[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 126 (Thursday, August 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S5787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 795--CONDEMNING THE BOTCHED ROLLOUT BY THE DEPARTMENT 
              OF EDUCATION OF THE FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION ACT

  Mr. ROUNDS (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cassidy, 
Ms. Collins, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Daines, Mr. 
Lankford, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Scott of South 
Carolina, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Braun, and Mr. Risch) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 795

       Whereas the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of division 
     FF of Public Law 116-260) was intended to make the Free 
     Application for Federal Student Aid (referred to in this 
     preamble as ``FAFSA'') simpler and easier to complete for the 
     2024-2025 academic year;
       Whereas the Department of Education (referred to in this 
     preamble as the ``Department'') reported on May 24, 2024, 
     that it had processed more than 10,000,000 FAFSA applications 
     for the 2024-2025 academic year;
       Whereas, in previous years, the FAFSA application for an 
     academic year opened on October 1st of the preceding year;
       Whereas the 2024-2025 FAFSA launched on December 31, 2023;
       Whereas, in previous years, the Department sent out student 
     FAFSA data to institutions of higher education just days 
     after the student filed their FAFSA application;
       Whereas, for the 2024-2025 school year, the Department did 
     not start sending student FAFSA data to institutions of 
     higher education until the beginning of March;
       Whereas many students did not receive financial aid awards 
     until after National College Decision Day on May 1, 2024;
       Whereas Department officials were aware of implementation 
     challenges associated with the rollout of the FAFSA 
     Simplification Act as early as December 2020;
       Whereas students in pursuit of attending institutions of 
     higher education across the United States depend on the 
     resources made available by FAFSA;
       Whereas the FAFSA delays have been particularly burdensome 
     for students in foster care and youth experiencing 
     homelessness;
       Whereas the delay in the 2024-2025 FAFSA application 
     timeline cut down the time students had to weigh options when 
     considering financial components for attending institutions 
     of higher education; and
       Whereas many offices of financial aid in institutions of 
     higher education fear that this delay will discourage 
     students from attending a college or university in the fall 
     of 2024: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) strongly condemns the delayed and problematic rollout 
     of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of division FF of 
     Public Law 116-260);
       (2) calls for the Department of Education to take the 
     necessary actions to identify the issues that led to the 
     botched rollout of the FAFSA Simplification Act and fix them 
     for the 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid 
     cycle; and
       (3) urges the Secretary of Education to testify before the 
     relevant congressional committees regarding the rollout of 
     the FAFSA Simplification Act.

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