I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1608 
To expand college opportunities by significantly simplifying the Federal 
student aid application process. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 20, 2007 
Mr. GEORGE
MILLER
of California (for himself, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. 
HINOJOSA, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. 
YARMUTH, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. ARCURI, Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas, Mr. 
DELAHUNT, Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. SUTTON, 
and Ms. WATSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To expand college opportunities by significantly simplifying 
the Federal student aid application process. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘College Aid Made EZ Act’’. 
(b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 
provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal 
is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, 
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a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid-
ered to be made to a section or other provision of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO PAPER AND ELECTRONIC 
FORMS AND PROCESSES. 
(a) COMMON FINANCIAL AID FORM DEVELOPMENT 
AND PROCESSING.—Section 483 (20 U.S.C. 1090) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and 
(5); 
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), 
(6), and (7), as paragraphs (9), (10), (11), and 
(12), respectively; 
(C) by inserting before paragraph (9), as 
redesignated by subparagraph (B), the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coopera-
tion with representatives of agencies and organiza-
tions involved in student financial assistance, shall 
produce, distribute, and process free of charge com-
mon financial reporting forms as described in this 
subsection to be used for application and reapplica-
tion to determine the need and eligibility of a stu-
dent for financial assistance under parts A through 
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E (other than subpart 4 of part A). These forms 
shall be made available to applicants in both paper 
and electronic formats and shall be referred to as 
the ‘Free Application for Federal Student Aid’ or 
the ‘FAFSA’ . The Secretary shall work to make the 
FAFSA consumer-friendly and to make questions on 
the FAFSA easy for students and parents to read 
and understand. 
‘‘(2) 
EARLY
ESTIMATES.—The 
Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(A) permit applicants to enter data in 
such forms as described in this subsection in 
the years prior to enrollment in order to esti-
mate the applicant’s family contribution (as de-
fined in section 473); 
‘‘(B) permit applicants to update informa-
tion submitted on forms described in this sub-
section, without needing to re-enter previously 
submitted information; and 
‘‘(C) develop a means to inform applicants, 
in the years prior to enrollment, of student aid 
options for individuals in similar financial situa-
tions. 
‘‘(3) PAPER FORMAT.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
produce, distribute, and process common forms 
in paper format to meet the requirements of 
paragraph (1). The Secretary shall develop a 
common paper form for applicants who do not 
meet the requirements of subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) EZ FAFSA.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall develop and use a simplified paper 
application form, to be known as the ‘EZ 
FAFSA’, to be used for applicants meeting 
the requirements of section 479(c). 
‘‘(ii) 
REDUCED
DATA
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The EZ FAFSA shall permit an 
applicant to submit for financial assistance 
purposes, only the data elements required 
to make a determination of whether the 
applicant meets the requirements under 
section 479(c). 
‘‘(iii) STATE
DATA.—The Secretary 
shall include on the EZ FAFSA such data 
items as may be necessary to award State 
financial assistance, as provided under 
paragraph (6), except that the Secretary 
shall not include a State’s data if that 
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State does not permit its applicants for 
State assistance to use the EZ FAFSA. 
‘‘(iv) FREE AVAILABILITY AND PROC-
ESSING.—The provisions of paragraph (7) 
shall apply to the EZ FAFSA, and the 
data collected by means of the EZ FAFSA 
shall be available to institutions of higher 
education, guaranty agencies, and States 
in accordance with paragraph (9). 
‘‘(v) TESTING.—The Secretary shall 
conduct appropriate field testing on the 
EZ FAFSA. 
‘‘(C) PROMOTING
THE
USE
OF
ELEC-
TRONIC FAFSA.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall make all efforts to encourage all ap-
plicants to utilize the electronic forms de-
scribed in paragraph (4). 
‘‘(ii) MAINTENANCE OF THE FAFSA IN 
A
PRINTABLE
ELECTRONIC
FILE.—The 
Secretary shall maintain a version of the 
paper forms described in subparagraphs 
(A) and (B) in a printable electronic file 
that is easily portable. The printable elec-
tronic file will be made easily accessible 
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and downloadable to students on the same 
website used to provide students with the 
electronic application forms described in 
paragraph (4) of this subsection. The Sec-
retary shall enable students to submit a 
form created under this subparagraph that 
is downloaded and printed from an elec-
tronic file format in order to meet the fil-
ing requirements of this section and in 
order to receive aid from programs under 
this title. 
‘‘(iii) REPORTING
REQUIREMENT.— 
The Secretary shall report annually to 
Congress on the impact of the digital di-
vide on students completing applications 
for title IV aid described under this para-
graph and paragraph (4). The Secretary 
will also report on the steps taken to elimi-
nate the digital divide and phase out the 
paper form described in subparagraph (A) 
of this paragraph. The Secretary’s report 
will specifically address the impact of the 
digital divide on the following student pop-
ulations: independent students, adults, and 
dependent students. 
