Robert Shireman

Shireman earned his B.A. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley), a masters in public administration from the University of San Francisco, and a masters in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.{{Cite web|title=U.S. Education Secretary Duncan Announces Appointments at the U.S. Department of Education {{!}} U.S. Department of Education|url=https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-education-secretary-duncan-announces-appointments-us-department-education|access-date=2020-10-21|website=www.ed.gov}}

After college, Shireman opened a lobbying office in Sacramento for the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), a Ralph Nader-inspired organization in which he had been active as a student at UC Berkeley.{{cite news |last1=Lawrence |first1=Steve |title=Public-interest lobbyists face heavy odds in Sacramento |agency=Associated Press |publisher=San Francisco Examiner |date=February 17, 1985}} Among the issues Shireman pursued was the problem of toxic chemicals in art supplies.{{cite news |title=Toxics reported in public school art materials |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/09/05/Many-of-Californias-41-million-public-school-childen-are/8035463204800/ |work=UPI |publisher=San Diego Union |date=September 5, 1984}} At the age of 23, he and a colleague were successful in enacting reforms where other more seasoned advocates had failed, an effort Art News called “a classic case in political action, timing, effective lobbying and organization.”{{cite news |last1=Kotz |first1=Mary Lynn |title=The Campaign for Art Hazards Legislation |publisher=Art News Magazine |date=December 1985}}

After CALPIRG, Shireman started working with Consumers Union to address the problem of monied interests in California politics. In September 1986, he and other reformers charged the banking lobby with attempting to bribe state legislators with campaign contributions delivered just as interstate banking legislation was being considered.{{cite news |last1=Wiegand |first1=Steve |title=Bankers' Gift to Legislators Draws Fire |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=September 17, 1986}}{{cite news |last1=Jacobs |first1=Paul |title=Investigation of Bankers Over Campaign Fund Pledge Urged |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 17, 1986}} Shireman became involved in a campaign to enact an initiative to limit campaign contributions and spending on the June 1988 ballot.{{cite news |last1=Neary |first1=Walter |title=Prop. 68 drive goes to limit: Election spending, donations target of statewide effort |publisher=The Herald (Monterey Peninsula) |date=April 1, 1988}} Dueling successful initiatives led to a complicated result.{{cite news |last1=Walters |first1=Dan |title=Democrats ignore voters' will on public campaign financing |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/09/walters-california-democrats-ignoring-voters-will-on-the-states-political-reform-act/ |access-date=4 September 2021 |publisher=The Mercury News |date=September 9, 2019}}

While serving as an education advisor to U.S. Senator Paul Simon, Shireman played a significant role in the development and implementation of Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign promise to “scrap” the student loan program and replace it with a national service trust fund that would allow all students to borrow money for college and then repay it either as a small percentage of income over time or through two years of public service. Shireman's role is detailed in a 1996 book, "The Bill," by then-journalist Steven Waldman.{{Cite book|last=Waldman, Steven.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34180383|title=The bill : how legislation really becomes law: a case study of the National Service Bill|date=1996|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=0-14-023304-0|edition=Rev. and updated|location=New York, N.Y., U.S.A.|oclc=34180383}} Shireman joined the Clinton Administration at the end of the first term and took on the role of shepherding a 1996 campaign promise to create a tax credit for college tuition.{{Cite web|last=Lederman|first=Douglas|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/clinton-revises-plan-for-helping-families-pay-for-college|title=Clinton Revises Plan for Helping Families Pay for College|date=June 13, 1997|access-date=2020-10-22|website=www.chronicle.com}} In his two years at the White House he also had the lead role in the administration's America Reads Initiative and in the creation of the pre-college preparation program, GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs).{{Cite web|title=America Reads Initiative|url=https://clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov/WH/New/html/19971021-2909.html|access-date=2020-10-22|website=clintonwhitehouse4.archives.gov}}Jeff Wendt, “[https://static.squarespace.com/static/52693fc7e4b0b1f7d80a45c9/527ab97ce4b0c352f93020b5/527ab97de4b0c352f9302665/1287066258074/TodaysCampus_DoubleWhammy.pdf Student Lending: a special report on the unlikely twosome who toppled student lending],“ Today’s Campus, September/October 2010.

