[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 29, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S730-S732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S SECURITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST ACT OF 2019--MOTION
TO PROCEED--Continued
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will come to order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that
notwithstanding rule XXII, at 3 o'clock p.m. today, all postcloture
time on the motion to proceed to S. 1 expire and the
[[Page S731]]
Senate proceed to a vote on the motion to proceed to S. 1.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCONNELL. For information of all of our colleagues, the vote
will be at 3 o'clock.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Resolution of Disapproval on Russia Sanctions
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, a vote earlier this month on the
administration's decision to ease sanctions on a Russian oligarch puts
the Senate on record on where its Members stand in terms of holding
Russia accountable for its continued actions against the United States.
We need to be clear about what we are facing. Not only did Russia
conduct what I believe to be a cyber act of war against the United
States during the 2016 election cycle, it continues to do so with the
President and his administration, apparently, indifferent.
Make no mistake. Russia tried to interfere in the recent midterm
elections, and it continues to do so against our democratic allies in
Europe. What has been the response of this body--the U.S. Senate--sworn
to uphold the Constitution, to protect against enemies, foreign and
domestic? Other than the belated passage of a Russia sanctions bill in
the last Congress--a bill whose sanction provisions this administration
has been slow or unwilling to enforce--we have done almost nothing.
Let's start in 2016 when top officials from the administration's
national security and intelligence community came and warned
congressional leadership of Russia's ongoing and serious attack on our
election--this was during the election campaign--rightly asking for a
bipartisan statement to tell Russian dictator Putin to stop.
What was Senate Majority Leader McConnell's response to this request
to protect our Nation?
No thanks; not going to do it.
History will no doubt look back with amazement at that decision.
What about the Senate Foreign Relations Committee--a historically
celebrated body with jurisdiction over this Russian attack on the
United States? It did not even conduct an investigation into Russia's
actions in the last Congress. To date, I have heard no plans to do so
in this Congress. That is incredible.
We have stunning reports--reports that normally would bring this city
to a halt--of an FBI counterintelligence investigation opened on
President Trump--whether the President called for the destruction of
notes after meetings with Russian leaders . . . something unheard of in
the history of that office . . . and that Trump has been asking about
how the United States could possibly withdraw from the NATO alliance.
These are stunning developments, and they are not alone. For anyone
paying attention, they shouldn't be surprised that our President is, in
fact, pursuing policies the Russians could only dream of. They include
the weakening of our democratic institutions; the weakening of our
Western security alliance; the withdrawing of U.S. leadership on the
global stage and ceding influence to Russia, Iran, and China; silence
when Russia attacked Ukrainian naval ships; entertaining the idea of
turning over an American ambassador to Russia for an absurd line of
questioning; cozying up to global dictators and ignoring American
values of democracy of human rights; and, of course, the President
saying publicly and privately to Putin that he believes him instead of
our intelligence experts when it comes to denying any attacks on
democracy.
We also know that President Trump was incredibly suggesting such
Russia-friendly policies during his campaign while at the same time
pursuing business interests in that country.
I end with a question I have asked before on this floor. How can the
party of Ronald Reagan continue to sit by while this President pursues
policies aligned with a former KGB agent? Why are the first bills in
this new Senate under Republican control not dealing with the serious
threats to our Nation? Why isn't the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
holding urgent hearings on these stunning developments between an
American President and a Russian dictator, not to mention moving
bipartisan legislation to protect U.S. membership in NATO?
Quite simply, with the government finally back open we need deal with
these serious threats to our nation and democracy that we have heard
involving our White House. When we are elected to office in Congress,
we take an oath. In it, we swear to uphold and defend the Constitution
of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The
President similarly swears to preserve, protect, and defend our
Constitution. As such, it is time for all of us--Democrats and
Republicans--to speak up and fulfill our constitutional responsibility.
For-Profit Colleges
Madam President, for anyone who thought the upheaval in the for-
profit college industry was over or it was driven by an overzealous
Obama administration determined to kill the industry, as some accused
just a few short months ago, it is time to think again.
Just last month, amid the loving regulatory embrace of the for-profit
college industry by President Trump's DeVos-led Department of
Education, two major for-profit college chains have collapsed. It
proves true the recent warning by the Department of Education inspector
general, Kathleen Tighe, that for-profit colleges represent a
disproportionate risk to both students and American taxpayers.
The rot in the for-profit college industry runs much deeper than just
the failures of Corinthian and ITT Tech. On December 17, for-profit
college company Vatterott Colleges announced the immediate closure of
its campuses nationwide, leaving 2,300 students stranded, including 200
at its campus in Fairview Heights, IL. The company had been in
financial trouble for some time. It had already closed a number of
campuses, including one in Quincy, IL.
The Department of Education must now provide Illinois and other
Vatterott students with clear information about their options,
including their eligibility to receive a closed school discharge of
their Federal student loans and option to file a claim for a borrower
defense discharge if they believe they were defrauded by the
university.
In addition, the Department must make sure these students are not put
at risk a second time by assuring that they have affordable, quality
options to continue their education, such as community colleges. It
would be adding insult to injury to allow these students to be lured by
other predatory or financially shaky for-profit colleges, especially
those facing State and Federal investigations.
