Date: 2007-05-09
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from Texas for his remarks and for his leadership on this. I thank Mr. MCKEON and Mr. KELLER for all of their cooperation. for their suggestions and for the introduction of the bill soon after this came to light by Mr. MCKEON. I think it was very helpful in our discussions with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. I certainly want to thank him for his diligence and the speed with which he responded to this information. Tragically. much of this information has been available for a considerable period of time. Tragically. what we now are making against the law. the conduct we are now changing almost became the preferred way of doing business among many of the colleges and universities and the lenders which they utilized on behalf of their students. It is just inconceivable that when people understand. and it is brought to our attention every day. the decisions that students and their families have to make about whether to pursue a college degree. the costs that are incurred. the sacrifices that are made by working families. by all families. by the students. many of whom then work part time and full time to augment the cost of that college. when that sacrifice and those determinations and decisions are made by those families. to have that process corrupted by some of the largest corporations in America. some of the wealthiest corporations in America. that they would see somehow a way to skim off. to skim off the profits and the costs at the expense of these students and of the taxpayers that put up the money. The reason we guarantee these loans is to try to drive this money to the students and their families at the lowest possible cost so that they can afford to go to college. they can afford to take a job and pay back the cost of their college. That is the public purpose. Now that public purpose has absolutely been prostituted by the Department Qf Education. by many of the lending institutions and by many of the colleges and much of the personnel that works for them. This legislation is a first step. a bipartisan step to stop those practices in their tracks. to get this program right side up for the benefit of the families and the students who are borrowing the money. To serve notice on the institutions. the lenders. the institutions of higher education and the people who work in these programs that this will no longer be tolerated. Once again. this program has to come to the point where it is again serving the families and the students who are making this sacrifice to achieve a college education at the lowest possible cost. That is the public interest. that is the public purpose. and we will not have that corrupted. We will not have that corrupted. either by the public agencies or the private agencies that are engaged in this program. The next step is to bar those agencies if they continue in this practice. That would be a horrible thing to do for those institutions. but we will not allow this to continue. And as we consider the Higher Education Act. we are going to continue to pursue ways in which we can reform this program and make it work for those for whom it was designed. the families and the students. I want to thank the staff on both sides of the committee that were so helpful in understanding the programs and the changes that needed to be made. that went through the evidence and responded in this legislation. so that the House of Representatives could go on record that we will not allow this to happen on our watch. l] 1100