Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I have come to the floor many times to talk about for-profit schools. It is another consumer issue. It is a very serious one. I come to the floor to describe to my colleagues and put on the record of the Senate some of the things that are taking place across America today that I think are nothing short of outrageous, things that we can stop--we have the power to stop in the Senate. Let me tell the story of Sharon LoMonaco. Sharon is a 65-year-old woman who is on Social Security and in debt because of her student loans. Sharon attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, a for-profit college owned by Education Management Corporation. Sharon saw a commercial and was attracted to the school and called them. Then the recruiter at the school kept calling and calling her until she finally agreed to sign up. Sharon says the recruiter acted as if he were her best friend, told her everything would be great, and then practically filled out her financial aid forms for her. She ended signing up for $55,000 in loans, to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. She started the program and started to question almost immediately the quality of the education she was receiving. But she stayed in school--that is, she stayed until her money ran out. Sharon received a Pell grant, which is a grant given to low-income individuals in America to go to college, but she had also exhausted her Federal student aid eligibility.…”