[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3240-3241]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. WEBB (for himself, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Brown of Massachusetts, 
        Mr. Carper, and Mrs. McCaskill):
  S. 2179. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve 
oversight of educational assistance provided under laws administered by 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, today, I am introducing The Military and 
Veterans Educational Reform Act of 2012. This bi-partisan bill will 
ensure that all educational institutions receiving funding from the 
Post-9/11 GI Bill and Tuition Assistance educational programs are 
governed by the appropriate quality standards.
  I am pleased to be joined in this initiative by Senators Harkin, 
Carper, McCaskill and Senator Scott Brown.
  I have been working on this legislation for several months. It 
includes many recommendations made by Veterans service organizations, 
military organizations and various GAO reports on the need to improve 
the accountability and oversight of educational institutions.
  This past year marked the second-year anniversary of the 
implementation of the landmarks Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which I introduced 
on my first day in office. I take pride in saying that we have been 
able to provide the proper investment in the future of those who, since 
9/11, have given so much to this country.
  History demonstrates clearly that well educated veterans not only 
have an easier transition and readjustment experience, but also boast 
higher income levels and enjoy a better quality of life.
  Since 2009, more than 1.1 million servicemembers and veterans have 
applied to receive their new benefits and nearly 700,000 have received 
benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
  For these reasons, I believe that we in the Congress need to do all 
we can to ensure that we are preserving the integrity of the greatest 
GI Bill our veterans and military members have ever had.
  Concern with waste in the for-profit sector is not a new issue. If we 
look back in history, 5 years following the creation of the World War 
II GI Bill in 1944, we saw that more than 5,000 for-profit schools were 
created. Many of these schools had questionable outcomes and catered 
exclusively to veterans.
  The World War II GI Bill was almost derailed because of the thousands 
of for-profit colleges created overnight targeting veterans. Due to the 
concern with the reported waste and abuse in the system, the Vietnam GI 
Bill tuition provision became a flat monthly stipend.
  Recent data shows that 8 of the 10 largest recipients of Post-9/11 GI 
Bill benefits are for-profit institutions. Many of these schools have 
more than doubled the amount of Post-9/11 GI Bill dollars they received 
from 2009-2011.
  The growth in this sector has been tremendous in the past couple of 
years. Between 1998 and 2008, for-profit schools grew 225 percent.
  Last month, the Department of Defense released new data showing that 
for-profit colleges received half of all military tuition assistance 
dollars--$280 million out of $563 million spent last year on this 
program.
  In 2009, the 15 publicly traded for-profit education companies spent 
$3.7 billion on marketing. A disproportionate share of this money is 
going to marketing and recruitment of veterans into poorly performing 
for-profit schools, and the results of the Veteran's Administration 
data on the GI Bill reflect this.
  The problem is not necessarily the growth of the for-profit sector. 
There are some for-profit institutions that are providing our students 
a great education. But with huge Federal dollars being spent in this 
sector, we owe it to the taxpayers and to our veterans to carefully 
monitor and provide adequate oversight. Even more important, we owe it 
to the men and women who

[[Page 3241]]

served that the GI benefits they have earned will not be lost or 
squandered on an education that fails to equip them with the skills and 
knowledge they need to be successful.
  In light of these issues, I have introduced the Military and Veterans 
Educational Reform Act of 2012. My legislation requires schools 
participating in educational assistance programs through the Department 
of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense to meet the same 
educational standards currently required for other federal funding, 
such as the Pell Grant. This bill strengthens the responsibilities of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense to assist 
individuals in making an informed decision to further their continued 
academic success.
  This legislation will increase transparency of information about 
educational institutions, provide critical services to assist students 
in the decision-making process and throughout their career, and promote 
interagency information sharing by requiring all programs receiving 
funding from Tuition Assistance and Post-9/11 GI Bill be Title IV 
eligible. Title IV eligibility strengthens the requirements programs 
must meet in order to receive Federal funding.
  By also increasing the transparency of educational institutions by 
requiring them to provide information to potential students on 
graduation rates, default rates, and other critical information to 
ensure that individuals have the information necessary in choosing the 
best academic program.
  By expanding the training and outreach responsibilities of the State 
Approving Agencies by requiring them to conduct outreach activities to 
veterans and members of the Armed Forces, requiring State Approving 
Agencies to conduct audits of schools and to report those findings to 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
  By requiring that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary 
of Defense develop a centralized complaints process for individuals to 
report instances of misrepresentation, fraud, waste and abuse and other 
complaints against educational institutions.
  By requiring that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary 
of Defense provide counseling to individuals before they use their 
benefits.
  By increasing greater coordination between the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, the Department of Defense and the Department of Education by 
requiring information sharing among these agencies.
  This is a bill that I hope both sides of the aisle will support. It 
not only aims at preserving the greatest educational benefits for our 
veterans and military students but it also ensures that our Federal 
dollars are being spent on quality education.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. BEGICH:
  S. 2180. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
a tax credit for professional school personnel in early childhood 
education, to expand the deduction for certain expenses of teachers to 
teachers in early childhood education, and to modify the credit for 
dependent care services; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. President, today I rise to introduce a package of legislation, 
the Keep Investing in Developmental Success, KIDS, Act of 2012. These 
three early childhood bills will address access, quality and 
affordability in early education programs.
  These bills, S. 2180, S. 2181, and S. 2182, are a step towards a 
commitment to effective early education programs. We all want America's 
kids ready to learn and ready to succeed when they enter school.
  All the data shows early education is one of the strongest predictors 
of graduation.
  The payoff is clear: every dollar invested in early education 
programs today returns $16 in better outcomes for individuals, families 
and communities. You can't find a better investment and the payoff is 
very clear when you see and talk to the kids who have gone through Head 
Start.
  One snowy night about a month ago in Anchorage, I met with about 50 
strongly committed Alaska educators to talk about how to improve our 
schools and prepare our students for the competitive 21st century 
economy.
  From that conversation arose the idea for three bills I am 
introducing today.
  First, we will amend the tax code to provide a tax credit for early 
childhood educators. The Tax Relief for Early Educators Act will expand 
the deductions for certain expenses for early childhood education and 
increase the child care tax credit so more parents can afford to put 
their children in quality early child development programs.
  Right now, a family pays more than $1,400 a month for two young 
children. For most working families, that is not only a hardship, that 
is out of reach. Because employees of early childhood programs tend to 
earn low wages, we also will offer them a tax credit of up to $3,000 
and expand the deduction for certain expenses to early childhood 
educators.
  Second, we will create a new student loan forgiveness program for 
graduates of associate's or bachelor's programs in early education. The 
Preparing and Reinvesting in Early Education Act, or PRE ED, will 
provide needed relief for early educators and encourage more to work 
with kids through age five. Well-trained educators providing quality 
early education to our children makes all the difference in a child's 
success.
  Third, we need to reward companies offering onsite or near-site 
childcare with a company cost-share. We know it works for the company 
and for the employee--just look around our state.
  In Alaska BP, Credit Union One and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital are 
great examples. They all offer quality onsite centers. They know it 
makes more productive employees.
  The Child Care Public-Private Partnership Act will establish a 
program to provide child care through partnerships. Through new grant 
incentives for small and medium companies, we can help more Alaska 
companies do the same.
  This package of bills, the KIDS Act, is not a new idea, and I 
appreciate my colleagues who have come before this body with similar 
proposals. However, this is the time to pass these bills--for working 
families struggling to make ends meet. Parents should have access to 
affordable, high-quality early care and learning services, early 
childhood educators should have liveable wages and benefits and 
business will be more productive.
  In closing, let me say I feel very privileged to be involved with 
policy discussions and the formation of bills such as these. This is a 
bipartisan issue. I strongly encourage my colleagues to join me in 
cosponsoring these bills and I urge their quick action and approval.

                          ____________________