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Foxx Blasts ED, IRS Officials for Lack of Accountability in Security Breach of FAFSA Data Retrieval Tool

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 3, 2017
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, today questioned officials of the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service on the security breach that has led to the suspension of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Data Retrieval Tool.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, today questioned officials of the Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service on the security breach that has led to the suspension of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Data Retrieval Tool.

During a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing, Chairwoman Foxx expressed concern over the lack of accountability for the federal government’s failure to protect the private information of students and parents.

I have to say that I agree with my colleague from Georgia, who was here a few minutes ago, that this situation of none of you all or people in your agencies being willing to take responsibility for what’s happened — either you’re in denial or incompetent. I think the American people watching this are feeling the same way.

I’m troubled by my colleagues wanting to distract from the incompetence of the FSA and the IRS on display here today. I want us to go after any bad actors outside of the system. But our number one priority is to protect the American people, and everybody who works in this country is affected by the IRS.

So yes, we want to protect students from any unsavory characters but all Americans are affected by the IRS if they file their taxes, and most of them do. Thank goodness we have a system where most people voluntarily do what they’re supposed to do. The problem we have with our government agencies is there’s no accountability for any of you individually. And that is a shame — a real shame on this country — that you all can ignore the continued incompetence and not be held responsible.

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