Video: VA Democratic Party Chair, A Lobbyist For Predatory For-Profit Schools, Says He Can't Cut Ties To ALEC

For-profit college companies have been investigated for predatory business practices, providing worthless degrees with high levels of debt, and systematically deceiving tens of thousands of students. Yet these businesses continue to enjoy over $30 billion a year in taxpayer support, thanks to their elaborate use of lobbyists and political consultants. One of the leaders of this effort isBrian Moran, a lobbyist for the trade group the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU). Remarkably, Moran also serves as chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party. Moran's employer APSCU has repeatedly attacked the Obama Administration's efforts to curb waste, fraud, and abuse by for-profit education companies. Last month, APSCU went as far to attack President Obama's plan to shield veterans from predatory for-profit colleges with a history of defrauding members of the military and their families.

As first reported by Republic Report, APSCU is also a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate bill-writing front used by industry to lobby state lawmakers. On Saturday, Moran's own Virginia Democratic party adopted a resolution to denounce ALEC, which has passed dozens of bills in Virginia to curb worker rights, deregulate pollution, and privatize government services.

The resolution pits Moran's business interests as a lobbyist against those of his own party. Since we have covered both for-profit college lobbying and the influence of ALEC, we decided to travel to Fairfax last weekend to ask Moran about the conflict. Moran refused to take responsibility; at one point, he evasively described himself only as APSCU's general counsel, when his actual title, as indicated on APSCU's own website, is "Executive Vice President for Government Relations and General Counsel," and Moran is frequently seen on Capitol Hill and in other corridors of power arguing for APSCU, which is charged with aggressively lobbying for the industry. In any case, Moran, placing business over party, refused to disassociate his lobbying firm APSCU with ALEC, telling us that he would not or could not take a position:

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