Shireman had a small role in the media response to emerging Monica Lewinsky revelations. In January 1998, with reporters hungry for new information about the scandal, White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry sought to demonstrate that the administration was working on real policy issues. As described in the Washington Post: “One day, knowing full well the networks couldn't care less, he brought out Robert Shireman, senior policy adviser at the National Economic Council, to talk about school construction bonds.”{{Cite web|title=Washingtonpost.com Special Report: Clinton Accused|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/mccurry020398.htm|access-date=2020-10-22|website=www.washingtonpost.com}}{{Cite web|title=White House Daily Briefing {{!}} C-SPAN.org|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?99447-1/white-house-daily-briefing|access-date=2020-10-22|website=www.c-span.org|language=en-us}}

While at the Department of Education in 2009–10, Shireman put into effect much of the agenda he had developed previously at TICAS, a nonprofit he had founded. TICAS had recommended simplifying the FAFSA (the application process for federal aid) by employing skip logic and allowing applicants to upload their income information from the IRS.{{Cite news |last=Lewin |first=Tamar |date=2009-02-21 |title=The Big Test Before College? The Financial Aid Form |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/education/22fafsa.html |access-date=2024-04-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}Asher, Lauren. [https://ticas.org/wp-content/uploads/legacy-files/legacy/files/pub/FAFSA_FINAL.pdf Going to the Source: A Practical Way to Simplify the FAFSA], TICAS, March 2007. As deputy undersecretary Shireman led the successful implementation of that plan.{{Cite web|last=Lederman|first=Doug|date=June 25, 2009|title=FAFSA, the Perfect, and the Good|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/25/fafsa-perfect-and-good|access-date=2020-11-01|website=www.insidehighered.com|language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Kathleen |first=Pender |date=2009-06-26 |title=Coming soon: A simpler application for college financial aid |url=https://blog.sfgate.com/pender/2009/06/25/coming-soon-a-simpler-application-for-college-financial-aid/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611224419/http://blog.sfgate.com/pender/2009/06/25/coming-soon-a-simpler-application-for-college-financial-aid/ |archive-date=2016-06-11 |access-date=2020-11-01 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}

When President Obama took office in 2009, a liquidity crisis had prevented access to bank-based guaranteed student loans. To preserve access and reduce taxpayer costs, the administration, with Shireman in a lead role, proposed shifting to a 100 percent direct loan system.{{Cite web|last=Field|first=Kelly|date=March 6, 2009|title=Student-Loan Companies to President: 'We're Not Dead Yet!'|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/student-loan-companies-to-president-were-not-dead-yet-1570/|access-date=2020-11-01|website=www.chronicle.com}}{{Cite web |date=May 21, 2009 |orig-date= |title=Deputy Under Secretary of Education Robert Shireman Testifies Before the House Education and Labor Committee {{!}} U.S. Department of Education |url=https://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/deputy-under-secretary-education-robert-shireman-testifies-house-education-and-labor-committee |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501073509/https://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/deputy-under-secretary-education-robert-shireman-testifies-house-education-and-labor-committee |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-05-01 |access-date=2020-11-01 |website=www.ed.gov}} Originally proposed by Congressman George Miller as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, the direct loan plan ultimately was attached to the Affordable Care Act, along with a provision Obama proposed to make the income-based repayment (IBR) option more generous to borrowers.Sandy Baum and Martha Johnson, [https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/77316/2000599-strengthening-federal-student-aid-reforming-the-student-loan-repayment-system_4.pdf Strengthening Federal Student Aid Reforming the Student Loan Repayment System], Urban Institute, February 2016. IBR was modeled on a TICAS proposal adopted by Congress in 2007.{{Cite web|title=Project on Student Debt|url=http://pew.org/1KJ2TiW|access-date=2020-11-01|website=pew.org}}

Shireman is sometimes described as the “architect” of the Obama administration's consumer protection regulations, including clarifying the Higher Education Act's gainful employment provision that determines for-profit college access to federal funding.{{Cite web |last=Lederman |first=Doug |title=For-Profits' Fundamental Difference |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/05/22/paper-argues-profit-colleges-operate-and-should-be-treated-differently |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=Inside Higher Ed |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=For-profit-college investor and architect of Obama regulations debate {{!}} Inside Higher Ed|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/02/16/profit-college-investor-and-architect-obama-regulations-debate|access-date=2020-11-01|website=www.insidehighered.com|language=en}} While Shireman did play a major role in launching that effort, all of the regulations were adopted by the Department of Education months or years after his return home to California in the summer of 2010.{{Cite web|last=Field|first=Kelly|date=May 17, 2010|title=Robert Shireman, Architect of Direct-Loan Program's Triumph, Will Step Down at Education Dept.|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/robert-shireman-architect-of-direct-loan-programs-triumph-will-step-down-at-education-dept/|access-date=2020-11-01|website=Chronicle of Higher Education}}

