E&W Blog

FAFSA is an essential resource for all students, especially low-income students, to know their financial aid eligibility. In 2020 and 2021, Congress enacted legislation setting July 2023 as the target date to launch a more streamlined application process. Here is a timeline of the rollout, which the Biden-Harris administration mismanaged from the beginning.

Chairman Burgess Owens (R-UT) opened the hearing by tying the administration’s bungled FAFSA rollout to the people who really bear the consequences: students and taxpayers. “At the end of the day, this really is not about a form. It’s about keeping a promise to our students and taxpayers. A promise that if you work hard and you work honestly, you can get an education and make it in this country. No administration has the right to stand in the way of that promise," he said.

Two witnesses, both from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), provided shocking insights into the many missteps by the Department of Education (ED or the Department). Those witnesses were Ms. Melissa Emrey-Arras, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues at GAO, and Mrs. Marisol Cruz Cain, Director of the Information Technology and Cybersecurity Team at GAO.

The hearing moved to questioning, and baffled Members attempted to break down the FAFSA fiasco to its most basic components—who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Who? Chairman Owens kicked off the questioning asking for names. “Normally when someone is this incompetent, they get fired. Is there any way to figure out where this is happening within the system?” he asked.

The witnesses mostly declined to reveal the identities of individuals who should bear accountability for the mess. However, Ms. Emrey-Arras did disclose: “We’ve had senior leaders very involved in this study.” 

What? Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) asked for examples of the types of technical issues that have mired this process. He asked, “Can you provide examples of technical problems that made it hard for students and their family to complete the new FAFSA?”

“There are a wide variety of problems. For example, if you were born in the year 2000, you simply couldn’t proceed …. That was fixed, but that was not fixed until March,” responded Ms. Emrey Arras, before listing myriad other technical issues.

When? At one point, Ms. Emrey-Arras walked the Committee through key delays along the timeline. The availability of the form: 90-day delay. ED’s processing of the form: 161-day delay. Adding functionality so students can make corrections: 197-day delay. Processing paper FAFSAs: 305-day delay. Doing batch corrections: still delayed, come October they will be a year late.

Where? Even Ranking Member Bobby Scott (R-VA) admitted, it’s everywhere. He stated, “Our witnesses, they’ve outlined the total mess. We don’t need to hear that; I think all of us have heard that from our colleges and our districts.”

How? Rep. GT Thompson (R-PA) underscored how the administration’s poor communication exacerbated the financial insecurity felt by students and families. He asked, “Can you discuss the impact that this lack of transparency and communication [from] the Department had on students?”

“Colleges were not able to provide financial aid information to students when they would typically,” said Ms. Emrey-Arras, adding, “Unfortunately, some students were in the position of having to commit to college by May 1st, which is the typical national college decision date, without getting financial aid offers in advance.”