Chuy Garcia Slams ‘Commodification Of Education,’ Claims Schools Treat Learning As An ‘Afterthought’

Forbes Breaking News

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) talked about the commodification of higher education.

Transcript

00:00The gentleman from Wyoming's time is yielded back. I now recognize the gentleman from Illinois for five minutes.

00:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This hearing highlights a real problem, the crisis of affordability in higher education.

00:17But instead of focusing on systemic issues and solutions, Republicans have chosen a narrow and misleading target,

00:26the Ivy League, which enrolls less than one percent, half of one percent of all undergraduate students.

00:35It's been stated before. Rising costs are not unique to the Ivy League.

00:41Over the last two decades, tuition and fees at private and public universities have increased by over 100 percent.

00:49So this problem isn't limited to antitrust violations by the Ivy League.

00:55It's a problem that affects working families, regardless of which school students attend.

01:04And this problem is rooted in the commodification of education.

01:09Many schools have become real estate trusts and hedge funds that treat education as an afterthought.

01:17They gain the ranking system by jacking up tuition, offering discounts in the form of financial aid,

01:25knowing that they can exploit the student loan program and load their students with debt.

01:34This model has been a disaster for students and for our economy.

01:39Higher education is becoming more essential and more unaffordable.

01:43Over 40 million people hold nearly $2 trillion in debt.

01:50And black and Latino students, immigrant students, and first-generation students in particular are being priced out of opportunity.

02:00So in addition to antitrust enforcement, Congress must act.

02:05And we should consider policy options like tuition-free public college caps on tuition increases,

02:15increased need-based aid, reforms to the student loan system, and support for trade and vocational schools.

02:24Not everyone needs to go to college.

02:26But if Republicans were serious about affordability, we'd see policy solutions.

02:31We don't see that.

02:32Instead, we see culture wars.

02:35Let's talk about what they actually do.

02:39Ms. Morgan, thank you for being here.

02:42Let me ask you a simple yes or no question.

02:44Does cutting the Department of Education lower tuition costs?

02:49It does not.

02:51Does cutting research funding for universities lower tuition costs?

02:55It does not.

02:55Does funding financial aid, does cutting financial aid programs and student debt relief lower tuition costs?

03:03It definitely does not.

03:04Does suppressing free speech and enforcing a Trump-approved ideology lower tuition costs?

03:10It does not.

03:13And as usual, Republicans are pretending to be firefighters when they're actually arsonists.

03:21We need to address the cost of higher education, but nothing in their cruel reconciliation bill does that.

03:30So this hearing is just a hypocritical distraction.

03:37Republicans fight culture wars.

03:39They manufacture outrage and funnel taxpayer dollars to billionaires and to ICE while defunding higher education.

03:50Programs that help working-class students, those that I represent in Congress, and other vital resources for our communities.

04:01Working families and our communities deserve better.

04:06Thank you, and I yield back.

04:08Gentleman yields back.

04:09Gentleman from...

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