[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 50 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen):
  S. 2596. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to amend 
the process by which students with certain special circumstances apply 
for Federal financial aid; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I would like to bring the Senate's 
attention to Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Fairness 
Act of 2018, the common sense legislation I am introducing with the 
junior Senator from Maryland today. This legislation seeks to eliminate 
a barrier that potential college students with difficult personal and 
financial circumstances face when applying for Federal financial aid.
  This body has worked to improve the college application process for 
students and their families over the last several years and 
successfully lobbied the Department of Education to allow students and 
their families to submit their FAFSA application in October and utilize 
prior-prior year tax data. These changes provide future college 
students and their families with several months to submit their 
financial information instead of a short time frame between January and 
February to meet State and institutional based deadlines for need- and 
merit-based financial aid programs. These steps have made it easier to 
students to sit with their families and make informed financial 
decisions on which college or university will provide the student with 
the highest quality yet least expensive college education.
  Despite our work, a number of our students are being left behind and 
cannot take advantage of these changes. Those students, who face 
difficult personal and financial situations, including those who have 
left home due to abusive family environments, have parents who are 
incarcerated, or are unable to locate their parents are unable to fill 
out the FAFSA application. Rather than fill out one universal Federal 
financial aid application form, a potential college student must 
contact each institution they are applying to and undergo a 
``dependency override'' process before a college or university will put 
together an estimated financial aid package for the student. Under this 
process, a student applying to one university in my state must submit 
nine different pieces of financial information, personal statement, and 
references in order to verify their independent status. These students, 
often first generation students unfamiliar with the process for 
applying to school, may give up on the dependency override process and 
fail to finish the college application process or leave significant 
Federal financial aid on the table.
  The FAFSA Fairness Act would seek to correct this inequity for some 
of our most vulnerable students. If enacted, my legislation would allow 
students in these difficult personal and financial circumstances to 
fill out a FAFSA as a ``provisional independent'' student that colleges 
and universities would be able to provide those students with an 
initial financial aid award package. Once the student has had the 
opportunity to review the financial aid award packages from the schools 
they applied to and selected the school of their choice, that school's 
financial aid administrators will work with the student to complete the 
``dependency override'' process and finalize the student's financial 
aid award package.
  I'm proud to lead the Senate efforts with my seatmate from Maryland 
and appreciate the work of my colleague from Maryland's 7th 
Congressional District to lead this effort in the House of 
Representatives. I urge my colleagues to join in this effort to help 
students achieve their dream of higher education despite their 
difficult family and financial circumstances.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint 
resolution be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the joint resolution was 
ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2596

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``FAFSA Fairness Act of 
     2018''.

     SEC. 2. CHANGES TO THE FAFSA FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS.

       Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1090) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (h)(1), by inserting the following before 
     the semicolon: ``, including the special circumstances under 
     which a student may qualify for a determination of 
     independence''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(i) Provisional Independent Students.--
       ``(1) Requirements for the secretary.--The Secretary 
     shall--
       ``(A) enable each student who, based on the special 
     circumstance specified in subsection (h)(1), may qualify for 
     an adjustment under section 479A that will result in a 
     determination of independence under such section and section 
     480(d)(1)(I), to complete the forms developed by the 
     Secretary under subsection (a) as an independent student for 
     the purpose of an initial determination of the student's 
     Federal financial aid award by a financial aid administrator 
     at an institution of higher education to which the student is 
     applying for financial aid, but subject to verification under 
     paragraph (2)(B) for the purpose of the final determination 
     of the award; and
       ``(B) specify, on the forms, the consequences under section 
     490(a) of knowingly and willfully completing the forms as an 
     independent student under subparagraph (A) without meeting 
     the special circumstances to qualify for such a 
     determination.
       ``(2) Requirements for financial aid administrators.--With 
     respect to a student who completes the forms as an 
     independent student under paragraph (1)(A), a financial aid 
     administrator shall--
       ``(A) provide an initial determination of the student's 
     Federal financial aid award to the student in the same manner 
     as, and by not later than the date that, the administrator 
     provides other independent students their initial 
     determinations of Federal financial aid awards; and
       ``(B) in making a final determination of the student's 
     Federal financial aid award, use the discretion provided 
     under sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) to verify whether the 
     student meets the special circumstances to qualify as an 
     independent student.
       ``(3) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
     term `other independent students' means students--
       ``(A) who meet the definition of `independent' under 
     section 480(d)(1); and
       ``(B) whose independent status is not subject to 
     verification by a financial aid administrator under paragraph 
     (2)(B).''.

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