August 28, 2023
Higher Ed on the Hill: The Next Chapter in Biden’s Playbook to Close Career Colleges
Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit put a pause on Biden’s new rules that would forgive the debt of student borrowers who claim to have been defrauded by colleges that “misled them or closed suddenly.”
Here’s what you need to know:
- The Borrower Defense to Repayment Rule (BDR) is what’s contested here, which provides a back door for Democrats to circumvent the legislative process to advance their free-college agenda.
- This ruling came in response to a request for relief from the Career Colleges and Schools of Texas, representing career and trade schools.
- While federal law allows students to request relief under BDR (AKA federal handouts), Biden’s revamped rules would make it far easier for students to take advantage of these bailouts – essentially rubber-stamping the cancellation of tens of thousands of student loans – many to students who didn’t even request any relief.
- The Trump administration established a new BDR process based on merit, but Team Biden has entirely ignored it and continues to hand out taxpayer dollars.
Who’s affected? Career colleges primarily serve working parents, non-traditional students, and veterans.This is yet another chapter in Biden’s vendetta against career colleges, read more in our College Freedom Project blog.
To learn more about BDR, check out CASE’s College Loan Fairness project.
To read more about the ruling, check out this National Review article.
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FROM CASE:Taxpayers on the Hook for Biden’s Latest Career College Crusade
For years, DOE has brought lawsuits against the Center for Excellence in Higher Education – which operated career colleges like CollegeAmerica, Stevens-Henager College, and Independence University. In the midst of its lawsuits, DOE improperly withheld federal student aid from CEHE’s colleges for allegations that were ultimately overturned, but in the end, the DOE won by inflicting long-term damage that resulted in these schools closing their doors.
WHAT’S NEW: Colleges Spend Like There’s No Tomorrow. “These Places Are Just Devouring Money”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the nation’s best-known public universities – tax-exempt and taxpayer-funded – have been on an unfettered spending spree, yet they’re requesting more money. Over the past two decades, they erected new skylines comprising snazzy academic buildings and dorms. They poured money into big-time sports programs and hired layers of administrators. Then they passed the bill along to students.
HE’S BACK: Biden Returns to Court Over Exceeding Authority to Cancel Student Debt
The latest lawsuit to stop Cardona from implementing Biden’s student debt “forgiveness” plan was filed early this month, according to the Heritage Foundation. In part one of this horror series, our student debt slashers, Cardona and Biden, used the cover of a worldwide pandemic to unlawfully extend the pause on Americans’ student loan repayments. Time after time, the Biden Education Department said this pause was dead, only to give it new life.
FOXX SIGHTING: Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Now Underway, and Rep. Foxx has plenty to say.
According to ABC News, in response to Biden’s newest student loan bailout, Rep. Foxx said: “The Biden administration’s blatantly political attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court is shameful. The Biden administration is trampling the rule of law, hurting borrowers, and abusing taxpayers to chase headlines.”
