[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6008 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6008
To reduce and prevent the sale and use of fraudulent degrees in order
to protect the integrity of valid higher education degrees that are
used for Federal purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 28, 2006
Ms. McCollum of Minnesota (for herself, Mr. Bishop of New York, and Mr.
Grijalva) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the
Committees on Energy and Commerce, Government Reform, Judiciary, and
Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reduce and prevent the sale and use of fraudulent degrees in order
to protect the integrity of valid higher education degrees that are
used for Federal purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Diploma Integrity Protection Act of
2006''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE; DEFINITIONS.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to protect institutions of
higher education, businesses and other employers, professional
licensing boards, patients and clients of degree holders, taxpayers,
and other individuals from any person claiming to possess a legitimate
academic degree that in fact was issued by a fraudulent or nonexistent
school, by a non-educational entity posing as a school, or by any
entity in violation of Federal or State law.
(b) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Degree-granting institution.--The term ``degree-
granting institution'' means any entity that offers or confers
an academic, professional, or occupational degree, diploma, or
certificate, if such degree, diploma, or certificate may be
used to represent to the general public that the individual
possessing such degree, diploma, or certificate has completed a
program of education or training beyond secondary education.
(2) Diploma mill.--The term ``diploma mill'' means any
entity that--
(A) lacks valid accreditation by an agency
recognized by a Federal agency, a State government, or
the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as a
valid accrediting agency of institutions of higher
education; and
(B) offers degrees, diplomas, or certifications,
for a fee, that may be used to represent to the general
public that the individual possessing such a degree,
diploma, or certification has completed a program of
education or training beyond secondary education, but
little or no education or course work is required to
obtain such a degree, diploma, or certification.
(3) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such
term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1002).
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Diploma mills (entities that sell fraudulent degrees,
diplomas, or certifications), have proliferated in recent
decades due to inconsistent law enforcement and technological
advances such as the Internet and electronic mail.
(2) Diploma mills take many different forms but often share
common characteristics, such as--
(A) lack of accreditation or false claims of
accreditation by agencies not recognized by the
Department of Education or by the Council for Higher
Education Accreditation;
(B) no previous academic records are required for
admission;
(C) tuition is charged based on the number of
degrees purchased, rather than the number of credit
hours or courses taken;
(D) credits for degrees are offered based on life
experience rather than academic work;
(E) students can receive degrees in far less time
than at legitimate, accredited institutions of higher
education;
(F) faculty do not have degrees or credentials from
accredited institutions;
(G) the use of foreign or post office box addresses
for the entity, without a physical permanent address in
the United States; and
(H) names that are very similar to legitimate,
accredited institutions of higher education.
(3) Several hundred diploma mills are operating at any
given time, with revenues estimated to total more than
$500,000,000 each year.
(4) Rapidly growing commerce in fraudulent academic
credentials imperils the national security of the United
States.
(5) The safety of the American public is particularly
endangered by the sale of fraudulent medical, engineering,
science, and education degrees.
(6) The preeminence of the United States in science and
engineering, as well as the prestige and reputation of American
universities, is threatened by the trafficking of fraudulent
degrees, diplomas, and certifications.
(7) Some individuals who obtain degrees from diploma mills
are conspirators in fraudulent behavior, but others are
innocent consumers who have become victims of financial scams.
(8) Efforts to shut down diploma mills have been weak and
erratic due to variations in--
(A) the laws of Federal, State, and local
jurisdictions;
(B) available enforcement mechanisms; and
(C) political priorities.
(9) In 2004, a Government Accountability Office
investigation revealed weaknesses in the Department of
Education's administration of the student loan programs for
higher education, including the possibility that a diploma mill
could participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program
(FFELP) under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
(10) The 2004 Government Accountability Office
investigation included an examination of the credentials of a
sampling of Federal employees, and revealed that, of the
Federal employees selected for the examination, 463 Federal
employees held degrees from diploma mills and other
unaccredited universities, including 12 employees for the
Department of Homeland Security, 13 for the Department of
Justice, and 29 for the United States Postal Service. The
investigation also found that Federal agencies have paid more
than $150,000 in tuition payments to diploma mills and other
unaccredited universities on behalf of Federal employees.
