This from The Washington Post: For-profit colleges are reaping hundreds of millions of dollars in federal higher education aid for military personnel and veterans, a Democratic senator reported Thursday.

The money represents a fast-growing source of revenue for an industry that has come under government scrutiny because of allegations that its students are often overloaded with debt and fail to obtain jobs whose salaries justify the tuition costs. The colleges reject those charges.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, who issued the report, said the funding trend "raises serious questions about the share of military educational benefits that go to for-profit schools that have very poor outcomes."

The Washington Post Co. operates for-profit schools through its Kaplan subsidiary.

Eighteen education companies Harkin's staff examined were on track to receive about $175 million in Defense Department aid in 2010, up from $40 million in 2006. The companies were projected to receive $286 million this year through the Department of Veterans Affairs, Harkin reported, up from $26 million in 2006. 

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