Military members’ and veterans’ education benefits are not grants from the federal government; they are benefit payments in exchange for services rendered. Military personnel agree to a term of duty. In return, they receive educational benefits to use as they see fit. Offer made, offer accepted, offer executed.

However, to the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), these benefits are theirs to monitor and make sure veterans are using them “appropriately.” It’s the equivalent of saying: “Here’s your paycheck. By the way, you can only shop at the Base Exchange. You can’t shop at Target.”

Really? How’s that a “benefit”?

The Biden administration does not see nontraditional colleges the way veterans do. The Department of Education and VA stack the deck against these schools to protect conventional, brand-name colleges and universities — institutions that spend lavishly to preserve their darling status with federal policymakers. These agencies selectively target career colleges, online program managers and other successful higher ed institutions and vendors with regulations and ginned-up penalties to force students into preferred schools.

The 90/10 Rule and Gainful Employment Rule — which apply exclusively to proprietary schools — are fancy names for roadblocks the agencies put in the way of students to deter them from options that may better suit their needs. If these protections are so necessary, why are they not applied uniformly to all colleges and universities? There are plenty of public, private and state-run college grads who leave school with excessive debt and whose degrees are probably not worth the cost.

The truth is, these rules are not about equitability or student interests. They are an attempt to stifle career colleges, distance learning and programs that could disrupt the status quo. The Department of Education and VA have shown how much they despise these nontraditional pathways to a post-secondary degree. In fact, one VA official resigned after the inspector general exposed how she used her authority to go after career colleges.

Career colleges and distance learning programs are popular with veterans, and it’s not hard to see why. Veteran students don’t fit the typical college student mold: They are older than their classmates, have families, and balance the integration from military service to civilian life and jobs. They are looking to build the skills they need for their career without the distractions prevalent on most campuses. Not to mention, these schools are more accepting of military and veteran students, who often are not welcomed, or cannot get into, “elite” universities.

On the other side of this equation is a true advocate for military and veteran students: Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah, vice chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. He has worked hard to protect military and veteran students’ educational choices — 133,000 of whom live in Utah.

Last month, I hosted Rep. Owens at the Republican National Convention to discuss veterans’ benefits, higher education and military recruitment.

When students are free to pick higher education programs that best meet their learning needs and schools are allowed to compete, “we get the best products and the best services,” Rep. Owens told me. “Education is a national security issue. We should have a high bar to ensure those who serve are buoyed by respect and compensated in a way that they are prepared to enter the workforce.”

Federal regulators acting as the legislature, executive and judiciary against these schools and students is “frustrating,” Rep. Owens put it mildly. “We always thought the Department of Education was there for our kids, but they are there for traditional (higher ed) institutions. … It’s time to take the power back and enact generational change.”

This year Rep. Owens introduced the Ensuring Distance Education Act, which seeks to uphold access to career colleges and online learning. We could use more of his brand of leadership, which seeks to create choice, not snuff it out. It’s time for change, and that starts with congressional oversight to stop the attack on unconventional higher education options.

Bob Carey is director of the National Defense Committee and previously served as national security adviser to two U.S. senators and a Senior Executive Service member in the Department of Defense. He is a retired U.S. Navy captain.