Early in December, Education Corporation of America closed 75
campuses nationwide, affecting some 20,000 students. I am pleased, in
this case, that the Department of Education developed a page on its
website to inform ECA students about closed school discharges. It must
do more to communicate with affected students and ensure they are able
to continue their studies at quality, affordable institutions.
The vultures are already circling these students.
In a recent letter, Steve Gunderson, a former Member of the U.S.
House of Representatives and lead lobbyist for the for-profit colleges
and universities, announced that for-profit colleges are working to
assist the students who were victims of these collapsed for-profit
schools and that 20 for-profit colleges had already expressed interest
in taking on these ECA students. It is simply double jeopardy to ask
students, once defrauded by this industry, to be somehow rescued and
lured into another contractual obligation by another school in the for-
profit college industry.
Over the holiday season, around 30 campuses owned by Dream Center
Education Holdings closed. They include the Argosy campus in
Schaumburg, IL, and the Illinois Institute of Art--not to be confused
with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a reputable
organization.
In August, I led several of my colleagues in writing to Secretary
DeVos,
[[Page S732]]
asking her to provide immediate assistance to these students who had
borrowed money to go to these worthless schools. We were concerned that
Dream Center was not providing students with information about closed
school discharges and was pushing them into other bad options, like
enrolling in another for-profit school. Among other things, we asked
the Department to post an information page on its website to inform the
students. Even weeks after the closure, we have yet to receive a
response to this letter from the Department of Education.
Adding to the confusion for students in Illinois is the fact that for
months Dream Center misrepresented that the Illinois Institute of Art
campuses were accredited, even when its accreditor had made clear that
was not the case. I have called on Secretary DeVos to investigate this
misrepresentation, especially as it relates to these students'
eligibility for borrower defense discharges. The National Student Loan
Defense Network has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Illinois
borrowers against the company for this misrepresentation, while the
Department of Education and Washington remain silent.
Now, reports have surfaced of a new restructuring of these schools,
with few details but major implications for students. The Department of
Education must immediately inform students and the public about these
changes.
Earlier this month, 48 State attorneys general, including our own
Illinois attorney general, now retired, Lisa Madigan, and the District
of Columbia reached a settlement with for-profit giant Career Education
Corporation over consumer violations by the company. Under the
settlement, Career Education Corporation agreed to forgo collecting
$493 million owed to it by 180,000 students nationally--$48 million in
relief for 17,000 students in Illinois who had been exploited by this
for-profit school. I have long spoken out about these abuses and the
misconduct of Career Education Corporation schools, especially their
infamous and now defunct Le Cordon Bleu, Harrington College of Design,
and Sanford-Brown brands. These fellows really dream up some wonderful
names for worthless schools.
Just last week, for-profit college operator National American
University Holdings announced ``substantial doubt'' that its finances
would allow it to remain in business over the next year. The company,
which has faced lawsuits related to deceptive practices, runs campuses
in about a dozen States and online. Its closure would affect thousands
of students.
How many more for-profit college collapses, closures, and State legal
actions will it take before we get serious at the Federal level, both
in Congress and at the Department of Education, about protecting
students and taxpayers from this industry?
It just amazes me that so many people in this body stand back and
watch the so-called for-profit colleges and universities exploit
students and their families, watch them run up debts they will never be
able to pay back, wait until they default, and then threaten them with
lawsuits and collection agencies, instead of realizing at the outset
that these schools are not reputable. These students are lured with
promises the schools can't keep, and they are also lured into debt they
will never be able to repay. They will never end up with a job that
allows them to pay back the debt.
Don't take my word for it; think of two simple numbers. Nine percent
of all postsecondary students go to for-profit colleges and
universities--9 percent. Thirty-four percent of all federal student
loan defaults are students from for-profit colleges and universities.
Nine percent of the students; 34 percent of the defaults. Why would
that be happening? Well, because they overcharge the students, and they
provide them with a worthless diploma if they stick it out and don't
drop out.
These schools are a blight on higher education and an exploitation of
innocent students and their families. Who are the ultimate losers when
their debts are discharged? American taxpayers who subsidize these
miserable, good-for-nothing schools and then watch as they are not
repaying their debts because the students can't, and the taxpayers end
up the losers again. If that is capitalism at work, save this country,
because it is a terrible outcome for the students, for their families,
and for American taxpayers.
I yield the floor.
Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to waive the
time and start the vote now.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The question is on agreeing to the motion to proceed.
Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Kansas (Mr. Moran) and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul).
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Blackburn). Are there any other Senators
in the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 76, nays 22, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 12 Leg.]
YEAS--76
Alexander
Barrasso
Bennet
Blackburn
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Duckworth
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Jones
Kennedy
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Lee
Manchin
Markey
McConnell
McSally
Menendez
Murkowski
Murray
Perdue
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Schumer
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shelby
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Warner
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
Young
NAYS--22
Baldwin
Booker
Brown
Carper
Durbin
Feinstein
Gillibrand
Harris
Heinrich
Hirono
Kaine
Leahy
Merkley
Murphy
Peters
Reed
Sanders
Schatz
Shaheen
Udall
Van Hollen
Warren
NOT VOTING--2
Moran
Paul
The motion is agreed to.
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