>> new moms forced to choose. >> the united states does lag behind other countries on this. >> now a revolution in workers' rights... >> my story is so many peoples' story. >> that could decide the election. >> it can be different. i'm ali velshi "on target" recruited for cash. american hero handing over hard earned money for college degrees that employers don't respect slow track to safety, what is keeping rail roads installing technology that could save lives few industries in america had a worse year than for-profit colleges. you have probably seen the stories, exposing high tuition

and low graduation rates, about class credits and degrees that are essentially worthless and the tales handed recruiting. one of the industries biggest players, corinthian college filed for bankruptcy in may. following a department of education investigation into allegation that is the school deceived students with job placement and graduation rates. in november the second largest for-profit chaining, education corporation agreed to pay 95.5 million to settle allegations that it used boiler room recruiting tactics. here is the thing. to-profit colleges and universities almost never admit wrong going in settlement and reap billions in federal aid. two dozen companies that run for-profit colleges have been investigated or sued by dozens of prosecutors, and together the

152 schools under investigation respected about 0.1 billion in federal, student and grant payments last fiscal year. this does not include the taxpayer money from the post 9/11 g.i. bill that helps veterans that sort of in iraq and afghanistan pay for higher education. it represents a huge incentive to recruit american veterans, and that brings me to the industry's biggest school, the university of phoenix. it's owned by apollo education group and received $1.2 billion in money. since 2009. >> that makes it the largest recipient of those funds by far, and received plenty of criticism by lawmakers about how it recruits vets and active duty troops. some reports said that the university of phoenix employs a sophisticated recruiting

strategy, designed to create the impression that the college is recommended by the armed forces, and that put the university of phoenix at the center of a growing debate about veterans of cash about colleges and profits, than educating men and women who serve the country. >> mary snow has the storey. >> reporter: veterans flock to the jobs fair hosted by the chamber of commerce, many out of the academy thinking what will happen next. places. >> reporter: the transition from the military into civilian life can be challenging. >> i'm starting over. 18-year-olds. >> in the past university of phoenix had a presence at many. hiring our heroes nationwide. not since the department of defense put it on probation for,

among other things, questionable recruiting practices on military bases. >> they enticed active members of the military and veterans. the way they did it was they had huge amounts of marketing. >> reporter: the senator from illinois is on an mission to expose the money machines at for-profit colleges, and points to a wide discrepancy that for-profit companies are bringing in, versus returns for students earning degrees. he's aimed at the largest of them, the university of phoenix, encouraging the department of defense to put the school on probation until it can allegations. >> they didn't say the basics that it was under investigation, or that the courses they were taking were seminars that couldn't be transferred to other colleges or universities. and the poor people that served

our country were wasting their g.i. bill at university courses. wrongdoing. >> there's the insinuation that the university of phoenix has taken advantage. how do you respond to that? >> it's troubling greatly. we are not taking advantage of veterans. i'm a veteran, i don't feel i've been taken advantage of. >> major dean has been the dean at the university of phoenix for a year and a half. he spent 30 years in the army and is the primary spokesperson i. >> i don't know that the veterans need to be protected. we sent the young men and women to war. guess what have you done as a taxpayer, you have trusted them to make good decisions. when we give them a possibility, there's a misgovernment overreach. everyone is all concerned what

they do and where they go. and madness. >> how confident are you that the action will be resolved. >> high confidence. communicative. >> historically for profit universities, like the university of phoenix has been seen as ideal for non-traditional students. students who may be older, who have a family and need flexible hours. in 2006 when the online universities came on to the scene, there was a surge in colleges like this one. profits. >> that growth led to tactics predatory. >> we hear certain complaints with respect to the issues veterans have with the veterans. >> bob is an attorney at the clinic, at the university of san diego.

he represents 60 to 70 veterans at a time in pro bono cases dealing in issues related to for-profit universities. >> those complaints include veterans who were told that the school has a certain type of accreditation, and veterans shown misleading job placement statistics, or representations as to the jobs someone can get with a degree offered by the individual school, and the veteran finds out they can no longer pursue a career, their credential is worthless. >> a lot of time i was out. >> this man was a recruiter, around the time the university paid a $78 million settlement for a whistleblower lawsuit for recruiting students, a charge violating the higher education act.

