abandon Gainful Employment Rule: “Proof There Is No Line DeVos Won’t Cross to Pad the Pockets of For-Profit Colleges”

Department of Education proposing to scrap an Obama-era rule to protect students from predatory career training programs

By Department’s own estimates, abandoning this rule will cost taxpayers $5.3 billion

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 proposal to abandon an 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 pay back their loans. By its own analysis, the Department’s proposal will cost taxpayers $5.3 billion over ten years.

“The gainful employment rule empowers students to make meaningful choices about their education and employment opportunities—and yet Secretary DeVos is proposing to completely abandon this common-sense and effective consumer protection that helps students decide whether a career training program is worth the investment, and would hold predatory for-profit colleges and career training programs accountable for leaving students with extensive debt they cannot repay. Her extreme proposal to rescind this rule is further proof that there is no line Secretary DeVos won’t cross to pad the pockets of for-profit colleges—even leaving students and taxpayers to foot the bill.”

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