(11) Recent investigations of suspected diploma mills have
exposed a tangled web of fraudulent behavior that spans across
State lines and the United States border.
(12) The regulation of education in the United States is,
in general, a State responsibility, and the development and
regulation of academic standards in higher education is the
responsibility of institutions of higher education.
(13) The Federal Government should have uniform standards
to determine, for Federal purposes, the legitimacy of degrees,
diplomas, certifications, and degree-granting institutions.
(14) This Act is necessary to prevent the use of fraudulent
degrees for Federal purposes, and to expand Federal authority
to investigate and penalize operators of diploma mills.
SEC. 4. RECOGNIZED ACCREDITING AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS.
(a) Lists Maintained by the Department of Education.--Not later
than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Education shall make available (in a regularly updated, electronic
format) to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the heads of other
appropriate Federal agencies, a list of--
(1) accrediting agencies and associations, recognized by
the Secretary of Education under section 496 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b), or by the Council for
Higher Education Accreditation;
(2) eligible institutions, as defined under section 435(a)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(a)); and
(3) foreign degree-granting institutions that--
(A) have degree-granting authority, as granted by
the appropriate agency or ministry of jurisdiction in
the home country of such institution;
(B) issue degrees that are accepted for
professional licensure, public employment, and
admission into graduate programs of degree-granting
institutions in the home country (as determined by the
Secretary of State);
(C) are determined by the Secretary of Education to
be academically equivalent to an eligible institution,
as defined in section 435(a) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(a)); and
(D) are located in a home country that is capable
of performing an effective academic evaluation of the
degree-granting institutions to which it issues degree-
granting authority, as determined by the Secretary of
State, in consultation with the Secretary of Education,
for the purposes of allowing the Secretary of Homeland Security and the
heads of such Federal agencies to determine, for immigration and
Federal employment and hiring purposes, the legitimacy of degree-
granting institutions and degrees issued by such institutions.
(b) Revisions to Lists.--The Secretary of Education shall modify
and maintain the lists described in subsection (a) as necessary to
ensure that the lists and the information contained in the lists are
accurate and up-to-date, based on the most recent information available
to the Secretary.
(c) Notice of Recognition.--To be eligible to receive funds under
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, each eligible institution
described in subsection (a)(2) shall, not later than 60 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, prominently display on the
institution's Internet website a notice indicating that the institution
is recognized by the Secretary of Education as a legitimate degree-
granting institution for immigration and Federal employment and hiring
purposes. If the Secretary of Education determines that an institution
no longer qualifies as a legitimate degree-granting institutions
described in subsection (a)(2), and removes the institution from the
list maintained under such subsection, the institution shall, not later
than 15 days after the removal of the institution from such list,
delete the notice required by this subsection from the institution's
Internet website.
SEC. 5. ACCREDITING AGENCIES.
No accrediting agency or association may be considered to be a
reliable authority as to the quality of education or training offered
by a degree-granting institution for any purpose related to
immigration, Federal employment and hiring practices, or for any other
Federal purposes, unless the agency or association is on the list of
accrediting agencies and associations recognized by the Secretary of
Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and
provided to the Secretary of Homeland Security under section 4(a).
SEC. 6. STUDENT VISAS.
No nonimmigrant visa under subsections (F), (J), or (M) of section
101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(15)) shall be issued to any alien unless the established
college or university described in such section is on the list of
eligible institutions recognized by the Secretary of Education and
provided to the Secretary of Homeland Security under section 4.
SEC. 7. FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.
For purposes of applying any civil service law, rule, or regulation
that requires or takes into consideration a degree from an institution
of higher education for purposes of appointment or promotion of, or
improved pay for, a Federal employee, only a degree from a degree-
granting institution that is on the list of eligible institutions
recognized by the Secretary of Education and provided to the
appropriate Federal agencies under section 4 shall be acceptable.
SEC. 8. TASK FORCE.
(a) Task Force Established.--The Secretary of Education shall
establish within the Department of Education the Diploma Mill Task
Force (referred to in this Act as the ``Task Force'').
