Gosar: Why are the Democrats afraid of a little competition in higher education?

OPINION:

It’s time to call a spade a spade. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and their lawless cronies at the Department of Education (USED) have had it out for any alternative school that dares to compete against the Higher Education cartel, and they seem to be willing to do whatever it takes to knock them out of the competition.

And shockingly, the Biden/Harris administration’s war on the cartel’s competitors has even extended to some of the nation’s most highly attended Christian schools, such as Grand Canyon University(GCU). Is this about the interests of the students? Of course not. Instead, it’s a deliberate attempt to destroy educational choice and force students into attending one of the Administration’s preferred indoctrination centers.

Last year, as part of a broad scrutinize-and-penalize campaign, the office of Federal Student Aid within USED slapped GCU and its students with a record $37.7 million dollar fine, the largest penalty in the agency’s history. Surely, there must be some bombshell evidence forthcoming to justify such unprecedented action. No way an administration, even this one, could go so far without the grounds to prove their case, right? Wrong.

Since the announcement of the fine, USED has been sued to disclose records that would support its action, beseeched by lawmakers demanding answers, and called before Congress to provide them. But despite all of that, USED has produced virtually nothing — not even one complaint from alumni of the school.

Instead, the administration has doubled down. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona pledged to “shut down” GCU in testimony before Congress this spring. Again, no evidence. No smoking gun. Just total loathing for who GCU serves and what GCU represents.

In any other setting, were we not talking about a federal agency with the full backing of the U.S. government, this type of fact-less slander would be considered defamation. But sadly, this is the modus operandi of the Biden-Harris administration: single out schools that don’t conform to its woke, progressive ideology, gin up allegations, however dubious, and penalize them out of existence. Then, once the dust settles, cancel the loans of the hapless students supposedly “defrauded” by the school a backdoor attempt to make good on the administration’s false promise that was rejected (and rebuffed)by the Supreme Court last year.

If the federal government wants to use its power as a sword against Christians and against any school that dares to stand up to the woke higher education regime you’d better believe Republicans in Congress will do everything in our power to stop it.

After learning about the department’s preposterous attack against GCU, I (Rep. Gosar) demanded answers from Richard Cordray, head of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Office of Enforcement. More than 40 percent of colleges do not provide information about the price of their programs. So how is it that GCU — which an independent accreditor applauded for providing “clear and transparent” information — would incur a record fine? What about the other 40 percent of schools?

Republicans in Congress also demanded answers from USED’s Office of Inspector General about the ongoing assault on GCU. We were pleased to see our letter get significant attention and support from the heart of the Conservative movement organizations representing millions of proud Christians.

Of course, the administration didn’t have much to say. Because this assault isn’t about protecting students. It’s about weeding out faith-based universities, career colleges, and unconventional higher education programs that offer innovative, flexible, and cost-effective routes to a degree. It’s about propping up a failing model of post-secondary education that even the Harvard Business Review admits is “archaic” and “no longer works.”

The reality is that most Americans don’t believe that a conventional four-year degree is worth the cost, and students are fleeing expensive, brand-name schools for alternatives that better fit their needs. That does not sit well with President Biden, Vice President Harris, or their toadies at the Department of Education, which is why they have weaponized an army of bureaucrats against faith-based institutions, career colleges, and distance-learning programs. In fact, the Biden-Harris team requested a nearly 600 percent budget increase to beef up its enforcement office with more lawyers to sic on these supposed ne’er-do-wells. Never mind that GCU has not raised tuition in 15 years, or that enrollment at GCU has more than tripled since 2012.

Meanwhile, the Administration diverted resources away from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) program, which has upended hundreds of thousands of high school seniors’ college plans and could result in a 20 percent enrollment decline this fall.

It’s this simple. The Biden-Harris Department of Education is fundamentally opposed to schools that threaten the status quo. Weeks after it penalized GCU, it charged Liberty University, another prominent Christian university, with an equally outrageous fine. Both actions came just months after a $6 million penalty against faith-based Ashland University. And ten of the 13 schools penalized by the Department have been career colleges.

Americans deserve better. The Biden-Harris attack on faith-based schools, career colleges, and distance learning programs limits student choice and closes the door to college for many young people. What’s worse, low-income, minorities, first-generation collegegoers, and underserved students are the ones hurt the most. It’s time to end the assault. That starts with Congressional oversight, a new White House, and a new Department of Education that will put students first.

• Rep. Paul Gosar is a Member of Congress who represents the Arizona 9th Congressional District. Jon Schweppe is the policy director at American Principles Project.