>> tonight on c-span3 a house hearing on practices of educational institutions towards veterans. and later, the white house science and technology policy director will tef before the house science committee. former microsoft ceo bill gates is expected to address the future of public higher education. mr. gates will mark the 150th anniversary of the act that was signed into law by president lincoln.

>> july 7th and 8th book tv a american history tv will be on the campus of lincoln university. >> this is probably our most famous -- this is the one that we like to show to visitors when they come into the archives. this is a book about harriet tubman. and the special thing about this book is that it was wring in 1866. the special thing is that harriet tubman made her mark on there, and that is really the most famous autograph if you want to call it that of what we

have here and she couldn't read or write so she left her mark in the sign of the cross. >> july 7th and 8th on c-span 2 and 3. >> house veterans affairs subcommittee held a hearing on practices used by schools against veterans. the hearing looked at who would be affected by the president's order. multiple organizations testified along with a veteran's affairs official. this is a little under two and a half hours. >> good afternoon everyone. if you could please take your seats we are going to get started and we are going to have votes within the next hour or so. i think we will go ahead and

start the committee hearing. to our oversight hearing and i will be examining the executive order and it's impact on schools and veterans. as you know, there has been considerable discussion in the other side of capitol hill and the press on questionable practices by schools as well as the need to increase transparency. president obama issued an executive order to take steps to improve the information and services available to veterans and to police, in the college education market. we are here today to listen to many of the steak holders in involved in veteran education i would note that the ordinance contains some elements in legislation considered in our

march order as well as many other items. for myself i'm open to things that wi that will add to ability to make informed choices while not inventing the while. data which is sub divided by sub categories. after reviewing those categories other than the number of veterans attending a school, i believe it would be a rare veteran that would need more information than contains in those data points. i would like to note that in reviews today's testimony, there needs to be a coordinated effort on the part of the organizations. in my opinion, the role in that effort should be in ensuring

that the advisory reflects that need and has the opportunity to present its views on these types of issues to the secretary and congress as required by the act. since congress revised the committee's membership, the committee has not met in the past year and possibly longer. therefore, i hope that director worley will in form us of his plans to make use of this advisory committee. also reviewing the membership of the committee, we should consider bringing in enforcement and i look forward to working with the committee. i recognize the distinguished ranking member for his remarks. he probably has no problem

getting piget getting tickets for the -- civil war, i wouldn't want to put you on the spot and ask you which team you are routing for. >> mr. chairman, thank you for that gracious introduction. it is true that i hold degrees at both fine in tri tutistituti. i was a walk on under coach bruce at iowa state. i want to thank you for holding this hearing today. i look forward to discussing the president's executive order. the purpose of the gi bill is to provide service members and their dependants with a quality education. while changes have taken place, we continue to provide oversight of this generous education benefit which i was proud to be part of implementing.

we o owe it to veterans to make th sure that the program is being sprent wi spent wisely. veterans should have choices to get the best education that they have certainly easterned under the bill. i have heard of aggressive acts targeting veterans under the program and sunlight is the best disinfectant. i agree and i'm pleased that the administration is trying to address those abuses for veterans and provide them with the information they need to make informed choices and choose the best ininstitutions. we know that this was prompted

by a ball for action by 13 different groups when they wrote the bill of rights that i hold in my hand. the order establishes principles of excellence for educational institutions. these principles would require that educational institutions collect and provide information and help students make an informed decision and students will provide detailed information such as a know before you owe form. these principles will aid in making informed decisions and by providing needed information,

this executive order will help provide protections to service members whose deployment will provide for service members. i'm proud that i introduced the plain language in government communications act requiring the government to write forms, brochures, pamphlets in language that it's intended audience can understand until that bill became law. we know that this information is critical for veterans and that is why we need to provide them with the tools they need to work their way through this sometimes confusing process. i don't think there is any such

thing as too much information. i look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and i look forward to working with you as we try to make sure that all veterans has the information they need to make informed choices that are sound investments and i yield back. >> at this point i ask unanimous consent to enter the statemens s from several organizations. mr. steve gonzalez from the american legion, mr. ted diwault, ms. heather ansley, paralyz paralyzed veterans of america and there are copies of the statements on the table outside the hearing room.

are there objections? is at this time we would like the first panel to take their seats. our first panel consists of mr. joe wynn, mr. tom tarantino and michael dackduct from the student veterans of america. since we have many witnesses today, i would remind each of you to limit your oral statement to the time alotted so that the committee would have time for questions. mr. wynn you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. fellow veterans and guests, let me thank you for the opportunity to come before you on behalf of the veterans organizationed that i represent.

