For-Profit College Recruiter: Goal Was To “Demoralize Potential Applicants” And Get “Asses In Classes”
Yesterday at Sen. Tom Harkin’s press conference on the release of his new report on the predatory nature of the for-profit college industry, one of the most illuminating testimonies came not from the senator or his colleagues, but from a former active and knowing participant in the abusive system. Laura Brozek worked for ITT Technical
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Harkin, Colleagues Say For-Profit Colleges Squander Billions and Destroy Dreams
At a Capitol Hill press conference today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) released a blockbuster four-volume report based on his two-year investigation of the for-profit college industry. I’ve already discussed the findings of the report, which details how many of the big for-profit schools engage in fraudulent conduct, offer high-priced, low-quality programs, and leave many students
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Sen. Harkin’s Report: For-Profit Colleges Leave Students With Debt But No Degree
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and his Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee staff released Sunday a report based on a comprehensive investigation of 30 of the biggest for-profit college companies. It’s full of stark revelations about this controversial, troubled industry. I’ve been saying for a couple of years that, no matter how cynical one’s view of
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Whitehouse At Senate Judiciary Hearing: If We Can Ask Soldiers To Go To Afghanistan, We Can Ask The Koch Brothers To ‘Put Up With Some Impolite Blogging’
On Tuesday, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing called “Taking Back Our Democracy,” examining special interests’ increasing grip on American politics and policy, especially focusing on the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision. Two panels of witnesses, including both current lawmakers and activists, testified to a friendly panel of Democratic senators (no Republicans appeared to
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Senators Portman, McCaskill and DeMint Move to Strike Congressman Tom Reed’s Donor-Driven Earmarks
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by freshman Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY), are pushing to violate the congressional earmark ban with a miscellaneous tariff bill that provides special tax treatment to targeted companies looking to import goods. The bill, which provides an uneven playing field for business, is widely viewed as a payback to campaign
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Flashback: Mitch McConnell Once Voted To Ban Groups Like Americans For Prosperity And The NRA From Running Ads
In 2002, Senator Paull Wellstone (D-MN) offered an amendment to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform legislation to ban so-called “sham issue advocacy” groups from airing ads within 60 days of an election. His amendment targeted undisclosed campaign groups — from the NRA, to the Sierra Club, and the National Right to Life. If it weren’t
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VIDEO: Pro-Disclosure Democrats Were Anti-Disclosure In 2006
The DISCLOSE Act failed to overcome a Republican filibuster again last night, dooming the bill in the Senate. Democrats are pushing the bill to help reveal the donors of outside special interest groups that are dumping millions of dollars into the election anonymously. Republicans unanimously oppose the bill. But in 2006, things were very different. The two
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VIDEO: Current Campaign Finance Law Allows Secret Foreign Influence, GOP Senator Brushes Off Concerns
A Chinese, Russian, or Venezuelan corporation can legally influence American elections in secret, simply by setting up a corporation here, then funding a 501(c) group with some innocuous name to run attack ads. The ads could help elect lawmakers who support trade or foreign policy issues favorable to these countries, and the whole process would
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