In May 2020, Shireman was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom to serve as one of the state's representatives to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.{{Cite web|date=2020-05-19|title=Governor Newsom Announces Appointments 5.18.20|url=https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/05/18/governor-newsom-announces-appointments-5-18-20/|access-date=2020-10-21|website=California Governor|language=en}} In October, 2020, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed him to a term on the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity.{{Cite web|date=2020-10-02|title=Keiser, Shireman Picked For DeVos Advisory Panel|url=https://www.republicreport.org/2020/keiser-shireman-picked-for-devos-advisory-panel/|access-date=2020-10-21|website=Republic Report|language=en-US}} From 2004 to 2009 Shireman served as a congressional appointee to the federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Federal Advisory Committee Database|url=https://www.facadatabase.gov/FACA/FACAPublicViewCommitteeDetails?id=a10t0000001h2ZWAAY|access-date=2020-10-31|website=www.facadatabase.gov}}

In 1995, the newly elected Republican congress proposed a budget that would slow the growth of spending in the Medicare program. President Clinton accused the GOP of sacrificing the health of seniors to fund tax cuts for the rich. Stung by the claim that congress was proposing “cuts” to Medicare, the Republican National Committee placed full-page advertisements in national newspapers featuring party chair Haley Barbour holding a giant million-dollar check. The ad said: "Heard the one about Republicans cutting' Medicare? The fact is Republicans are increasing Medicare spending by more than half. I'm Haley Barbour, and I'm so sure of that fact I'm willing to give you this check for a million dollars if you can prove me wrong."{{Cite news|last=Balz|first=Dan|date=1997-01-30|title=CONSOLATION PRIZE FROM RNC: A SUMMONS|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/01/30/consolation-prize-from-rnc-a-summons/4794cfa5-feb0-419c-a69b-bf2bd5836881/|access-date=2020-10-21|issn=0190-8286}}

Shireman mailed an entry to the contest, arguing that by using the transitive form of the verb “increase” the RNC was asserting causation. Since Medicare spending under the GOP plan would be lower than without it, the RNC's claim was false, asserted Shireman. When the RNC failed to award the prize, Shireman's attorney David Halperin filed a breach of contract case in Washington, DC. The lawsuit survived a motion to dismiss, making a jury trial likely.{{Cite news|date=1996-11-17|title=So Sue Me (Published 1996)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/17/magazine/so-sue-me.html|access-date=2020-10-21|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=1997-01-29|title=Federal File - Education Week|work=Education Week|url=https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1997/01/29/18fedfil.h16.html|access-date=2020-10-21}} The RNC subsequently sued all 80 people who had entered the contest, moving the case to federal court in Jackson, Mississippi. Halperin moved that the court transfer the case to federal court in Washington, D.C., and the court granted that motion.{{Cite web|last=Slevin|first=Peter|date=May 2, 1998|title=A Medicare Gimmick That Hasn't Paid Off|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/daily/may98/barbour02.htm|access-date=2020-10-21|website=www.washingtonpost.com}} Shireman and the RNC ultimately settled, while 20 other people stayed in the suit for years.{{Cite web|last=Times|first=Danny Westneat, The Seattle|title=GOP SAYS $1 MILLION OFFER A SPOOF; 20 LITIGANTS NOT LAUGHING|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-10-05-9910050188-story.html|access-date=2020-10-21|website=chicagotribune.com|date=5 October 1999 |language=en-US}}

