WASHINGTON – Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) today celebrated the U.S. House of Representatives' passage of the FAFSA Deadline Act with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 381 to 1.
The FAFSA Deadline Act is sponsored by Committee member U.S. Representative Erin Houchin (R-IN) and would give students, families, and schools much needed clarity by ensuring the FAFSA is released and fully operational by October 1 each year. The current “flexibility” in statute allows the Education Department not to release the FAFSA until January 1, causing confusion for schools and families. By creating a hard deadline of October 1, this bill will prevent this administration’s pattern of botched FAFSA rollouts from becoming the norm and end that confusion.
Speaking in support of the legislation, Foxx highlighted the importance of a functioning FAFSA for students and families across the country: “The FAFSA is a cornerstone of America’s commitment to educational opportunity. When we fail to uphold this promise, we jeopardize the dreams and hard work of students who look to postsecondary education as a pathway to a better future. The FAFSA Deadline Act is a necessary measure to protect that future by enforcing deadlines, ensuring transparency, and making certain that families receive the aid they depend on to make college accessible. This is about delivering the basic functionality students deserve and safeguarding their ambitions against bureaucratic failure.”
BACKGROUND:
Earlier this year, Chairwoman Foxx and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, blasted the Biden administration for illegally obstructing the GAO investigation into the administration’s failure to implement the new FAFSA program.
On July 5, U.S. Representative Erin Houchin (R-IN), a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, introduced legislation requiring the Education Department to make the FAFSA form available to students each year on October 1. Senator Cassidy introduced companion legislation (S. 4632) in the U.S. Senate.
On July 10, the FAFSA Deadline Act, H.R. 8932, passed the Committee on a broad, bipartisan basis. The final vote tally of 34-6 included multiple Democrats joining the unified Republicans in support.
On July 11, Chairwoman Foxx, Senator Cassidy, and colleagues sent a letter demanding an update on the Office of Inspector General’s investigation into Biden’s botched FAFSA rollout.