(b) Membership.--
(1) Number and appointment.--The Task Force shall, if
practicable, be composed of 19 members, as follows:
(A) The Assistant Secretary of Education for
Postsecondary Education.
(B) A representative of the Department of Education
with experience related to the determination of the
legitimacy and quality of degrees from foreign
institutions of higher education, selected by the
Secretary of Education.
(C) A representative of the Department of Justice,
selected by the Attorney General.
(D) A representative of the Federal Trade
Commission, selected by the Chairman of such agency.
(E) A representative of the Secret Service,
selected by the Director of the Secret Service.
(F) A representative of the Department of State,
selected by the Secretary of State.
(G) A representative of the Department of Homeland
Security, selected by the Secretary of Homeland
Security.
(H) A representative of the Office of Personnel
Management, selected by the Director of such Office.
(I) A representative of the Council for Higher
Education Accreditation.
(J) A representative of the American Association of
Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
(K) Two representatives of State degree approval
agencies, selected by agreement of at least 3 of the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate
Majority Leader, the House Minority Leader, and the
Senate Minority Leader.
(L) Two representatives from regionally accredited
institutions of higher education, selected by agreement
of at least 3 of the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Senate Majority Leader, the House
Minority Leader, and the Senate Minority Leader.
(M) One representative from a nationally accredited
institution of higher education, selected by agreement
of at least 3 of the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Senate Majority Leader, the House
Minority Leader, and the Senate Minority Leader.
(N) Four individuals from the general population
with experience in higher education, the detection of
fraudulent degrees and degree-granting institutions, or
law enforcement related to credential fraud, selected
as follows:
(i) One individual selected by the Speaker
of the House of Representatives.
(ii) One individual selected by the
Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives.
(iii) One individual selected by the
Majority Leader of the Senate.
(iv) One individual selected by the
Minority Leader of the Senate.
(2) Criteria for membership.--All members of the Task Force
shall be persons who are especially qualified to serve on the
Task Force by virtue of their education, training, or
experience, particularly in the fields of higher education,
accreditation of institutions of higher education, foreign
higher education standards, State regulation of institutions of
higher education, immigration, Federal employment requirements
and hiring practices, or fraud prevention, detection, or
enforcement.
(3) Terms.--Each member shall be appointed for the life of
the Task Force.
(4) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Task Force shall be filled
in the manner in which the original appointment was made.
(5) Chair.--At the first meeting of the Task Force, the
members of the Task Force shall elect a member of the Task
Force to serve as Chair.
(c) Duties.--
(1) Guidelines.--The Task Force shall develop guidelines,
to be used for the development of Federal legislation, to
identify degree-granting institutions as legitimate or
fraudulent degree-granting institutions for Federal purposes.
In developing such guidelines, the Task Force shall consider--
(A) characteristics of degree-granting institutions
that help determine the legitimacy of the institution,
such as whether an entity--
(i) offers or confers degrees, diplomas, or
certificates--
(I) for little or no meaningful
academic work;
(II) without requiring an
appropriate level of academic
achievement for the attainment of such
degrees, diplomas, or certificates; or
(III) without imposing academic or
other requirements for admittance into
the institutions or programs offering
such degrees, diplomas, or
certificates;
(ii) has fiscal and administrative
structures and capacity appropriate to the
specified scale of educational operations;
(iii) has resources to support claims as a
degree-granting institution, including
curricula, qualified faculty, facilities,
equipment, and supplies, student support
services, objectives of the degrees or
credentials offered, admissions practices,
academic calendars and catalogs, and a grading
system; and
(iv) has degree-granting authority issued
by the States in which degrees, or instruction
leading to degrees, are offered, and is
recognized by such States as an approved
institution of higher education;
(B) the feasibility of defining the term
``fraudulent degree-granting institution'' (commonly
referred to as ``diploma mills''), and if feasible,
shall define such term for use in Federal laws and
regulations;
(C) issues related to--
(i) the detection of new and existing
fraudulent degree-granting institutions;
(ii) recognition and prevention of the
practices used by such fraudulent degree-
granting institutions to avoid detection;
(iii) the enforcement of laws and
regulations prohibiting such fraudulent degree-
granting institutions and practices and the use
of fraudulent degrees; and
(iv) the prosecution of such fraudulent
degree-granting institutions and practices and
the use of fraudulent degrees;
(D) difficulties in identifying fraudulent degree-
granting institutions located in foreign countries, or
that claim recognition or degree-granting authority
from foreign countries;
(E) means to alert and educate the public about
fraudulent degree-granting institutions and the use of
fraudulent degrees;
(F) laws, regulations, and other means used by
States to address fraudulent degree-granting
institutions and the use of fraudulent degrees;
(G) the potential need for coordination and
cooperation among various Federal agencies to
investigate and prosecute suspected fraudulent degree-
granting institutions, and the detailed recommendations
of the Task Force regarding such coordination and
cooperation;
(H) the study and the report to the Task Force
required under section 11; and
(I) the purposes for which various agencies of the
United States need to identify fraudulent degree-
granting institutions, and identify, prohibit, and
prevent the use of degrees issued by such fraudulent
institutions, and the ability of such agencies to
implement any guidelines considered by the Task Force.