this order is a generous step towards offering for profit colleges and institutions that receive federal funding an opportunity to improve performance before laws are passed. though my time served is long gone i still have vivid memories of the meilitary efxperience. my experience serves as an example of what many are going through now. students at for-profit colleges have lower graduation rates, and

loan defaults. for-profit colleges are represent i representing tuition costs and these schools probably because they serve poor students who need services and receive a quarter of their funding from federal aid. it appears that it has lead admissions officers to use recruitment strategies to use the gi bill for funding. they do not count as federal education benefits under the 90/10 rule. that no more than 90% of a college's revenues can come from financial aid it is troubling that colleges are be ago loued

to continue with little or no accountable. a veteran should not have to be treated as if they are buying a used car. they need to be given the information regarding tuition and fees up front. they should not be burdened with fees after completion of the program or fees not covered by funding sources. i agree with the president's executive order where veterans should be made away of the quality of education made when they successfully complete the program. counselors should be available to provide academic advice. this will ensure that our nation's service members and their spouses are not deceived by for-profit colleges. if they are, compliance should

not be difficult. doing the right thing will undoubtly affect the bottom line, less profit. for veterans it will be well received by them. perhaps more of them will become gainfully employed. the order does not address the 90/10 rule and until that law is changed, gi benefits will continue to be targeted by for-profit colleges. enforcement under the order needs to be strengthened. other pending legislation appear to strengthen the principles. in conclusion, since our young men and women stepped up to serve this country following the devastating attack on 9/11 many who received honors for

displaying honor and valor, they don't deserve to be taken advantage of. by every institution and agency and commercial enterprise to ensure that they receive the benefits they are entitled to and deserve. we call on congress to not allow institutions to be so vague that they can take advantage of the citizens of any state. vet vaneran veterans, women veterans, black veterans or homeless, congress needs to stop the predatory practices being demonstrated or provide support to reinforce the principles or excellence being put forth for the benefit of our veterans and their families.

this concludes my statement and i ask that my written and oral statement be submitted for the record. >> thank you. chairman, ranking member and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to share our thoughts on the president's recent executive order addressing concerns for our student veterans. i ask the committee to refer to my full prepared statement. recent reports have indicated to certain schools the fact remains that these reports have created the perception that taxpayor dollars have gone to waste. the vfw has received efforts

that scaled back programs and we continue to fight for the benefits for today's war fighters. since the report, the vfw has worked to improve consumer tools and strengthen consumer protection. in january, the vfw co authored a letter with today's key witnesses asking for action. we are proud to see that everyone listen ed to our collective voice. we applaud you for introducing your bill to address this. however, today we also applaud the president for taking a bold first step and we believe this serves as inspiration. the executive order means that bills must still be passed in a

timely manner. executive action can be limited in scope and progress can be limited and we also encourage this subcommittee to host a hearing at the 90 day mark. the vfw would like to explain how we envision implementation. first, schools may experience hurdles and we suggest that the va adopt similar principles which many schools may be obligated to sign onto in the coming months. second, the vfw supports the idea of providing data comparison tools but must suggest that the link is in

sufficient, we believe ten relevant data points are required and look forward to those most beneficial over the next 90 days. third the vfw must clarify that only the va must be in place to verify that the complaints come from the veterans. we must also clarify that, the new reporting mechanism is a tool to collect relevant information. state agencies must serve as the primary reporting agencies and must develop into protocols to face challenges. we call for an additional hearing. we believe valuable sea resource

s are being divirthed and we must solve the problem in the near term. we must protect this benefit at all costs. the vfw and our partners have felt a lack of quality information on student veterans to confirm reports of fraud waste or abuse. executive order 13607 and the bills before congress will ensure future viability to the program and foster success in the classroom. we hope that congress will move to protect our nation's investment. this concludes my statement and i'm happy to answer any

questions you may have. >> mr. chairman and ranking members of the committee. on behalf of veterans, thank you for the opportunity to testify. this order will help veterans make educational choices to meet their needs. this order will provide veterans and their families with clarity. by signing this order, the president has initiated a process that the vairias agencies would have had to wait months to again working on. we believe that this will provide timely clarity for

student veterans. how will they pay for education that veterans and service members need? how will they pay for their education. while schools are required to report hundreds of data points to the college navigate tore, it does not put that into a tool. even a review of it exposes broad issues in the information that is reported to the department of education. often the data doesn't match up and there are school that is use this confusion to hide performance. although i don't believe that the ordinance will clean up bad reporting it will expose schools

that might not be entirely on the level. we must tie that data to a tool that student veterans can use to determine what benefits another aid they are eligible for and how they are able to pay for their education. we have produced a gi bill calculato calculator. nothing like this kurnlly exists. but these must be coupled with the ability to how they can use their benefits to help achieve their goals. searching gi bill on google reveals pages of deceptive websites. veterans who submit their information to these websites are of ten subject to aggressive

recruiting. almost one million veterans who have used the gi bill and receive help and understanding the complex program. there must be an exception for those providing a service and not just providing a link. this is a serious access problem. since a significant number of oif and oef veterans are no longer serving. you can develop the best consumer education tool in the world but it is useless if your

customers can't access it. in addition to being housed to e benefits, consumer information tools is housed at gi bi gibill.va.gov. we are concerned at how the intake will be handled. it must be at the va. the va is the face of veteran's services within the government. nowhere else does this make sense from a practical or business perspective. however, it is a good start and we have to work to continue to pass the legislation, like hr 0 4057 and 4052 which will make the changes permanent.

these bills will help restore free market control and prevent veterans from being harassed. the post 9/11 gi bill is the most significant bill. we all have a shared responsibility to ensure that every student veteran is entitled to use their benefits wisely and build a better future. thank you for your time and attention and i look forward to answering your question. >> thank you for inviting student veterans of america to speak on the president's order and it's impact on institutions of higher learn iing. i served as a marine and i used tuition services and use d onlie learning while onboard a navy