Lawmakers Target Obama Plan on For-Profit Colleges

WASHINGTON — A pair of Washington lawmakers say they will seek to limit federal Education Department spending on an Obama administration Biographies Plus Newsplan designed to better track students’ academic performance at for-profit colleges.

Education and Labor Committee Chairman John Kline Biographies Plus Newson Monday filed a spending amendment to prevent

the federal agency from enacting “gainful employment” regulations in the for-profit sector starting next year.

The Education Department is finalizing rules that would cut off federal aid to college vocational programs with high student-debt levels and poor loan repayment rates.

Supporters says the plan unfairly singles out for-profits, which serve people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to higher education.

Florida Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings joined Kline, a Minnesota Republican, at a Monday press conference. The lawmakers said their proposal has broad bipartisan support.