It’s become increasingly clear from law enforcement, congressional, and media investigations that many for-profit colleges are selling a product that can be toxic to students — high-priced, low-quality programs that often leave graduates and dropouts alike without improved career prospects and paralyzed by student loan debt, often $100,000 or more.  So when the for-profit college
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This morning, President Obama nominated Robert Holleyman as deputy U.S. trade representative. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Holleyman will help lead the effort to pass the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Notably, Holleyman is a former lobbyist who led efforts to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act legislation, better known as SOPA, when he
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Internal e-mails from the State Department show that a State Department official named Keith Benes played a leading role within the agency in defending the use of ERM, a former TransCanada business partner, in conducting the Environmental Impact Study of the Keystone XL pipeline. Benes drafted talking points and pushed back against press inquiries about
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The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this morning filed a civil lawsuit against for-profit college company ITT Educational Services, seeking restitution to students allegedly harmed by ITT’s private loan programs, a civil fine, and an injunction against the company.  The CFPB filed its complaint in federal court in Indianapolis, near ITT’s headquarters. UPDATE [1:15 pm]:
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New York Times economic columnist Eduardo Porter has a piece this morning seeking to raise doubts about the Obama Administration’s proposed “gainful employment” rule. The rule would, eventually, take away eligibility for federal student aid from career training programs that consistently leave their students with overwhelming debt. While Porter does quote some proponents of the
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Since 2011, a group of governors have sought to expand coast oil and gas drilling through an organization called the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition. On Monday, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) became the first Democrat to join the effort, which includes Republican governors from North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Gov.
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Two congressional committees with oversight of the National Security Agency (NSA) — the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Intelligence Committee — are managed by former lobbyists for major NSA contractors. Alex Manning, a senior lobbyist for IBM who specialized in cyber intelligence influence for the company, became a Staff Director for the Homeland
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Former Representative Bob Barr (R-GA), a central figure in the Clinton impeachment inquiry, is seeking to return to Congress. But left unsaid in his official campaign biography for the open 11th district in Georgia is a private-sector career filled with work for the lobbying industry and for causes that run counter to Barr’s political persona.
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