[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 212 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9016-S9018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Pell Grant Program

  Mr. President, the Pell Grant Program has been the cornerstone of 
America's investment in college student aid for more than 50 years, but 
it has failed to keep up with the times. It was created in 1972--think 
about that--almost 50 years ago, and at the time the Pell grants were 
worth more than 75 percent of the average cost of attending a 4-year 
public college or university--tuition, fees, and living expenses. The 
Pell grant covered 75 percent of it. Today, the Pell grant covers less 
than 30 percent.
  Well, what makes up the difference? Student debt makes up the 
difference. Forty-five million Americans now own $1.7 trillion--that is 
with a ``t''--$1.7 trillion in student loan debt. That is more than 
America's combined debt to credit card companies. It is second only to 
mortgages. It is the largest consumer debt in America. Build Back 
Better will ease the squeeze of college costs by increasing the maximum 
Pell grant by $550. It will also expand Pell grants and other forms of 
Federal aid to DACA students. These historic investments will help 5 
million students from lower incomes earn college degrees and build a 
better, stronger America.
  Now, there is one item in here that I am going to close with that is 
very important. For years, I brought to the attention of the Senate one 
industry that purports to be part of education in America--for-profit 
colleges and universities. With this new Pell grant, we make it clear 
that the $550 increase will not go to for-profit colleges.
  Why, you ask? Take a look at the record. The for-profit college 
industry is one of the most heavily federally subsidized sectors in 
America. Some for-profit college companies receive 100 percent of their 
revenue from Federal taxpayers. That is right. Pell grants and student 
loans make up their entire revenue.
  The University of Phoenix is one of the giants in the industry--has 
been for years. One of the founders once called Pell grants and student 
loans ``the juice'' for the for-profit college industry. It was one of 
the largest ever increases to the Pell grant on the table. The for-
profit college industry is looking for more ``juice.'' They are not 
going to get it, and I am glad they don't.
  I would like to leave those who are following my remarks with a quiz. 
What percentage of post-secondary students in America attend for-profit 
colleges and universities? The answer: 8 percent.
  Next question: What percentage of defaults on student loans are by 
students from for-profit colleges and universities? The answer: 30 
percent--8 percent of the students and 30 percent of the student loan 
defaults.
  Is it just bad luck? No. It is by design. For-profit colleges and 
universities will literally accept anyone with a pulse. You do not have 
to show any aptitude or any ambition. If you will sign on the dotted 
line and they can take over your Pell grant and hook you up with a 
student loan, they are perfectly happy.
  Then what happens? Well, the net result of it is often disappointing. 
The students have to drop out. They can't continue to pay the high 
tuitions at these places, and when they drop out, they still have a 
mountain of debt to pay off. Eventually, you will get a default on it--
30 percent of them are going to default on it. That is an outrageous 
number when you think about it. Also, I might add, these so-called 
colleges and universities are notorious for fraudulent conduct--
misleading their students about what they are learning and what they 
can earn from what they learn. It is a terrible record.
  For-profit colleges just spend 26 percent of their revenue on 
instruction. Well, what do they do with 74 percent? They market, and 
they take it as profit. Twenty-six percent of their revenue on 
education--it is a joke. And we are fools to keep perpetuating this 
terrible drain on the American economy and this terrible hardship on 
some of these students and their families.
  So over the last 20 years, nearly every major for-profit college has 
been investigated and sued by State and Federal agencies for deception 
and abusive practices.
  Many, like the University of Phoenix, and DeVry, which sadly is from 
the city of Chicago, got paid tens of millions of dollars in Federal 
subsidies. Since the collapse of the most infamous for-profit 
colleges--Corinthian and ITT Tech--we see taxpayers holding the bag for 
the defaulted student loans to the tune of millions of dollars.
  So let's be clear. Adding new program protections in Build Back 
Better is not about Congress punishing students. The for-profit college 
industry is doing that quite well by themselves. This is about 
protecting traditionally underserved and marginalized students and 
preventing taxpayer dollars from being wasted on these miserable 
institutions.
  In closing, I ask unanimous consent to enter into the Congressional 
Record a letter from a coalition of groups urging Congress to support 
these new protections for Pell grants--among them, the National Urban 
League, the Education Trust, and Veterans Education Success.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                November 17, 2021.
     Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Speaker, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Chuck Schumer,
     Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer: We represent a 
     broad coalition of organizations working on behalf of 
     students, veterans, faculty and staff, civil rights 
     advocates, researchers, and others concerned about career 
     education programs that leave students with debts they cannot 
     afford. Predatory schools leave students with unfair and 
     unaffordable student loan debt and leave taxpayers exposed 
     when students cannot repay those debts.
       We strongly support the Build Back Better bill's 
     investments in higher education, including the $550 increase 
     to the maximum Pell grant. Pell grants have helped millions 
     of low- and moderate-income Americans, most with family 
     incomes under $40,000, attend and complete college. We also 
     support incentivizing students to attend schools where Pell 
     grant dollars will go the furthest, and where increases in 
     aid are less likely to translate into increased tuition costs 
     and debt. Excluding schools that operate on a for-profit 
     basis will promote both goals.
       Research shows that--in contrast to other sectors of higher 
     education--tuition rises at for-profit colleges when 
     additional federal financial aid is made available to the 
     sector. Further, investigations and data spanning more than a 
     decade show that for-profit colleges, overall, provide worse 
     outcomes for students than other sectors of higher education. 
     High prices, low spending on instruction, and high dropout 
     rates at many for-profit schools have left former students, 
     including a disproportionate share of Black and Latina/o 
     borrowers, buried in debt and without the career advancement 
     they sought.
       For-profit colleges spend just 26 percent of the tuition 
     revenue they receive on instruction, compared to 79 percent 
     at nonprofit colleges and an even higher percent at four-year 
     public colleges. Just 25 percent of for-profit students 
     graduate with a bachelor's degree in six years, compared to 
     61-67 percent in other four-year sectors. For-profit 
     institutions account for less than 10 percent of overall 
     college enrollment but make up one-third of all students in 
     default.

