Camp Lejeune Base Education
Ranking Member Richard Burr: As you know one of my top priorities in the Congress has been to end homelessness among our country's veterans. And the Committee Print S. 1237, the Homeless Veterans and Other Health Care Authorities Act of 2010, furthers that goal and I applaud all the members for their commitment to homelessness. I'm concerned however that the Committee's marking up legislation without having the official views of the Dept of Veterans Affairs on S. 1547, one of the key measures in the Committee Print before us today. We've heard the President talk about el-eliminating duplicate programs. We have had a legislative hearing on 1547 in October at which time where officials views from the administration were promised but, three months later, we still don't have those views. Without those views, the Committee doesn't have a full scope of key questions such as how the creation of a new program or the expansion of an existing ones will be coordinated with other homeless programs administered by the VA and other federal agencies? Or how this legislation fits with the [VA] Secretary's overall plan to end homelessness in five years? As well: What is the cost of the legislation and how long will it take the VA to be able to be appropriately staffed to carry out the bill's mandates? Now I'm not suggesting by any stretch of the imagination that any administration's testimony should dictate how this Committee proceeds but it would be helpful to have information to make an informed judgment on what's best for veterans and addressing their specific needs. As for the second bill on the agenda, quite frankly I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed at the approach used to provide health care for veterans and family members exposed to contaminated well water at Camp Lejeune. Not only might this bill be subject to Rule 25 Point Of Order because of subject matter, it's arguably in another Committee's jurisdiction, it also fails to appreciate the deep distrust that family members and veterans have for the Dept of Defense and, specifically, it's handling of these matters once these wells were found to be contaminated and, in the years since, on the scientific inquiries that have been ongoing. Frankly, to those effected by the contamination at Camp Lejeune, requiring DoD to be a key decision maker and provider of health care is absurd. Now. I'm disappointed personally that the majority has decided to take the tack that they have to put a different bill in. Uh-uh. I don't think it's been the practice of the Committee in the past. And, uhm, I hope this is not an indication of how we proceed forward in this Committee. I understand the Chairman has the votes, I know what the outcome is. It won't change my passion for this debate. It will not change the degree of description of what I share with the members . It is the reason that and I other members have turned to this legislation and it is certainly indicative of why Democrats and Republicans in the House next week will introduce practically the same bill with VA responsibilities to provide health care to individuals and family members that have disease that could likely be tied to exposure to contaminants on a military installation. Now I would only ask the members of this Committee -- likely included that group are some of your constituents -- and though you haven't had to fight the Dept of Defense day in and day out on behalf of this group, I have and members before me have -- without any conclusion, without any finality, without any help. Today as we sit here getting ready for this markup, even though under US Code 42, statutorily the Secretary of the Navy is obligated to pay for the studies required to understand the health and mortality effects of this exposure, the Secretary of the Navy refuses to fund the CDC's arm at ASTDR that is obligated entity to go out and share with the country their scientific conclusion. Let me say that again: The Secretary of the Navy has refused to fund -- even though the law says he has to. So for me in good conscience to turn this over to the Dept of Defense to determine the scope of coverage for these individuals is insane. If the outcome of this vote is pre-determined, then so be it. I would hate for members to leave the markup today and believe that they will not revisit this issue. It will be revisited time and time and time again until the Congress recognizes that maybe the Dept of Defense, maybe the Secretary of the Navy can hide but the Congress can't hide from these people. These are people we represent. These are people that have asked us to come here and represent their interests, their health concerns, their future and I can't hide from them.
SCANDAL
“Student loan default data highlights for-profits.” By Justin Pope. Washington Post/ Associated Press. December 14, 2009. More than one in five borrowers of federal student loans who attend for-profit colleges default within three years of beginning repayment, new figures made available by the U.S. Department of Education show. Historically, the government has reported such figures in terms of how many students default within two years – a figure that stands at 6.7 percent of student borrowers overall and about 11 percent at for-profit schools.
But the new three-year numbers, though preliminary, give a clearer picture of whether a student at a particular school will default, and the government will soon begin using them to help decide which colleges qualify for taxpayer-supported student aid programs.