he is suing the university, because he said nothing changes after the settlement. >> they said they were going to change the focus from enrolments to behaviours, other jobs. how has the guidelines on recruiting changed since then. >> i was not a part of it. however, there's a lot of water over the bridge, over the course of the last six years. >> there's a new lawsuit. filed by two former university of phoenix recruiters claiming they were evaluated in terms of enrolment. encouraged to make substantial misrepresentations and representing the credits of the students that will transfer when they will not. the university of phoenix litigation. >> for critics or allegations made that there has been aggressive recruiting, unfair

business practices, to that you say... >> not in my experience. it's not out there. we are more focused on student outcomes. general mark says the university transformation. >> in the last 18 months we have a new dean, colleagues, transforming the college into a way that will make it smaller. don't know what size. we'll improve the experience of those students. >> reporter: the university of students felt the heat. in the last year they investigated the practices. in july they were investigating the university about potential job placement. california's attorney-general issued an investigative spoken.

in october, as we mentioned, the department of defense announced probation. the next day the department of education announced an engagement with the department of justice into their practices. >> what do you say to people looking in, saying what is on? >> my first concern is in each agency that you describe, viewing the university of phoenix, there's a predisposition that there's malfeasance in the university. what concerns me is this really is government by fiat. isn't it. >> how so? >> we have interagency task forces. we have proclamations made. we are painted with this broad brush that we are all guilty of grotesque sins, and where is the evidence that would throw us

into the category. >> are you saying all the federal agencies are wrong. >> i'm saying to the contrary, that's their job. their job is to go forward and say give us data on. >> no matter who is wrong, the question remains whether the government is doing enough to make sure veterans have the facts about to-profit colleges. mary snow shows you how little is done to warn vets about the schools and who is to blame. and later, how the railroad industry got congress to initiate a deadline to install safety equipment designed to

i'm talking about for profit colleges. often the schools are targeted by state and depral investigators because of -- federal investigators because of infair practices, including calling veterans several times a day, saying credits will transfer to other schools. anything. critics include some lawmakers who say the federal government is not doing enough to protect or tell them when a school is under investigation. here is part two. mary snow's report. >> they are trying to swindle and hoodwink you. >> in 2012, president obama attempted to crackdown on for-profit university and recruiting tactics. >> they don't care about you, they care about the bottom line, harassing you into making a quick decision. >> he

signed an give order promising to bring an end to aggressive recruiting. has it happened in the last three years, and is the federal government doing enough to protect veterans? >> i don't think so. this has become - it's not a bipartisan issue. it's very partisan. >> at the heart of the controversy is a rule that schools cannot receive half their money from loans. the money from the g.i. bill falls into the 10% categories, and lawmakers say they are trying to change that. they say that the 90/10 rule is a reason why for-profit universities target veterans. >> the senator has worked with others to propose bills to change this rule, and in essence, remove the motivation with the schools, to target raet rans. past bills failed. >> how hopeful are you that the

pass? >> i'm not sure that it will. to be honest. this is partisan, there are few republicans that will speak out against the schools. >> a senator speaking out in favour of the university of phoenix is john mccain. >> this is a for-profit stealth attack, orchestrated and carried out by the senator from illinois, who has a well-known record of not supporting the men and women serving in the military. >> senator mccain declined interview. but in a passionate speech, he wants the department of defense probation lifted and accused the obama administration of launching a smear campaign. the men and women serving in the military, and those serving with honour have a lower priority for

him than his - than his vendetta against for-profit universities. >> your response to that. >> john mccain, as hard as it may be, is my friend. what john fails to realise is these men and women are exploited. exploited by the to-profit college based in arizona. he is not doing the veterans or the members of the military favors by protecting the university of phoenix at the education. >> here is the concern. the yellow manner is the only official -- banner is the only official indicator to inform of the trouble, it's the g.i. bill benefits comparison tool, designed to give vets the information they need. >> at the top, the caution flag for being on military institutions comes up. >> reporter: will works for student veterans of

america and is working with the v.a. about including information about schools under investigation. he admits it does not work much. >> we are working with the v.a. on what they consider too be caution flags. we'd like more information included. things like investigations by state and federal attorney-generals, that is worthwhile to know. >> is there failure on the government's part. not having more oversight. >> we are at fault. we don't hold them accountable when we accredit them or hold conduct. >> you mentioned the government. with money coming in. you said you don't know that the bill will pass. short of that, what do you do? >> you keep telling the story. as we tell the story, more and more people across america are understanding. the word is getting out.

