Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, today introduced an amendment to the Republican’s Continuing Resolution Bill (H.R. 1) designed to block the enforcement of any “gainful employment” regulation that the Department of Education may enact for career education programs. It will forbid use of any federal funds to promulgate or enforce such a rule.
The amendment is cosponsored by the head of the Education and Workforce subcommittee that oversees higher education, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) along with Democrats Alcee Hastings (Fla.) and Carolyn McCarthy (N.Y.). The House is considering the bill now. The current continuing resolution expires on March 4.
The introduction of the amendment was hailed immediately by the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities and the Coalition for Education Success, the two largest groups advocating less regulation of for-profit colleges.
The Education Department issued a proposed version of a gainful employment rule in October. It would tie an educational program’s eligibility for federal student aid to whether a graduate of the program can earn enough to repay his or her loan. The final version of the rule is expected within the next two months.