“Soldier Can’t Recall His Course Lessons at For-Profit College.” By Daniel Golden. Bloomberg.com. December 15, 2009. Marine Corps Corporal James Long knows he’s enrolled at Ashford University, one of at least a dozen for-profit colleges making money off active-duty military with subsidies from American taxpayers. He just can’t remember what course he’s taking. The 22-year-old from Dalton, Georgia, suffered a brain injury that impaired his ability to concentrate when artillery shells hit his Humvee in Iraq in 2006, he said. Long signed up for the online college, a unit of Bridgepoint Education Inc., after its recruiter gave a sales pitch this year at a barracks for wounded Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Under base rules, the barracks are off-limits to college recruiters, said Robert Songer, director of lifelong learning at Lejeune. For-profit online colleges are taking over higher education of the U.S. military, lured by a Defense Department pledge of free schooling up to $4,500 a year for active members of the armed services, costing taxpayers more than $3 billion since 2000. The schools account for 29 percent of college enrollments and 40 percent of the half-billion-dollar annual tab in federal tuition assistance for active-duty students, displacing public and private nonprofit colleges, according to Defense Department and military data.
“United Homeless Organization Told to Remove Sidewalk Tables.” By Sewell Chan. New York Times. December 16, 2009. The state’s attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, obtained a court injunction on Tuesday ordering the United Homeless Organization to remove its sidewalk donation tables pending the outcome of a lawsuit Mr. Cuomo’s office has filed against the group, which he has called a sham. In the lawsuit, filed last month, Mr. Cuomo called the United Homeless Organization a fraud. His office said the group’s president, a formerly homeless Bronx man named Stephen Riley, and its director, Myra Walker, used tens of thousands of dollars from the group for personal expenses and failed to provide any services for the homeless.
“Cashing in on Kids.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. December 16, 2009. The Journal Sentinel has spent more than a year investigating the $340 million taxpayer-financed child-care system known as Wisconsin Shares and uncovered a trail of phony companies, fake reports and shoddy oversight. Local and state politicians said Monday that more still needs to be done to ensure the safety of children in day care centers, after the latest Journal Sentinel investigation published Sunday that found some child-care providers tied to dangerous drug dealers.
“More thieves target charity groups during holidays.” By Judy Keen. USA Today. December 16, 2009. Thieves are targeting groups that collect toys or raise money for the needy this holiday season — fallout from the recession, some organizers say — but communities are stepping up to replenish the lost donations.
“BU website embellished biography of opera director.” By Tracy Jan. Boston Globe. December 18, 2009. By many measures, Sharon Daniels is a star at Boston University. She heads the school’s Opera Institute and is one of the most prominent voice instructors and stage directors in the city. The New England Opera Club honored her with an award in 2003, and her stagings of classic operas such as “The Marriage of Figaro’’ have garnered rave reviews. Yet, Daniels’s biography on the BU website embellished her professional experience. Though it said she performed in starring roles with several A-list companies in Europe and San Francisco, a Globe review has found that four institutions have either no record of her or cast her in minor parts. In one case, in which she is listed as principal soprano, she was actually the fifth of six flower maidens in a 1974 production of Wagner’s “Parsifal.’’ Boston University officials and Daniels herself acknowledged yesterday that they were made aware of some discrepancies in her official biography as far back as January, but failed to correct them.
“Education: Citing ProPublica Investigation Into University of Phoenix, Congressman Calls for Hearings.” By Robin Fields. ProPublica. December 18, 2009. An investigation [1] we co-published last month with National Public Radio’s Marketplace about the University of Phoenix’s questionable recruiting tactics has prompted a Maryland lawmaker to call for congressional hearings on the conduct of for-profit schools. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., has written to the chairmen of two House committees, calling the pattern of behavior we detailed “disheartening at best and infuriating at worst.” Proprietary schools provide valuable opportunities for students unable to attend traditional colleges, Cummings’ Dec. 14 letter acknowledges. But “to find that for-profit institutions allegedly drew students in with disingenuous claims and sometimes outright fabrication, subjected them to onerous loans, and left them with often unusable ‘credits,’ is inexcusable,” he said.
