WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representative George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House education committee, today issued the following statement on Republican higher education proposals that would eliminate safeguards against fraud and waste at for-profit institutions of higher education. These proposals were the focus of a full committee hearing this morning.

"Today’s hearing focuses on the significant changes that the College Access and Opportunity Act, H.R. 4283, makes to institutional integrity provisions under current law.

"In particular, this hearing focuses on for-profit schools and asks whether or not students at these institutions receive equitable treatment. Under current law, all eligible students are treated equitably, regardless of whether they attend a for-profit or non-profit institution.

"Therefore, the real question we should be asking is: ‘What is the right balance between granting schools flexibility and ensuring that the appropriate safeguards are in place to protect student and taxpayers from fraud and abuse?’

"For-profit institutions have participated in the federal student aid programs for more than 30 years. They have been the forerunners of many innovations - such as on-line courses, accelerated course time and flexible scheduling for non-traditional students - that have been instrumental to increasing access to higher education for students.

"The same business model that allows for-profit schools to innovate can also breed the types of rampant fraud and abuse that occurred in the 1980s and early 1990s, absent sensible safeguards. As a result of these widely documented abuses and ballooning student loan default rates, in 1992 Congress enacted a series of protections and integrity measures to safeguard students and taxpayers.

"The good news is that when appropriately enforced by the Department of Education, these protections have successfully stopped most fraudulent and abusive practices in the student aid programs. The bad news is that, although significant problems still exist, many of these protections have been substantially weakened. The College Access and Opportunity Act indiscriminately eliminates key safeguards such as the 90-10 rule.

"In addition, for the first time the Act makes limited federal funds for minority serving institutions - with dedicated public interest missions - available to for-profit entities. As a result, funding long reserved for community colleges and Minority Serving Institutions will be cut, just at a time when these schools are struggling to meet the needs of their growing populations.

"I support easing the transfer of credit process for all students at both for-profit and non-profit schools. However, the Republican bill makes changes to the transfer of academic credit that could result in students losing financial aid eligibility and hurt the integrity of the transfer process.

"Flexibility and innovation in higher education must be balanced against the danger of repeating past abuses, otherwise we will end up placing students in harm’s way and wasting taxpayer dollars.

"Unfortunately, the College Access and Opportunity Act not only eliminates important fraud and abuse safeguards in the student aid programs, but it doesn’t even come close to living up to its name. Instead it makes college more expensive for millions of low- and middle-income students and their families as they continue to struggle to cover rising college costs.

"This bill actually forces students to pay thousands of dollars more for their college loans, caps the maximum Pell Grant and fails to provide meaningful relief from rising tuition prices. At a time of rising college costs, high unemployment and the worst job creation record in 30 years, we should not be forcing students and their families to pay more for a college education.

"We should not and we cannot afford to take this path. I urge my colleagues to reject this bill as it is now drafted."