Cassidy proposes bipartisan legislative fix to aid U.S. military, veteran students

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on Nov. 14 introduced bipartisan legislation that would safeguard the GI Bill benefits used by U.S. military and veteran students to pursue higher education.

Sen. Cassidy is an original cosponsor of the Protect Veterans’ Education and Training Spending (Protect VETS) Act of 2019, S. 2857, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), to close a loophole in the so-called 90/10 rule that sets a limit requiring for-profit schools to obtain at least 10 percent of their revenues from non-federal sources.

The loophole in the law excludes U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) education funds, like the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Tuition Assistance, from being counted as federal funds, according to Sen. Cassidy’s office, which noted that some for-profit schools have exploited this loophole by using deceptive marketing tactics and aggressively recruiting service members, veterans and other GI Bill beneficiaries.

If enacted, S. 2857 would close the 90/10 loophole by counting VA and DOD educational funds on the 90 percent side of the 90/10 formula rather than the 10 percent side, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Cassidy’s office.

“The Protect VETS Act holds institutions accountable,” Sen. Cassidy said. “Veterans deserve to know that their GI benefits lead to a quality education.”

Additionally, S. 2857 would require proprietary schools to provide updated 90/10 data in their annual report to Congress; move to a system of tiered penalties for schools that violate the 90/10 rule beginning in the 2022-2023 school year; and provide an appeals process that grants high-quality proprietary institutions relief from penalties, among other provisions, according to the bill summary.

A broad coalition of Veterans Service Organizations and other advocacy groups support the bill, including the American Legion, AMVETS, the Military Officers Association of America, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Veterans Education Success, and Vietnam Veterans of America, among others.