Page images
PDF
EPUB

4.6 74/7: ED 8/11

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OVERSIGHT:
GATEKEEPING

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES
AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT
REFORM AND OVERSIGHT
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

JUNE 6, 1996

Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight

43-818

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON: 1997

For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office

DEPOSITORY

Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402

ISBN 0-16-055663-5

NOV 1 7 1997

Stanford Univ

Jensson

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT

WILLIAM F. CLINGER, JR., Pennsylvania, Chairman

BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York

DAN BURTON, Indiana

J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois
CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut
STEVEN SCHIFF, New Mexico
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
WILLIAM H. ZELIFF, JR., New Hampshire
JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York
STEPHEN HORN, California
JOHN L. MICA, Florida

PETER BLUTE, Massachusetts
THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia
DAVID M. MCINTOSH, Indiana
JON D. FOX, Pennsylvania
RANDY TATE, Washington
DICK CHRYSLER, Michigan
GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana

WILLIAM J. MARTINI, New Jersey
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida
JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona

MICHAEL PATRICK FLANAGAN, Illinois
CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire
STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio
MARSHALL "MARK" SANFORD, South
Carolina

ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR., Maryland

CARDISS COLLINS, Illinois
HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
TOM LANTOS, California

ROBERT E. WISE, JR., West Virginia
MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York

JOHN M. SPRATT, JR., South Carolina
LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER, New
York

PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania
GARY A. CONDIT, California
COLLIN C. PETERSON, Minnesota
KAREN L. THURMAN, Florida

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin

BARBARA-ROSE COLLINS, Michigan

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of

Columbia

JAMES P. MORAN, Virginia

GENE GREEN, Texas

CARRIE P. MEEK, Florida CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania BILL BREWSTER, Oklahoma TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania ELIJAH CUMMINGS, Maryland

BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
(Independent)

JAMES L. CLARKE, Staff Director
KEVIN SABO, General Counsel
JUDITH MCCOY, Chief Clerk
BUD MYERS, Minority Staff Director

[blocks in formation]

نام

CONTENTS

Page

1

Blanchette, Cornelia M., Associate Director, Education and Employment
Issues, General Accounting Office, prepared statement of.

9

[blocks in formation]

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OVERSIGHT:

GATEKEEPING

THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 1996

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES AND

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS,

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT,

Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:05 p.m., in room 2247, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher Shays (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Representatives Shays, Souder, Morella, Towns, and Green.

Staff present: Lawrence J. Halloran, staff director and counsel; Christopher Allred, professional staff member; Thomas M. Costa, clerk; and Cheryl Phelps and Denise Wilson, minority professional staff members.

Mr. SHAYS. Thank you for coming today. I'd like to call this hearing to order and welcome our witnesses and also our guests.

Today we ask this question: Is the Department of Education effectively discharging its statutory duty to guard against the abuse of Federal higher education funds by schools that don't teach what students need to learn?

This year the Department of Education will make almost $40 billion available through student loan aid program authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act. These funds will be used to pay tuition at public and private universities, community colleges, and both nonprofit and proprietary vocational and technical schools.

How can we be sure that the substantial Federal commitment to higher education is being used effectively?

This question first arose during our hearings last year on the Department's mission and performance. The Department of Education inspector general [IG] identified Federal education assistance programs as, "those most vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse," in part due to "the multitude of entities the Department has had to rely on to assist it in administering the programs."

The IG concluded that the control of access to Federal funds, or the gatekeeping process, "has proven insufficient in keeping weak and unscrupulous schools out of the SFA programs," the student financial aid programs.

Based on that testimony, we asked the General Accounting Office [GAO] to identify weaknesses in the gatekeeping process affecting the quality of the education and training purchased with Federal

(1)

« PreviousContinue »