funding

Chris Wilson

White House Declares Opioid Crisis Is Public Health Emergency. Now What?

It’s pretty clear to anyone who has been paying attention that the opioid abuse epidemic in America has reached emergency status. But it’s one thing for people to casually use that term and another for the White House to actually declare a “Public Health Emergency.” Here’s why. [More]

(MeneerDijk)

DeVos Education Budget Could Make It Harder To Obtain, Repay Student Loans

Days after the Department of Education revealed it would give all student loan accounts to one servicing company and strip away more protections for federal student loan borrowers, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos outlined the Department’s proposed budget, which goes even further by eliminating or completely overhauling programs intended to make student loans more accessible and easier to repay. [More]

Ninja IX

New York To Offer Free Tuition At Four-Year Public Universities

Hundreds of thousands of New York residents mulling the idea of going to college at a public university could soon enroll for free, as the state’s lawmakers passed a budget over the weekend that included a program that would allow students from middle- and low-income families to attend college for free. [More]

Patrick

Coke Says It Paid $132.5M To Fund Scientific Research Over A Five-Year Period

After facing backlash and fallout from its funding of the now-defunct Global Energy Balance Network — an anti-obesity organization with a decidedly pro-soda bent — Coca-Cola began disclosing all of its spending in the U.S. on scientific research and health partnerships. Now, nearly six months after first disclosing it had spent $118.5 million in a five-year period, the company has come back with an updated figure of $132.8 million.  [More]

Senators: No More Federal Funding To For-­Profit Colleges That Strip Students Of Legal Rights

Senators: No More Federal Funding To For-­Profit Colleges That Strip Students Of Legal Rights

If your college breaks the law, you should be able to pursue a legal action in court. But ­­following the lead of banks, wireless providers, and cable companies some for-profit colleges have been stripping students of their legal rights and forcing them into arbitration. These schools should not receive federal funding, says one group of lawmakers. [More]

Lawmakers Continue Crusade To Rein In For-Profit Colleges Targeting Servicemembers

Lawmakers Continue Crusade To Rein In For-Profit Colleges Targeting Servicemembers

In recent months federal regulators and government agencies have increased scrutiny of for-profit colleges and their interactions with servicemembers, veterans and their families. Today, lawmakers furthered that mission by introducing legislation that would restore previous limits on how much money these educational institutions can receive from the federal government via military benefits and other programs.  [More]

Coyoty

New Test Program Lets You Use Federal Loans To Pay For Intensive Career & Coding Training

If you want to boost your resume by taking one of those intensive “bootcamp” training programs but don’t have the funds to pay for it, a new experimental offering from the Department of Education would allow you to use federal student loans to cover the cost. [More]

Senators Introduce Legislation To Close Federal Funding Loophole Exploited By For-Profit Colleges… Again

Senators Introduce Legislation To Close Federal Funding Loophole Exploited By For-Profit Colleges… Again

Legislators continued their crusade to rein in the abuses of predatory for-profit college institutions by introducing a measure today that would close a funding loophole that often led the schools to target certain consumers in order to pad their bottom line. [More]

Congress Takes Another Stab At Undercutting Gainful Employment Rules Two Weeks Before Implementation

Congress Takes Another Stab At Undercutting Gainful Employment Rules Two Weeks Before Implementation

The Department of Education’s long-awaited gainful employment rules – aimed at reining in the for-profit college industry – go into effect on July 1. But just because there are only 14 days before implementation, doesn’t mean those opposed to the regulations are giving up their fight. [More]

(Hammerin Man)

Senators Want To Close Federal Funding Loophole Exploited By For-Profit Colleges

Each year for-profit colleges receive billions of dollars in Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits by exploiting a loophole in the rules that govern how these institutions collect federal funds. Once again, a group of senators has set out to change the way in which these schools count student aid, this time by urging the Department of Education to take an aggressive stand. [More]

Fujoshi Bijou

Regulations Help To Rein In Runaway For-Profit Colleges, But Schools Still Find Loopholes

If a company routinely charges more for its products than the competition and its product is often inferior to the more affordable option, that business won’t remain open for long. But thanks to deep-pocketed backers and a government that has handed over hundreds of billions of dollars in federal student aid without asking too many questions, the for-profit college industry continues to rake in the bucks while frequently leaving its students with subpar educations and faint employment hopes. Some federal regulators have attempted to make the industry more accountable, but these schools continue to take advantage of loopholes while legislators and consumer advocates scramble to make reform. [More]

Live In Ohio? Your Library May Soon Close

Live In Ohio? Your Library May Soon Close

Here at Consumerist, we love libraries. They’re like some weird, old-school version of Netflix, but with books! And free! That makes them one of the most cost-effective sources of entertainment and reference material around. Unfortunately, Ohio may gut the funding on this public resource if the proposed state budget goes through.

Obama Announces Plans To Make Food Safe For Human Consumption

Obama Announces Plans To Make Food Safe For Human Consumption

President Obama this week declared war on the Chinese Poison Train, announcing that the FDA will receive $1 billion in new funds for modern testing labs and additional food safety inspectors. Inspecting less than 5% of our food processing plants is apparently a “hazard to public health, and “it is unacceptable.” So what’s really behind the new policy shift? No, it’s not those melamine murders or salmonella outbreaks. It’s seven-year-old first daughter Sasha Obama!

House Passes Bill That Would Require Colleges To Practice Network Filtering

House Passes Bill That Would Require Colleges To Practice Network Filtering

Last week the House voted 354-58 to approve a college funding bill that requires colleges to “make plans to offer some form of legal alternative to P2P file-swapping” and to implement some form of network filtering. Luckily for sane people everywhere, the White House has already made veto-noises at the bill for other reasons—but still, the MPAA came that much closer to forcing its admittedly false worldview on universities.

Amtrak Train Runs Out Of Fuel, Passengers Told To Arrange Alternate Transportation

Amtrak Train Runs Out Of Fuel, Passengers Told To Arrange Alternate Transportation

An Amtrak train traveling from San Diego to Santa Barbara ran out of fuel eight miles from its destination. Hartford Courant Editor Jeanne LeBlanc’s daughter happened to be on the train, and recounted Amtrak’s puzzling response.

New Bill Would Cut Financial Aid To Schools Who Don't Police P2P, Sign Up With Napster

New Bill Would Cut Financial Aid To Schools Who Don't Police P2P, Sign Up With Napster

Ars Technica is reporting that there is a provision in a massive new education bill that would punish schools that don’t police p2p traffic on their networks by cutting federal financial aid. In addition, the bill requires that schools offer an industry approved alternative to file sharing, such as Napster or Rhapsody.

Dangerous Sealant Recalled, Replaced By Just-As-Dangerous Sealant

Dangerous Sealant Recalled, Replaced By Just-As-Dangerous Sealant

It’s been more than two years since the CPSC first became aware of problems with the spray-on sealant Stand ‘n Seal—it contained a chemical that can cause extreme respiratory problems in some customers, but was only partially recalled by the manufacturer and then replaced with another product with the exact same chemical—but the CPSC has yet to issue any fines to the company, writes the New York Times. It’s yet another example of how an underfunded, underpowered CPSC fails to protect the public from reckless companies who swap ingredients, lie, and hide important data in order to protect their bottom line.

Congressman Who Took Money From RIAA/MPAA Says Congress Should Cut Funding To Colleges

Congressman Who Took Money From RIAA/MPAA Says Congress Should Cut Funding To Colleges

The RIAA’s campaign contributions are hard at work this week as members of Congress threaten to cut off federal funding to educational institutions if they don’t stop file sharing on their networks.