Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Education
Durbin Statement on HELP Committee Hearing Investigating For-Profit Colleges
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today submitted a statement for the record at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing chaired by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on Bridgepoint Education, Inc, a for-profit college company. In his statement, Durbin focused on accreditation agencies which, he says, serve as the gateway to federal funding. "As Congress works to reduce the federal deficit, we are appropriately scrutinizing federal spending," Durbin said. "W… Continue Reading
03.09.11
Durbin asks Department of Defense to Step up Efforts to Protect Servicemembers from Poor-Performing Colleges and Abusive Recruiting
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In light of a recent GAO Report that found that the Department of Defense (DOD) lacks basic oversight mechanisms of the Tuition Assistance program, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, to do more to protect students and taxpayers from the worst excesses of the for-profit industry. According to the study, less than a third of the courses offered to military members have been reviewed. "I understand that you have begun … Continue Reading
03.09.11
Durbin Calls on VA to Take More Aggressive Steps to Identify Colleges Abusing the GI Bill Program
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take more aggressive steps to identify colleges and universities that have taken advantage of GI Bill benefits and to remove them from the program. Specifically, Durbin asked the Secretary of the VA, Eric Shinseki, to look into the fourteen other Westwood College campuses including the four that are located in Illinois. "It is appropriate to cut off federal funding from colleges e… Continue Reading
03.09.11
Durbin Meets With Champaign County First to Discuss Local Priorities
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of the Champaign County FIRST to discuss local priorities including transportation, local school improvements and high speed rail. Durbin asked for the group's help in opposing H.R.1 funding cuts that eliminate all unobligated funding for current and future high speed rail projects. The Champaign County FIRST committee serves as the unified voice of Champaign County to elected officials on the state and federal leve… Continue Reading
03.08.11
Durbin Op-Ed: College Tuition Tax Credit Offers up to $2,500 Per Year
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today submitted the following opinion piece for publication to Illinois College and University newspapers. Durbin has been working to spread the word about the availability of the American Opportunity Tax Credit which can save students and their families up to $2,500 per year on college tuition and expenses. In 2009, eligible Illinois families failed to claim $1 billion in the tax credit. College Tuition Tax Credit Offers Up To $2,500 pe… Continue Reading
03.08.11
College Tuition Tax Credit Offers Up To $2,500 per Year
President Obama and Congress have taken steps to help students and their families pay for a good college education. However, fewer than half of eligible families have taken advantage of it. If you or your parents haven't claimed the American Opportunity Tax Credit, there is still time. Over the last 5 years, the combined cost of tuition, fees, room and board at four-year public colleges and universities increased by 42% - far outpacing inflation and increases in household income. And wit… Continue Reading
03.02.11
Durbin: VA Disqualifies Three Westwood College Campuses From GI Bill Program
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has withdrawn education benefits from Westwood College's Houston South, Dallas and Fort Worth campuses. This announcement by the VA comes in the response to a February 14 letter to the Secretary of the VA, Eric Shinseki, in which Durbin requested a list of colleges and universities where the VA has suspended or withdrawn GI Bill and education benefits after discovering questionable … Continue Reading
02.24.11
Durbin Statement on Decline in For-Profit College Enrollment
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today made the following statement after reading reports that new enrollments in Kaplan University declined by 47% in the fourth quarter of last year. In January, the University of Phoenix reported a 42% decline over the same period. "Despite spending millions of dollars on advertising and securing a favorable vote by House Republicans to shield their industry from oversight, for-profit schools across America are facing a wholesale exodus of … Continue Reading
02.22.11
Durbin: Illinois Families Leaving More Than $1 Billion Unclaimed in College Tuition Tax Credit
[CARBONDALE] - Illinois families left more than $1 billion on the table by not claiming a tax credit for college tuition on their 2009 income tax return, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today. The American Opportunity Tax Credit would allow families to receive a tax credit of up to $2,500 per student on their 2009 and 2010 tax returns. The college tuition tax credit was originally part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. A two-year extension of the tax credit was included in t… Continue Reading
02.14.11
Durbin: VA Suspends GI Bill Benefits From Some For-Profit Colleges
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today asked the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for a list of colleges and universities from which it has suspended or withdrawn GI Bill and education benefits after discovering questionable recruiting practices used by these institutions. In a response to a December 2010 letter from Durbin, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki explained that the VA had taken these measures after compiling information about erroneous, deceptive or misleading practi… Continue Reading
02.01.11
