Senate Democrats Question Oversight of For-Profits

A group of six Senate Democrats on Tuesday questioned the White House and U.S. Department of Education's oversight of the finances of for-profit institutions. The senators, who were led by Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, criticized the department's claim that it was surprised by the precariousness of Corinthian Colleges, which announced it was on the verge of collapse in June, after the department froze its financial aid revenue for 21 days. Corinthian is in the process of dismantling its 107 campuses. The senators asked for the administration to answer questions about its tools for monitoring the solvency of for-profit chains.