After Wall Street short-seller Steve Eisman testified about for-profit colleges in 2010, the industry started attempting to link critics to Eisman, claiming the Department of Education's gainful employment regulatory efforts may have been tainted.{{Cite web|last=Kaplan|first=David A.|date=November 2, 2010|title=Did Steve Eisman unduly influence the Education Dept.?|url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/11/02/news/eisman_for_profits.fortune/index.htm|access-date=2020-11-02|website=archive.fortune.com}}{{Cite web|last=Travis|first=Scott|date=October 6, 2010|title=Keiser University files lawsuit against community college|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2010-10-06-fl-keiser-lawsuit-20101006-story.html|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Sun-Sentinel|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Kaplan|first=David A.|date=October 15, 2010|title=Short-sellers snarled in education litigation|url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/10/15/news/eisman_education_lawsuit.fortune/index.htm|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Fortune}} Anonymous letters alleged "stock price manipulation by Shireman and Eisman."{{Cite web|last=Fang|first=Lee|date=February 18, 2011|title=As Subprime College Industry Ramps Up Lobbying, Phony Letters Attack Reform Proponents|url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/as-subprime-college-industry-ramps-up-lobbying-phony-letters-attack-reform-proponents-429b96fe8e4f/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Campus Progress|language=en-US}} An investigation was conducted by the department's Inspector General at the request of two Republican senators.{{Cite news|last1=Mullins|first1=Brody|last2=Pilon|first2=Mary|last3=Weisman|first3=Jonathan|date=2011-01-25|title=A 'Short' Plays Washington|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704637704576082390767952996.html|access-date=2020-11-02|issn=0099-9660}} It found "no improper disclosure of sensitive information by Department officials in their communications with outside parties. It found that one official may have communicated with a former employer in violation of an ethics pledge, a matter that was referred for further investigation.Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Education, "[https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/auditreports/fy2012/a19l0002.pdf Department’s Negotiated Rulemaking Process for Gainful Employment, Final Audit Report]," June 2012.{{Cite news|date=2019-04-26|title=Corrections & Amplifications|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/corrections-amplifications-11556246445|access-date=2020-11-02|issn=0099-9660}}

Opponents of for-profit colleges alleged that some groups that were raising the short-seller allegations were being paid to do so by the industry.{{Cite web|last=Elk|first=Mike|date=2010-10-05|title=Why Are Progressives Fighting Student-Loan Reform?|url=https://prospect.org/api/content/23a86c87-c7a7-5b3e-ba99-65ddbd7491a1/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=The American Prospect|language=en-us}} One liberal group was later found to have been taking money from a for-profit college owner's foundation.{{Cite web|last=Carney|first=Timothy P.|date=2014-09-02|title=Money trail connects watchdog group CREW to the for-profit colleges it defended|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/money-trail-connects-watchdog-group-crew-to-the-for-profit-colleges-it-defended|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Washington Examiner|language=en}}

In 2012, California Competes, a panel of civic leaders staffed by Shireman and chaired by then-Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, issued a report calling for changes to California’s higher education system. One recommendation sought to reverse California Community College regulations the group said undermined campus leadership and led to costly stalemates.{{Cite web|last=Blumenstyk|first=Goldie|date=June 7, 2012|title='Dysfunctional' Higher-Education Policy Is Called Threat to California Economy|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/dysfunctional-higher-education-policy-is-called-threat-to-california-economy/|access-date=2020-10-31|website=www.chronicle.com}}[https://lhc.ca.gov/sites/lhc.ca.gov/files/Reports/218/WrittenTestimony/ShiremanAug2012.pdf Statement of Robert Shireman before Little Hoover Commission], August 28, 2012. Under Shireman's leadership the group filed a lawsuit asking a judge to throw out the rules as inconsistent with the law enacted by the legislature.{{Cite web|last=Baron|first=Kathryn|title=Academic senate influence challenged at community colleges|url=https://edsource.org/2012/academic-senate-influence-challenged-at-community-colleges/24165|access-date=2020-10-31|website=EdSource|language=en}} The suit was not successful.{{Cite web|last=Baron|first=Kathryn|title=Judge upholds shared governance at community colleges|url=https://edsource.org/2013/judge-upholds-shared-governance-at-community-colleges/41077|access-date=2020-10-31|website=EdSource|language=en}}

In 2021, Bob Shireman publicly called for a retraction of a 2013 Wall Street Journal article that he says damaged his public reputation by reporting unsubstantiated allegations of insider trading. Shireman added that enemies continue to use the WSJ article to tarnish his efforts. According to National Public Radio's David Folkenflick, "There's no evidence — none — to support any of those claims, despite two federal investigations." The Wall Street Journal, however, has refused to make the retraction or offer an apology.{{cite web |last1=Follkenflik |first1=David |title=For 8 Years, A 'Wall Street Journal' Story Haunted His Career. Now He Wants It Fixed |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/09/07/1027130578/for-8-years-a-wall-street-journal-story-haunted-his-career-now-he-wants-it-fixed |website=www.npr.org |publisher=National Public Rdio |access-date=7 September 2021}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://tcf.org/experts/robert-shireman/ Bio and publications] at The Century Foundation.
• [https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/02/16/profit-college-investor-and-architect-obama-regulations-debate Conversation] between Shireman and a for-profit college owner.

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Category:United States Department of Education officials

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Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni

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Category:Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni