[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12502-12503]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      HARRY W. COLMERY VETERANS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2017

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3218, which was received 
from the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 3218) to amend title 38, United States Code, 
     to make certain improvements in the laws administered by the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am pleased that today the Senate is 
unanimously passing the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational 
Assistance Act of 2017, known as the Forever GI Bill, which would make 
important improvements to the GI bill.
  The bill removes time restrictions on using the GI bill, enabling 
future recipients to use benefits their entire lives as opposed to 
within the current 15-year timeline. It provides 100 percent GI bill 
eligibility to Purple Heart recipients. It also increases GI bill 
funding for Reservists, Guardsmen, dependents, surviving spouses, and 
surviving dependents.
  While the bill includes many provisions I support, I also have 
ongoing concerns about institutions of higher education, especially 
for-profit colleges, which prey on veterans using GI bill benefits. I 
do not believe this bill goes far enough to provide the type of 
protections we owe to our servicemembers and the kind of institutional 
accountability that taxpayers deserve.
  I am particularly concerned that the Forever GI Bill does not address 
the 90/10 loophole which incentivizes for-profit colleges to 
aggressively recruit and prey on veterans. Under current law, for-
profit colleges are prohibited from receiving more than 90 percent of 
their revenue from Federal taxpayers, but due to a loophole in the law, 
such revenue does not count Department of Veterans Affairs GI bill or 
Department of Defense Tuition Assistance funding. This means that, by 
targeting veterans and servicemembers, for-profit colleges can actually 
receive 100 percent of their revenue directly from Federal taxpayers.
  And many do. According to data released by the Department of 
Education in 2016, 193 institutions received more than 90 percent of 
their revenue from Federal taxpayers when Department of Education, 
Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Defense funds were 
counted together.
  I have long called for this loophole to be corrected and for the 
percentage of Federal revenue to be returned to the original 85 
percent. I will soon reintroduce legislation, the Protecting Students 
and Taxpayers, POST, Act, to address this issue.
  While not addressed in the Forever GI Bill we are passing today, I 
look forward to working with my colleagues--including Senator Carper 
who has authored another bill on this topic which I support--veterans 
service organizations, and others to consider this and other important 
accountability concerns.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered 
read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 3218) was ordered to a third reading, was read the 
third time, and passed.

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