as it gets out more students and choices. >> going to the university of phoenix was the right choice to krishna, a navy veteran graduating with a degree in communications. she had a terrific experience, and worries the investigations and negative press might hurt her and others. she joins me from san diego. >> thank you for being with us. how do you square your own positive experience with university of phoenix, with the long list of allegations and investigateses into the school -- investigations into the school? >> i try to look at to this way. i worked really hard for my degree, so did everyone in class that was with me. we worked hard. in teems, on our own, spent hours writing papers, putting together

presentations. i have taken everything i learnt within the university of phoenix's communication programme and applied it to my job, so i see a lot of value in offers. >> you are not here defending the the university of phoenix, but are here to raise concerns about what happened to vets who have a degree from a for-profit college or the university of phoenix. do they hold some responsibility. you don't like the media intensity, but it seems they have done a few things that deserve it. >> the way i look into it with the recruiting practices, and i don't believe that any school out there should have a, you know, direct line to veterans or recruiters or group of students and i don't doctoring with the

government step in regulating that. to take it a step further and turn it into a political value that would hurt veterans more disservice. >> you get a certain amount of money to spend on our edcue kaght kaghts. -- education. you spent $26,000, are you convinced it's worth it? >> yes, as a matter of fact i was accepted to sarecus and perdue's graduate programs to continue and earn a masters in communications, i decided to go with perdue, and i start in jan. >> that's excellent. >> considering everything you have heard, would you recommend university of phoenix. >> i would, as far as the

communications programme i would. i have known veterans in the it field who have had great degrees and moved on to jobs. i'd definitely recommend it. >> crist na is navy graduate unnecessary risks on america's rails. the technology that could save lives if more rail roads would adopt it.

2015 was supposed to be the year of big safety upgrades on the trains and rail roads. that has not happened. despite the mandate the delays mean it will be several

more years before the life-saving technology is sold. only a handful of airways are close to meeting the deadline. critics blame the rail roads and government. safety advocates say the bottom line is that safety is at risk mary snow has more. >> reporter: this is the kind of radio accident that technology is designed to prevent. 8 killed, 200 injured when an m track train derailed. it was speeding as it approached a curve. the collision happened in philadelphia. and it added a sense of urgency technology. >> i was at the amtrak scene a day after. anyone that has been through a site like that don't want that to happen jeffrey is the general

manager, the south-eastern peninsula authority. his office is 328 million to have train control. >> what it does is it can stop a train or limit the speed of a train. engineers have been testing technology designed to override engineers. >> if he attempts to go over speed or past the stopping point. it will stop the train. the national transportation safety board has been calling for the technology for more than four decades. for septemberer, it means covering 250 miles of track and transponders, and hauling it in to the warehouse, to install it in security systems. that federal deadline aimed at

commuter rail lines like this. carrying hazardous materials is no longer binding. that's because of a move that sparks controversy. back in 2008 congress starts a bill to install positive train control. several minutes later, lawmakers here in washington extended the dead lines. >> reporter: congress gave the rail roads three more years. they lobbied lawmakers saying testing is needed. rail roads are dragging their feet because of costs. patricia represents the railroad industry and says private companies spent more than 6 billion. and this plan to spend more. >> rail roads did not beat the deadline. it was unrealistic.

they had been saying that for years. >> reporter: safety advocates wonder why rail roads lack other industries. den is the former chairman of the national safety transportation board. >> when it comes to technology like this, it's not rocket science. we see collision avoidance systems, and they are working in three dimensions. >> government red tape is blamed for delays, and congress not approving enough money, also cited is the 275 million that the rail industry spent lobbying lawmakers since the stwait law was passed. >> it's important that lawmakers here both sides of an issue, and this is what we do on many issues, ptc being one of them. andrex, where the crash occurs

will meet the erl deadline. los angeles mentioned that it is nearly done. >> it is a catalyst for the federal mandate. they plan to launch a system in january. that leaves the majority of rail roads. every year we know that this technology, it's another year where we risk a major collision or derailment. year. >> that's the show for today, thank you for joining us. the news continues on al jazeera >> still living in these tent cities. >> we're back to square minus one.

>> the city is a powder keg at the moment. >> you see transactional sex and no one is held to account for that. >> the united nations has never accepted responsibility for this. >> an ali velshi on target special: but for the youngest drivers the digital natives who had a cell known in their hand since they were little, it heightens the elevated dangers for them and other motorists on the road with them. driven to distraction - it's tonight's "insid