In an attempt to thwart deceptive college marketing that lures veterans' federal education benefits, President Obama has bypassed Congress to sign an executive order on Friday that would require schools to show more transparency with their claims of lucrative careers. 

"The executive order I'm about to sign, will make life a whole lot more secure for you and your families," said President Obama to a crowd of military members at Fort Stewart in Georgia.

According to CNN, the executive order will ensure that:

• All schools who market to veterans will be required to be more transparent about the educational opportunities they provide and likely career placement outcomes. The Department of Defense will also be tasked with setting forth rules on how schools are permitted to recruit service members on military bases while the Department of Veterans Affairs will crack down on the school’s deceptive websites specifically targeted to military members.
• The executive order also mandates better financial aid and academic advising to enrolled veterans and a centralized complaint system for veterans who feel their school has defrauded them.

Legislation targeting for-profit school practices has failed to pass Congress, largely as a result of heavy lobbying from the industry.

MSNBC reported that federal money makes up to 90 percent of for-profit colleges' revenues and even more with the GI Bill:

• Military veterans are particularly attractive recruiting targets because they come with generous federal tuition support and also don't count toward a limit called the "90/10" rule, which requires colleges to get at least 10 percent of their revenue from nonfederal sources.
• Student Veterans of America, a leading campus veterans group, applauded the White House announcement, saying the executive order would help stop "deceptive and misleading" practices at educational institutions.
• The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, which represents for-profits, said in a statement it was disappointed that Obama "decided to bypass the Congress" with an executive order.
• "Career-oriented institutions proudly serve military and veteran populations, and work with congressional leaders in a bipartisan manner to address concerns about veteran education across all sectors of higher education," the lobbying group said.

In addition to the GI Bill's executive order, Obama signed a "Know Before You Owe" financial regulation overhaul in 2010 that would create an Office of Service Member Affairs to help military veterans "make better informed decisions regarding consumer financial products and services," according to MSNBC.

Obama's executive order will also require schools to abide by the "Know Before You Owe" method by next year.