(2) Development of federal plan.--The Task Force shall
develop a strategic diploma integrity protection plan (referred
to in this section as the ``Plan'') to address the sale and use
of fraudulent degrees for Federal purposes. The Plan shall
include the following:
(A) Recommendations to Congress regarding the
implementation by Federal agencies of the guidelines
developed under paragraph (1).
(B) Recommendations to the Federal Trade Commission
regarding the application of the guidelines developed
under paragraph (1) to the rulemaking required under
section 9 and to the enforcement of the rules
promulgated under such section.
(3) Submission of report to congress.--Not later one year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Task Force
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report, including--
(A) the guidelines developed under paragraph (1);
(B) the Plan developed under paragraph (2); and
(C) legislative language in the form of a qualified
bill to effectuate such Plan.
(4) Qualifying bill.--For the purposes of this section, a
``qualifying bill'' means a bill--
(A) the title of which is the following: ``A bill
to establish and implement a strategic diploma
integrity protection plan to address the sale and use
of fraudulent degrees for Federal purposes.'';
(B) the text of which consists of the text of the
bill included in the report submitted under paragraph
(3); and
(C) the provisions of which shall apply to
applicable Federal agencies not later than the date
that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of
such bill.
(d) Expedited Congressional Consideration of Legislative
Proposal.--
(1) Introduction.--The majority leader of each House or his
designee shall (by request) introduce a qualified bill as
defined in subsection (c)(4) not later than the tenth day of
session of that House after the date of receipt of the report
transmitted to the Congress under subsection (c)(3). If a
qualified bill is not introduced as provided in the preceding
sentence in either House, then, on the eleventh day of session
of that House after the date of receipt of such report, any
Member of that House may introduce the qualified bill.
(2) Referral and reporting in the house of
representatives.--Any committee of the House of Representatives
to which a qualified bill is referred shall report it to the
House not later than the 30th day after the date of its
introduction. If a committee fails to report the bill within
that period or the House has adopted a concurrent resolution
providing for adjournment sine die at the end of a Congress, it
shall be in order to move that the House discharge the
committee from further consideration of the bill. Such a motion
shall be in order only at a time designated by the Speaker in
the legislative schedule within two legislative days after the
day on which the proponent announces his intention to offer the
motion. Such a motion shall not be in order after a committee
has reported a qualified bill. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without
intervening motion except twenty minutes of debate equally
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent. If
such a motion is adopted, the House shall proceed immediately
to consider the qualified bill.
(e) Termination.--The Task Force shall terminate 60 calendar days
after the date on which the Task Force submits the report under
subsection (c)(3).
SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING USE BY STATES OF THE FEDERAL
PLAN AS GUIDELINES.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) each State should implement a strategic diploma
integrity plan similar to any such plan enacted by Congress in
accordance with section 8, to the extent practicable and as
soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of such a
plan under such section; and
(2) States may adopt more stringent standards than those
standards contained in the Federal strategic diploma integrity
plan and used by agencies of the United States to identify
fraudulent degree-granting institutions operating within such
State, except that State law does not preempt Federal law as
applied to the employment and hiring practices of Federal
employees working in such State.