[[Page S9017]]

       Additionally, many for-profit schools have engaged in 
     predatory and deceptive practices to recruit students into 
     low-quality programs. When investigations have documented 
     such deception and fraud, the schools have collapsed and 
     closed, taking taxpayer dollars with them and leaving 
     students with neither credentials nor enhanced earning power. 
     Since 2009-10, more than $9 billion in Pell grants have gone 
     to for-profit schools that have collapsed. ITT Tech and 
     Corinthian Colleges alone received more than $4.2 billion in 
     Pell grants in the six years before both schools shuttered.
       Multiple states, including California and Washington, have 
     taken steps to allocate state financial aid dollars in a 
     manner comparable to the Build Back Better provision--
     directing students to more valuable programs by increasing 
     available aid for those programs. The approach taken in the 
     Build Back Better Act will focus new Pell grant investments 
     in a simple and effective way that will reduce waste, fraud, 
     and abuse.
       The Build Back Better bill makes an appropriate decision to 
     direct the Pell grant increase in a manner that maximizes 
     federal resources. We thank you for the hard work on the 
     Build Back Better package, and we look forward to working 
     together to pass this provision and the full package of 
     critical new investments.
           Sincerely,
       American Association of University Professors; American 
     Federation of Teachers; Americans for Financial Reform; 
     Association of Young Americans (AYA); Center for American 
     Progress; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); 
     Clearinghouse on Women's Issues; College & Community 
     Fellowship; Consumer Action; Education Reform Now Advocacy; 
     Feminist Majority Foundation; Generation Progress; National 
     Down Syndrome Congress; National Education Association; 
     National Urban League; New America Higher Education Program; 
     Ohio Student Association; Project on Predatory Student 
     Lending; Public Citizen; Public Higher Education Network of 
     Massachusetts (PHENOM); The Education Trust; The Institute 
     for College Access & Success; Veterans Education Success; 
     Young Invincibles; David Halperin, Attorney; Robert Shireman, 
     The Century Foundation.

  Mr. DURBIN. I urge my colleagues to resist any attempt to remove this 
provision during floor consideration. Do not open the spigot of Federal 
dollars to this predatory industry. They have syphoned off enough money 
and ruined enough lives of students as it is. We shouldn't perpetuate 
this terrible fraud.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.


