Johnny Isakson: “I would like to put into a simple context both this 12-hour rule and the incentive compensation, which are the main…”

“I would like to put into a simple context both this 12-hour rule and the incentive compensation, which are the main focus points of the substitute offered by the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Mrs. Mink). First of all, on the incentive compensation, the bill, which I have before me, and the provisions of incentive compensation still prohibit, as it did before, paying commissions or inducements tied to a student loan being procured. That is still not allowed, but three exceptions are created. I would like to point out what those exceptions are. Exception number one is that the prohibition cannot be construed to apply to an institution contracting with a third-party vendor to disseminate information upon which they receive payment, as long as that payment is not tied to the application or the approval of any student loan. When a layman reads that language, it sounds kind of funny, but it is there specifically because under the current rules application, a university cannot contract with a third-party website provider to disseminate information on available curriculum for distance learning and pay them without being in violation of incentive compensation, because website managers are compensated basically on hits, which is construed by the current interpretation to be a commission. That is a very technical and narrow change which in no way brings about any type of fraud.”