Student-loan borrowers should not be 'scammed out of an education and into a mountain of debt,' 3 Democratic lawmakers say. Here's how their new bill would help prevent that.

Sens. Dick Durbin, Elizabeth Warren, and Tina Smith introduced a bill to bolster oversight of for-profit schools that cause student debt to spiral.

• Three Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill to increase oversight of for-profit colleges.
• The bill would create a committee to oversee the industry and monitor potential predatory behavior.
• For-profit schools have come under scrutiny for loading students up with debt they cannot pay off.

A group of Democratic lawmakers don't want to let for-profit schools off the hook for piling students up with debt and no degree.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith introduced the Proprietary Education Interagency Oversight Coordination Improvement Act, which would create a committee to bolster oversight over for-profit colleges.

Over the past decade, a number of for-profit schools have fallen under scrutiny — and some shut down — over accusations of fraudulent behavior that pushed students to take out more loans than they could afford to pay off. The Democrats' bill would "ensure that students are not scammed out of an education and into a mountain of debt" by requiring the committee to publish an annual report detailing enforcement actions taken against the top offenders, according to the press release.

"Predatory for-profit colleges aim to rake in billions in federal student aid rather than to provide a quality education to students, who are often left buried in debt with a near-meaningless degree," Durbin said in a statement. "We cannot let this industry continue to take advantage of students without proper federal oversight."

Specifically, the bill would allow for the creation of a committee that would establish a complaint collection and tracking system for students to report misconduct in the for-profit industry, require the committee to publish a report on the industry that details oversight actions, complaints, and compensation of industry executives, and publish a warning list of schools that have engaged in illegal activities or for which there's evidence of "widespread or systemic fraudulent or predatory practices."

As Insider previously reported, the goal of the for-profit industry is right in its name — profit maximization — and it will get those profits through any route, even if it means sticking students with huge debt balances using predatory practices. For example, major for-profit chains like ITT Technical Institute and Corinthian Colleges shut down in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and the Securities and Exchange Commission even took ITT to court in 2015 for deceiving investors about high default rates on student loans.

Along with Democratic lawmakers, President Joe Biden's Education Department has taken steps to increase oversight over the for-profit industry. Along with its announcement of up to $20,000 of student-loan forgiveness in August, the White House detailed plans in a fact-sheet to hold for-profit colleges accountable through its creation of an enforcement office within the Federal Student Aid office, and will publish an annual watch list of the programs with the worst debt levels in the country.

"We're going to make sure that students know before they take out loans if their college has a track record of abuse," Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said during a student aid conference on Thursday.