WASHINGTON – After Corinthian Colleges, Inc. and ITT Technical Institute filed for bankruptcy and faced widespread charges of fraud, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in introducing the Pell Grant Restoration Act of 2017 – legislation to preserve and expand the federal Pell Grant program.. 

While the Higher Education Act provides for the discharge of students' federal loans if they have been defrauded by their colleges, it does not reset the clock on a student's eligibility for Pell Grants, potentially stranding students without enough Pell Grant eligibility to complete a program at another school. The Pell Grant Restoration Act will restore full Pell Grant eligibility to students who attended an institution of higher education that defrauded them. 

"Corinthian College, Inc., wasted hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars and left thousands of students in debt without any degrees to show for it," said Senator Murphy. While we absolutely need to hold abusive colleges and their executives accountable and create stronger protections to prevent any similar misconduct in the future, restoring access to Pell Grants for wronged students will help ensure that students receive the aid they need to continue their education." 

"When students are cheated by for-profit, predatory colleges, they shouldn't lose any of their eligibility for Pell Grants," Senator Warren said. "This legislation would ensure that students who have been cheated can hit the reset button on their Pell Grant eligibility so that they can have the chance to go back to school."

The Pell Grant Restoration Act was first introduced in 2015, and has received support from: AFL-CIO, Air Force Sergeants Association, American Federation of Teachers, Association of the United States Navy, Center for Law and Social Policy, Consumer Action, Consumers Union, The Education Trust, Equal Justice Works, Housing and Economic Rights Advocates, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Association for College Admission Counseling, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Education Association, National Women Veterans, Public Counsel, Service Employees International Union, Student Debt Crisis, The Institute for College Access and Success, United States Public Interest Research Groups, Veterans for Common Sense, Veterans Education Success, VetJobs.com, Inc., VetsFirst, and Young Invincibles. 

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