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January 26, 2011 |
| The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 |
| Dear Mr. President: |
| Thank you for your leadership to make college more affordable in order to expand opportunity
and strengthen our economy. We appreciate that, in a time of intense budget pressures, your education reforms seek to maximize the return on taxpayer investment and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. That is why we firmly support the Department of Education’s prompt adoption of a strong and enforceable “gainful employment” rule. We urge you to issue a final rule now that will protect students and taxpayers no later than the start of the 2012-13 academic year. |
| Numerous investigations have revealed pervasive abuses by some career education programs:
deceptive and aggressive recruiting of students; inflated job placement rates and false reporting to authorities; overstatement of a program’s value and understatement of its high cost; and dismal completion rates. Too many of these programs are preying on low-income students, minority students, and veterans who are seeking to further their education and, by doing so, enhance their employment opportunities. |
| The proposed gainful employment rule implements requirements set by Congress and advances a
common-sense principle: Federal financial aid shouldn’t go to career education programs that consistently leave students buried in debt they cannot repay. |
| The subprime mortgage debacle and ensuing financial crisis taught our country a hard lesson
about letting such abuses run rampant. You have an opportunity, right now, to make the right decision for our students and our economy by strengthening and finalizing this common-sense rule. We will support you every step of the way. |
| AFL-CIO
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers American Association of University Professors American Association of University Women American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 3299 American Federation of Teachers Americans for Financial Reform Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance California Coalition for Civil Rights Campaign for College Affordability Campus Progress |
| Labor Council for Latin American
Advancement The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights League of United Latin American Citizens Legal Momentum (formerly the Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund) Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund NAACP National Association for Bilingual Education National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients) National Consumers League National Council of La Raza |
| Center for Law and Social Policy
Children’s Defense Fund The Coalition of Labor Union Women Consumer Action Consumers Union Council for Opportunity in Education Crittenton Women’s Union Dēmos: A Network for Ideas and Action The Education Trust GLSEN The Greenlining Institute Hip Hop Caucus The Institute for College Access & Success and its Project on Student Debt Institute for Higher Education Policy |
| National Education Association
Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project Pride at Work Public Advocates Inc. Public Citizen Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts Student Senate for California Community Colleges United States Hispanic Leadership Institute U.S. PIRG United States Student Association Veterans of Modern Warfare Young Invincibles |
| cc: |
| The Honorable Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
The Honorable Jacob “Jack” Lew, Director, Office of Management and Budget Melody Barnes, Director, Domestic Policy Council Valerie Jarrett, Senior White House Advisor Gene Sperling, Director, National Economic Council |