SEC. 10. UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES REGARDING DIPLOMAS AND
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS.
(a) Conduct Prohibited.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall initiate a
rulemaking to define as an unfair and deceptive act or practice under
section 18 of Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a) the
following:
(1) The issuing of a degree, diploma, certificate, or any
similar document by an entity that is not recognized as a
legitimate degree-granting institution by the Secretary of
Education, if such degree, diploma, certificate, or similar
document misrepresents, directly or indirectly, the subject
matter, substance, or content of the course of study or any
other material fact concerning the course of study for which
such degree, diploma, certificate, or similar document was
awarded.
(2) The offering or conferring of an academic,
professional, or occupational degree if the entity offering or
conferring the degree--
(A) is not an institution of higher education;
(B) has not been accredited by an accrediting
agency or association that is recognized for any
purpose by any appropriate Federal agency, or by the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation; or
(C) is not recognized by the Secretary of Education
as an eligible institution under section 4(a)(2),
unless the entity offering or conferring such a degree clearly
and conspicuously discloses, in all advertising and promotional
materials that contain a reference to such a degree, that the
awarding of the degree has not been so authorized or that the
entity offering or conferring the degree has not been so
approved or recognized.
(3) The claiming or asserting in any advertisements or
promotional material of an entity offering or conferring an
academic, professional, or occupational degree, that such
entity has--
(A) an accredited status unless it holds
accreditation from an accrediting agency that is
recognized by the Secretary of Education or the Council
for Higher Education Accreditation, or is recognized
for any purpose by any appropriate Federal agency or,
for foreign sources of accreditation, unless it holds
accreditation from an accrediting agency that is
recognized by the appropriate agency or ministry of
jurisdiction in the country of the accrediting agency;
or
(B) an unaccredited, but approved status that
misrepresents, directly or indirectly, the nature,
extent, or credibility of such approval.
(4) The issuing of any accreditation, including
institutional, programmatic, or specialized accreditation, to
any degree-granting institution by any entity that is not
recognized for accreditation purposes by the Secretary of
Education, any other appropriate Federal agency, or the Council
for Higher Education Accreditation, or, for foreign
accreditors, any entity that is not recognized for
accreditation purposes by the appropriate agency or ministry of
jurisdiction in the country of the accrediting agency.
(b) Guidelines for Legitimate Degree-Granting Institution.--For
purposes of defining a legitimate degree-granting institution in the
rule required under subsection (a), the Federal Trade Commission shall
adopt the guidelines developed by the Task Force and submitted in its
report to Congress as required by section 8(c).
(c) Final Rule.--The Commission shall issue final rules under this
section not later than 90 days after the Task Force submits its final
report containing such guidelines to Congress pursuant to section
8(c)(3).
(d) Reporting Requirement.--
(1) Federal trade commission.--In administering and
enforcing the rule required under subsection (a), the Federal
Trade Commission shall report regularly to the Secretary of
Education any information regarding entities which the
Commission knows or suspects to be in violation of such rule.
(2) Secretary of education.--The Secretary of Education
shall make available to the general public, in paper and
electronic forms, the information reported to the Secretary in
accordance with paragraph (1).
SEC. 11. STUDY.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a study to gather
the following information:
(1) A determination of the numbers and types of degree-
granting institutions that are enrolling students or otherwise
operating within the United States as of the date of the
enactment of this Act that are not accredited by an accrediting
agency or association recognized by the Secretary of Education
under section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1099b) that--
(A) are legitimate degree-granting institutions;
and
(B) are fraudulent degree-granting institutions.
(2) An analysis of why legitimate degree-granting
institutions do not obtain accreditation by an accrediting
agency or association described in paragraph (1), and
specifically why some such institutions voluntarily elect not
to obtain such accreditation.
(3) An analysis of any steps taken by the Department of
Education to repair the vulnerabilities in the Federal Family
Education Loan Program revealed by the Office of Special
Investigations of the Government Accountability Office, as
reported to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness of
the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives on September 23, 2004.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Diploma Mill Task
Force established under section 8 a report on the study conducted under
subsection (a) together with recommendations for such legislation and
administrative action as the Comptroller General determines to be
appropriate.
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