                 Unanimous Consent Request--S. Res. 474

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, since being elected to the U.S. 
Senate about 3 years ago, I have spoken often about the dangers 
presented by communist China. I have not been alone in this. Colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle--Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in 
this body--have been vocal about the threats we face from General 
Secretary Xi and his communist regime.
  While we may not always agree on the solutions to the problems caused 
by communist China, I feel we are united in a truth: the good people of 
China are being brutally oppressed, censored, intimidated, and 
manipulated by the Chinese Communist Party--a regime that wants nothing 
more than to dominate the world and extinguish the democratic values 
and true freedoms we so proudly stand for.
  Communist China's actions have repeatedly made this fact clear to all 
freedom-loving people across the world, and its latest attack on 
liberty and freedom of Peng Shuai demand our attention.
  Ms. Shuai is one of China's most recognizable athletes. She is a 
three-time Olympian and was ranked the No. 1 doubles player in 2014 by 
the Women's Tennis Association. She has won championships at Wimbledon 
and the French Open and has represented her country at the highest 
levels of tennis competition.
  So when she shared her story of sexual abuse by a former Vice Premier 
of the Chinese Communist Party last month on social media, it 
rightfully caught the attention of the world.
  And communist China's reaction to these disturbing allegations have 
both shocked us all and completely verified all of our fears.
  Instead of taking Ms. Shuai's claims seriously and investigating 
these allegations, the communist Chinese Government followed its 
authoritarian playbook--silence, deflect, and cover up.
  General Secretary Xi and his Communist thugs are so thin-skinned, 
weak, and intolerant of any questioning of their conduct that the 
government immediately silenced and disappeared Ms. Shuai.
  For more than 2 weeks, a global outcry arose, led by the Women's 
Tennis Association, asking ``Where is Peng?''
  Then, communist China's state media released what it said was an 
email from Ms. Shuai to the Women's Tennis Association reversing her 
allegations. It read like a hostage note and only raised more concerns 
as to her whereabouts and safety.
  Then, the communist Chinese Government shared a couple of videos of 
Ms. Shuai at various structured public events and staged two video 
calls with the International Olympic Committee. Shockingly, the 
International Olympic Committee didn't ask about her disappearance. 
They didn't ask about her allegations of abuse. But are any of us 
surprised?
  I have been pressing the International Olympic Committee to speak up 
against communist China's genocide, attacks on democracy, and other 
abuses for 2 years. They have been completely silent.
  The IOC's failure to ask these questions reveals it is more 
interested in appeasing the Chinese Communist Party and maintaining its 
good relationship with a genocidal communist regime than the safety of 
athletes.
  I am not the only one who believes this. Last week, world renowned 
sports broadcaster Bob Costas appeared on CNN and told the truth that I 
have been sounding the alarm on. The IOC is in bed with communist 
China. It is disgusting, but that is the truth.
  Fortunately, the Women's Tennis Association took real action to stand 
up for Ms. Shuai. Last week, the WTA announced it would be suspending 
all of its events in China until it was clear that Ms. Shuai was safe 
and in good health. The WTA is also calling for a full-fledged and 
completely transparent investigation into Ms. Shuai's allegations.
  We should applaud the WTA for doing the right thing and showing the 
world how sport can stand up to an evil authoritarian communist regime. 
This is what courage looks like, and I believe it ought to be 
celebrated in this body. The IOC, on the other hand, is bending over 
backward to keep communist China happy.

  We have American athletes and coaches traveling to Beijing in just 
weeks. It is terrifying. If communist China is willing to do this to 
its own citizens, how do we know Americans will be safe during the 
Olympics?
  We must demand that Ms. Shuai immediately be freed from censorship, 
coercion, and intimidation, and that there be a full investigation into 
her serious allegations of sexual assault against former Vice Premier 
Zhang Gaoli.
  That is why I have introduced a resolution calling exactly for that.
  I am thankful that Senators Lummis, Rubio, Braun, Hawley, and Cruz 
have joined me. The United States is the leading voice of freedom and 
democracy around the world. We cannot tolerate this kind of behavior, 
and I urge my colleagues to stand together today for human rights and 
help pass this good resolution.
  Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent 
that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 474, which is 
at the desk. I further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the 
preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. DURBIN. Reserving the right to object, Mr. President, if I can be 
recognized.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Let me say to my colleague from Florida, I like your 
resolution, and I really think it speaks to the sentiment shared by the 
vast majority--maybe even all of the U.S. Senators.
  I am not certain how to pronounce this young lady's name--Peng Shuai.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Peng Shuai.
  Mr. DURBIN. Peng Shuai. Well, I will accept you as my Mandarin coach 
and refer to her as Peng Shuai.
  It is outrageous. She reports sexual abuse by a high-ranking official 
and then she disappears and they feed us occasional videotapes.
  Well, I want to join you in commending the Women's Tennis 
Association, and I also want to add that I