Durbin Calls on College and University Heads to be "Better Stewards of Taxpayer Dollars"
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the leaders of over 300 colleges and universities to become 'better stewards of taxpayer dollars' by doing more to ensure those investments are matched with student achievement. Durbin called on schools to make certain students are completing degrees and gaining useful knowledge, not just piling up mountains of student loan debt. "I'm here to tell you that you cannot afford to stand on the sidelines of this conversation any… Continue Reading
02.01.11
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
Remarks as Prepared by Senator Richard J. Durbin I want to thank Dr. Warrick Carter - the maestro - for that generous introduction, and for his leadership as chairman of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities. I also want to acknowledge NAICU chairman Dr. John Bassett, and President David Warren. And welcome all of you, especially my fellow Illinoisans, to Washington. When President Obama said in his State of the Union Address, "This is our generation's S… Continue Reading
12.09.10
Durbin: Report Shows Veterans and Servicemembers Charged Highest Tuition by For-Profit Colleges, Leading to Record Student Loan Defaults
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - After reviewing the findings of a report showing that for-profit colleges are charging the highest tuition rates to veterans and servicemembers leading to a record number of student loan defaults, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today vowed to work to increase scrutiny of for-profit colleges and universities. The report issued by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee shows a nearly 700% growth over the last four years in the amount of Department of Vete… Continue Reading
11.15.10
Durbin Meets with Principal of Blue Ribbon School, Edison Elementary
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Principal Jim Pluskota of Edison Elementary School in Elmhurst which was recently recognized as a Blue Ribbon School by the Department of Education. Lynn Krizic, Superintendent of Elmhurst School District 205 and Nancy Galas, a fifth-grade teacher at Edison, also attended today's meeting. On September 9, Secretary Duncan announced 304 schools from across the country had been awarded Blue Ribbon status. Of the Blue Ribbon Sch… Continue Reading
09.15.10
Durbin: Illinois Prosecutors and Public Defenders Eligible for More Than $350,000 in Student Loan Assistance
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Illinois will receive $365,309 through the Department of Justice's John R. Justice student loan repayment program. The funding, administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, will be used to help prosecutor and public defender offices retain and attract talented attorneys by providing student loan repayment assistance to state and federal public defenders and state prosecutors who ag… Continue Reading
09.15.10
Durbin Applauds Subcommittee Passage of Legislation to Restore Fairness in Student Lending
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) applauded the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law for approving a bill that will restore fairness in student lending by treating privately issued student loans in bankruptcy the same as other types of private debt. Earlier this year Durbin introduced identical legislation in the Senate - the Fairness for Struggling Students Act (S. 3219) - with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Al Franken (D-MN). U.S. Repre… Continue Reading
07.15.10
Durbin: Senate Appropriates Committee Approves Nearly $6.3 Million for Illinois Agriculture Projects
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today said that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $6,268,000 for Illinois projects with the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Durbin is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Fiscal Year 2011 appropriations bill for Agriculture, Rural Development and FDA includes funding for the following Illinois projects and programs: • Biotechnology Research Development Center, Peo… Continue Reading
06.30.10
For-Profit Colleges and Federal Student Aid: Preventing Financial Abuses
Senator Dick Durbin National Press Club June 30, 2010 For-profit Colleges and Federal Student Aid: Preventing Financial Abuses Prepared Remarks I want to thank Tejinder Singh and the National Press Club's Newsmakers Committee for inviting me. I'm here to talk about for-profit colleges and trade schools. Specifically, I want to talk about the rapidly growing number of students enrolled in for-profit schools … the dramatic increase in federal student aid dollars flowing … Continue Reading
06.30.10
Durbin: For-Profit School Raise Concerns That Lawmakers and Administration Must Address
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) raised concerns today that the rapidly growing number of students enrolled in for-profit colleges coupled with a dramatic increase in federal student aid dollars flowing to these schools may create a national crisis in higher education. Durbin made his remarks today in speech before the National Press Club. "There is growing concern that we could be looking at a repeat of the subprime mortgage fiasco, with low-income, hig… Continue Reading
06.21.10
Durbin Joins Lawmakers in Calling for Government Review of For-Profit Colleges
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In light of recent press reports raising concerns about the for-profit education sector U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) today joined other lawmakers in calling for a review of for-profit or "proprietary" institutions of higher education. Specifically, they asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess the quality of for-profit institutions, as well as how much of their revenue is comprised of Federal student aid and other Federal funding sources.… Continue Reading