Obama’s Takeover of Veterans’ Education

It looks like the Rightwing Noise Machine has another “Government Takeover!” soundbite for getting the inbreds all fired up.  President Obama has issued an executive order to start cracking down on diploma mills that target soldiers and veterans.

The fact that it was done by executive order instead of through Congress — that in itself is enough to get the Right screaming.  What else could he have done?  That giant 435-member whorehouse formerly known as Congress certainly wasn’t gonna do anything on behalf of soldiers or veterans.  I mean, come on, when was the last time a soldier wrote a 7-figure campaign contribution to a congressman?

There’s been a growing number of for-profit colleges and technical schools that have been offering worthless diplomas.  Soldiers and veterans and their families are their main targets.  For example, there’s a website called GIbill.com which has absolutely nothing to do with the G.I. Bill.  The website’s purpose is to steer visitors to a list of for-profit schools.

Part of Obama’s plan is to trademark the term “GI Bill” so that sleazy operators can’t use the term just to ensnare veterans.

Obama talked about this in a speech at Fort Stewart, Georgia.  He said these diploma mills “don’t care about you.  They care about your cash.”

He referred to the “9/11 generation” and said America would fight for soldiers and veterans just as they had fought for their country.  He was joined by Michelle Obama and Holly Petraeus (yes of course it’s his wife; how many Petraeus’ do you know?)

Obama’s executive order also includes a new system called Know Before You Owe.  This will enable veterans to calculate — with pinpoint accuracy — the ACTUAL cost of a school’s tuition and fees.  Schools can join this program voluntarily this year.  Next year it’ll be mandatory.

A veterans’ group called Student Veterans of America was grateful for Obama’s executive order, saying this would help stop “deceptive and misleading practices.”

The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, a lobbying group for diploma mills — yes of course they’ve got one — shed a few crocodile tears over the fact that Obama “decided to bypass the Congress” with an executive order.