Press Releases

Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) praised House passage of H.R. 7892, No Aid for Ghost Students Act, which cracks down on fraud by "ghost students" who use fake or stolen identities to collect federal student aid.

On passage, Chairman Walberg said: "Fraudsters have stolen billions of taxpayer dollars from our federal student aid programs, diverting resources away from students pursuing an education. No Aid for Ghost Students Act is a common-sense solution to strengthen oversight, improve identity verification, and stop fraud before it happens—ensuring we can maintain the integrity of our federal student aid system. Every federal student aid dollar should go to a student pursuing an education, not to criminals exploiting the system." 

H.R. 7892, No Aid for Ghost Students Act, introduced by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT), also includes key provisions from Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act, authored by Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA). The bill:

• Mandates a front-end identity fraud screening for federal student aid applications
• Flags applications that present high fraud risk
• Requires identity verification for flagged applications before federal funds go out the door
• Provides schools with clear guidance for identity verification
• Protects the schools most at risk from fraudsters
• Strengthens oversight of student aid fraud 
• Helps ensure taxpayer dollars go to eligible students

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