​Career Education Colleges and Universities applauded the quick work of Congress to protect Veteran Students in the midst of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. CECU welcomed the passage of Senate Bill 3503, which  allows Veterans and their dependents, as well as service members, on the GI Bill® to continue receiving their benefits as universities temporarily move their classes online to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The bill, authored by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS.) and Ranking Member Jon Tester (D-MT.), ensures that GI Bill® recipients will not lose access to their earned education benefits because of the shift to online education.

With colleges and universities cancelling in-person classes and moving to remote or online courses to limit the spread of COVID-19, Steve Gonzalez, Senior Vice President of Government, Military & Veterans Relations at Career Education Colleges made the following statement:

“CECU’s encourages Congress to ensure student veterans’ existing GI Bill® benefits and housing allowances are not negatively impacted due to the health-related situation outside of the school or student veterans’ control.”

Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) praised the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits Administration for their recent decision to suspend approval of new enrollments for the education and training of Veterans at five universities following alleged abuses by those institutions.

CECU News
Steve Gonzalez, Senior Vice President of Government, Military, and Veterans Relations visited Capitol Hill Republican and Democrat offices to discuss CECU policy concerns with the College Affordability Act and its impact to CECU member schools. CECU's government relations team continues to engage with Republican and Democrat offices to build a bipartisan coalition that will support CECU member schools and reject policies detrimental to CECU member schools and the population they serve.

CECU News
Steve Gonzalez, Senior Vice President of Government, Military, and Veterans Relations attended a small breakfast meeting with Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM-01) to discuss the House of Representatives' top policy priorities in 2020 before the November elections. Her policy priorities related to higher education and workforce, the College Affordability Act's impact to CECU member schools, seeking her support to address CECU's policy concerns with Chairman Bobby Scott and other members of the House Committee on Education & Labor, and discussing ways for Rep. Haaland and her staff to engage with CECU member schools in her congressional district. Attending events like this small breakfast and engaging with Republican and Democrats alike to build a bipartisan coalition to support CECU member schools.

CECU News
CECU's Steve Gonzalez, Senior Vice President of Government, Military, and Veterans Relations met with Senator Carper's senior staff to discuss the Protect Veterans' Education and Taxpayer Spending Act of 2019 (S. 2857, better known as the Carper bipartisan 90/10 compromise). The discussion revolved around finding a potential waiver compromise to S. 2857 and identifying time for Senator Carper and his senior staff to meet with key CECU member schools that would be negatively impacted by S. 2857 without amending the bill to include a 90/10 waiver.

CECU's Career Education Blog
No HEA Reauthorization? Try Regulation!
The Higher Education Act (“HEA”), the federal law governing higher education in the U.S., has not been updated in over a decade. The most outdated aspect of higher education today is the federal policy under which most postsecondary schools operate. We’ve modernized who we teach, when we teach, and how we teach. However, the federal policy stays the same. Why? Polarization in Congress.