The public comment period ended this week on the Education Department’s proposed new rules to limit federal aid to colleges and universities whose graduates are particularly debt-saddled or have high rates of student loan default. The rules would hit for-profit institutions hardest.

But the industry is fighting back — and it has allies. Last week, 36 lawmakers sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee, asking its members to insert language to keep DOE from finalizing the new rules into pending funding legislation.

Some of the signers represent districts where for-profit schools are based, or where there are many students enrolling in for-profit institutions. But a common trait of almost all of the signers is that the for-profit industry has shelled out big bucks for their campaigns. There are just five lawmakers on the letter who have never taken for-profit education money; the other 31 have taken a combined $1.2 million from the industry over the course of their careers.

The letter is evenly bi-partisan — 18 Democrats and 18 Republicans — but the Democrats who signed have an edge in terms of money received from the industry, $631,000 to $584,000 over their careers. That’s not representative of the industry’s giving in general. So far this cycle, PACs from companies and trade associations in the industry made contributions to about one quarter of all House members — 64 Republicans, with an average contribution of $6,401, and 46 Democrats, with an average contribution of $4,000.

The first signature on the letter (see below) is that of Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, whose campaign committee has received more than $395,000 from for-profit education companies over the course of his career. So far in the 2014 cycle alone, Kline has received $187,000 from individuals and PACs in the education industry — almost all of it from those in the for-profit sector. His leadership PAC has picked up another $20,000 from the for-profits’ PACs. An OpenSecrets.org analysis of all donations from the industry to all politicians in our databases show Kline is the second biggest recipient of its cash, behind only former Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) who resigned recently.

Other names from the list of biggest all-time recipients of for-profit education cash are on the list as well: Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y), who has received $185,000 over her career, is No. 6; Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), who has received $139,000, is No. 8; and Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), who has received $115,000 is No. 10.

Below is a full list of all 36 members who signed the letter and how much they received from the industry.

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Some of the letter’s recipients are already quite familiar with the for-profit education donors. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) has only received $250 in his career from the industry, but his Democratic counterpart, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y), has received $116,800 — although none so far this election cycle.

The for-profit education industry has been battered by bad publicity in recent months. The latest such story came this week, when it was revealed that five South Carolina judges and lawyers who started the Charleston School of Law withdrew $25 million in profits from 2010 to 2013 and distributed it among themselves, leaving the school in financial straits.



May 22 Letter Prohibit Gainful Employment (PDF)

May 22 Letter Prohibit Gainful Employment (Text)



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