MOAA joined fellow military and veterans service organizations May 13 to protect student-veterans from again becoming “dollar signs in uniform” – targets of predatory practices which could be restored by a recent House proposal as part of the budget reconciliation bill.

The plan would repeal the so-called “90/10 rule,” a limit on the amount of federal funds that can be collected by for-profit colleges. The repeal would cost an estimated $1.6 billion over 10 years … and may allow certain for-profit schools to financially exploit veterans.

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Lawmaker to Protect Service-Earned Education Benefits]

Federal law requires for-profit colleges to derive at least 10% of their revenue from areas other than federally funded financial assistance, which can account for the other 90%. For many years, a loophole in that 90/10 rule put DoD- and VA-backed benefits, such as the GI Bill, outside that federal-fund definition. Thanks to the loophole, many for-profit colleges aggressively focused their recruiting efforts on servicemembers and veterans.

Before Congress closed this loophole with bipartisan 2022 legislation that took effect in 2023, these schools used it “to get more than their fair share of federal tax dollars,” said Allison Jaslow, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), which hosted the May 13 press event in Washington, D.C.

But budget reconciliation language recently passed by the House Education and Workforce Committee would not only undo the loophole, but also would remove the 90/10 funding provision altogether, replacing it with a “sector-neutral accountability plan.”

Now, Jaslow added, Congress must “rise to the challenge, protect the Post-9/11 GI Bill, stand up for the American taxpayer that believes in the nation’s newest generation of veterans, and prove they are on the side of student-veterans, not the for-profit universities.”

‘Promises That They Never Intended to Keep’

“Servicemembers, veterans, spouses, and family members have become highly attractive prospects to for-profit colleges, and many schools have put significant resources into recruiting and enrolling students eligible for these benefits,” according to a 2012 Senate report, which noted that in many cases, veterans have simply become “dollar signs in uniform.”

Allison Muth, director of veterans services and civic engagement for Veterans Education Success (VES), told the audience at the May 13 event that she’d heard from “hundreds of veterans who were heavily recruited by schools that made lofty promises that they never intended to keep.”

Muth recounted stories of veterans receiving dozens of phone calls and hundreds of emails from for-profit schools, and of recruiting efforts that led one for-profit college to enroll a Marine with a traumatic brain injury who couldn’t recall what course he was taking.

“Veterans deserve more protection from institutions that seek to take advantage of them and their education benefits, not less,” Muth said.

Protecting Earned Benefits

The GI Bill is a foundational benefit, earned through service, and it must be safeguarded against misuse. The 90/10 rule, and the closing of the 90/10 loophole in particular, was a necessary step to restore integrity and accountability in how federal funds, particularly those tied to military service, are used by educational institutions. Reversing this progress would undermine a bipartisan commitment to protecting veterans from aggressive and misleading recruitment practices.

MOAA urges Congress to maintain this safeguard and uphold the trust placed in them by the veteran community. Click here to reach out to your lawmakers and amplify this message.

We also need your help to ensure that certain educational institutions do not exploit servicemembers and veterans; our work in the 119th Congress requires strong, steady engagement from MOAA members and partners.

Continued pressure from constituents is necessary to ensure lawmakers do not forget about veterans that utilize their educational earned benefits. We urge you to visit MOAA’s Legislative Action Center to keep track of all MOAA legislative priorities.