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.[5]

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.[6] Among the issues Shireman pursued was the problem of toxic chemicals in art supplies.[7] 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.”[8]

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.[9][10] Shireman became involved in a campaign to enact an initiative to limit campaign contributions and spending on the June 1988 ballot.[11] Dueling successful initiatives led to a complicated result.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14] 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).[15][16]

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.”[17][18]

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.[3] 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.[19] As deputy undersecretary Shireman led the successful implementation of that plan.[20][21]

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.[22][23][16] 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.[24] IBR was modeled on a TICAS proposal adopted by Congress in 2007.[25]

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.[26] 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.[27]

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.[28] In October, 2020, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed him to a term on the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity.[29] From 2004 to 2009 Shireman served as a congressional appointee to the federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.[30]

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.[49]

• Bio and publications at The Century Foundation.
• Conversation between Shireman and a for-profit college owner.