[[Page S9018]]

think the President was correct in not only saying that we were going 
to withhold any diplomats being sent over to China during the next 
round of the Olympic Games, but I understand the administration is 
reaching out to other countries to join us.
  Whether it is the Uighers or whether it is Ms. Peng Shuai, outrageous 
human rights abuses should not be ignored. And as I glance at your 
resolution here, it looks like you hit the nail on the head.
  So why am I reserving the right to object?
  Here is something that I think would be helpful in the cause of human 
rights. What if the United States of America actually had an Ambassador 
in China?
  Think about that possibility. We would have someone representing our 
country on the scene in Beijing working for the United States, speaking 
up for human rights.
  Well, what is holding us back? Why won't Biden nominate somebody for 
this job?
  Well, it turns out he did, a man named Nicholas Burns.
  Well, we all know him. He has a long record of diplomacy in Foreign 
Service--service in Russia and other places. He is a key man in the 
State Department and one that we can rely on. And he should be in 
Beijing fighting for the causes that you and I agree on today.
  What can possibly be holding him up? We need him there.
  Well, it turns out he is being held up by that side of the aisle 
objecting to his being called.
  Well, we have a chance to resolve that today. We can pass not only 
your resolution, but we can appoint Mr. Burns as the Ambassador to 
China and get it done and he could be on a plane in the morning.
  How about that? That would be an amazing thing to accomplish. You 
take that home to Florida, and I will take that home to Illinois. It is 
a good day's work.
  And so, to reach that end, I ask that the pending request be modified 
as follows: Notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to the 
consideration of the following nomination: Calendar No. 525, R. 
Nicholas Burns, of Massachusetts, to be Ambassador of the United States 
of America to People's Republic of China; that the nomination be 
confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon 
the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions 
be in order to the nomination; that the President be immediately 
notified of the Senate's action; and then, as if in legislative 
session, the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of your 
resolution, S. Res. 474, submitted earlier today; that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider 
be considered made and laid upon the table without intervening action 
or debate.
  What an amazing bipartisan achievement that we can put together in 
just a few minutes here.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the Senator from Florida so modify his 
request?
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Reserving the right to object, first, I thank 
my colleague for agreeing that--I think we all agree that what has 
happened to Peng Shuai is wrong, and I think we all know we have to 
stand up to what communist China is doing.
  Here is my concern about Nick Burns: Until the day he was nominated 
by President Biden, he had had no problems with communist China. He has 
never stood up to communist China; he has taken money from communist 
China; he has always looked the other way.
  So my concern is that we ought to have a vote on him because 
everybody ought to have the opportunity to talk to him and get his 
position. I have talked to him, and he has never ever said a word about 
the Uighurs, about the Tibetans, about what happened in Hong Kong, 
about stealing American technology. He has never done any of those 
things. So I don't know how it is going to help us.
  I object to the modification, but I hope my colleague will agree that 
the resolution itself is worth it to go forward and just do it by 
themselves, and, over time, we will have a vote on Nick Burns.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard to the modification.
  Is there an objection to the original request?
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, time is wasting. We need an Ambassador to 
China.
  I am sorry, but I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, this is pretty disappointing, 
all right?
  My Democratic colleague said that he agreed with the resolution. I 
think it is time that we stand up for the Chinese citizens who are 
being oppressed by Secretary Xi.
  What this resolution does is say that, you know, we have got to stand 
up to all the oppression in China, that we have got to stand up for 
Peng Shuai. The resolution says, you know, as for the athletes who are 
going over there, we have your backs. Yet, if you look at what is 
happening now, the Democrats are saying: We are not going to do those 
things.
  I don't think that is right. I don't believe our platform in the 
Senate should be that we don't stand for alleged victims of sexual 
assault. I think, by not having this resolution approved today and 
having the Democrats block it, that that is exactly what we are saying.
  So it is pretty disappointing. This was a basic resolution that said 
that we were going to stand up for Peng Shuai. I am very appreciative 
of what the WTA has done. I am very disappointed with what the NBA has 
done. I am disappointed with what the IOC has done.
  I am also disappointed that the Senate, today, could not come to a 
resolution and simply stand up for somebody who has accused the Vice 
Premier of China of sexual assault. None of us would like that to 
happen to anybody in our families, and we don't want it to happen to 
anybody in this country. We ought to stand up for people in China just 
like we would want them to stand up for people in this country.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.