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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 795 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 795

 Condemning the botched rollout by the Department of Education of the 
                       FAFSA Simplification Act.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2024

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Condemning the botched rollout by the Department of Education of the 
                       FAFSA Simplification Act.

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.
                                 <all>
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