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‘‘(4) ELECTRONIC FORMAT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
produce, distribute, and process common forms 
in electronic format to meet the requirements of 
paragraph (1). The Secretary shall develop 
common electronic forms for applicants who do 
not meet the requirements of subparagraph (C) 
of this paragraph. 
‘‘(B) STATE
DATA.—The Secretary shall 
include on the common electronic forms space 
for information that needs to be entered for the 
applicant to be eligible for State financial as-
sistance, as provided under paragraph (6), ex-
cept the Secretary shall not require applicants 
to enter data required by any State other than 
the applicant’s State of residence. 
‘‘(C) SIMPLIFIED APPLICATIONS: FAFSA ON 
THE WEB.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall develop and use a simplified elec-
tronic application form to be used by appli-
cants meeting the requirements under sub-
section (c) of section 479 and an addi-
tional, separate simplified electronic appli-
cation form to be used by applicants meet-
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ing the requirements under subsection (b) 
of section 479. 
‘‘(ii) 
REDUCED
DATA
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The simplified electronic applica-
tion forms shall permit an applicant to 
submit for financial assistance purposes, 
only the data elements required to make a 
determination of whether the applicant 
meets the requirements under subsection 
(b) or (c) of section 479. 
‘‘(iii) STATE
DATA.—The Secretary 
shall include on the simplified electronic 
application forms such data items as may 
be necessary to award state financial as-
sistance, as provided under paragraph (6), 
except that the Secretary shall not require 
applicants to enter data required by any 
State other than the applicant’s state of 
residence. 
‘‘(iv) 
AVAILABILITY
AND
PROC-
ESSING.—The data collected by means of 
the simplified electronic application forms 
shall be available to institutions of higher 
education, guaranty agencies, and States 
in accordance with paragraph (9). 
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‘‘(v) TESTING.—The Secretary shall 
conduct appropriate field testing on the 
forms developed under this subparagraph. 
‘‘(D) USE
OF
FORMS.—Nothing in this 
subsection shall be construed to prohibit the use 
of the forms developed by the Secretary pursu-
ant to this paragraph by an eligible institution, 
eligible lender, guaranty agency, State grant 
agency, private computer software provider, a 
consortium thereof, or such other entities as the 
Secretary may designate. 
‘‘(E) PRIVACY.—The Secretary shall en-
sure that data collection under this paragraph 
complies with section 552a of title 5, United 
States Code, and that any entity using the elec-
tronic version of the forms developed by the 
Secretary pursuant to this paragraph shall 
maintain reasonable and appropriate adminis-
trative, technical, and physical safeguards to 
ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the 
information, and to protect against security 
threats, or unauthorized uses or disclosures of 
the information provided on the electronic 
version of the forms. Data collected by such 
electronic version of the forms shall be used 
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only for the application, award, and administra-
tion of aid awarded under this title, State aid 
awarded under section 415C, or aid awarded by 
eligible institutions or such entities as the Sec-
retary may designate. No data collected by such 
electronic version of the forms shall be used for 
making final aid awards under this title until 
such data have been processed by the Secretary 
or a contractor or designee of the Secretary, ex-
cept as may be permitted under this title. 
‘‘(F) SIGNATURE.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of this Act, the Secretary may 
permit an electronic form under this paragraph 
to be submitted without a signature, if a signa-
ture is subsequently submitted by the applicant 
or if the applicant uses a personal identification 
number provided by the Secretary under sub-
paragraph (G) of this paragraph. 
‘‘(G) PERSONAL
IDENTIFICATION
NUM-
BERS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may assign 
to applicants personal identification numbers— 
‘‘(i) to enable the applicants to use 
such numbers in lieu of a signature for 
purposes of completing a form under this 
paragraph; 
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‘‘(ii) to enable the applicants to use 
such numbers in lieu of a signature for 
purposes of completing forms required by 
States under section 415C; and 
‘‘(iii) for any purpose determined by 
the Secretary to enable the Secretary to 
carry out this title. 
‘‘(5) STREAMLINING.— 
‘‘(A) STREAMLINED REAPPLICATION PROC-
ESS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall develop streamlined reapplication 
forms and processes, including both paper 
and electronic reapplication processes, con-
sistent with the requirements of this sub-
section, for an applicant who applies for fi-
nancial assistance under this title in the 
next succeeding academic year subsequent 
to the year in which such applicant first 
applied for financial assistance under this 
title. 
‘‘(ii) MECHANISMS
FOR
REAPPLICA-
TION.—The Secretary shall develop appro-
priate mechanisms to support reapplica-
tion. 
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‘‘(iii) IDENTIFICATION
OF
UPDATED 
DATA.—The Secretary shall determine, in 
cooperation with States, institutions of 
higher education, agencies, and organiza-
tions involved in student financial assist-
ance, the data elements that can be up-
dated from the previous academic year’s 
application. 
‘‘(iv) REDUCED DATA AUTHORIZED.— 
Nothing in this title shall be construed as 
limiting the authority of the Secretary to 
reduce the number of data elements re-
quired of reapplicants. 
‘‘(v) ZERO FAMILY CONTRIBUTION.— 
Applicants determined to have a zero fam-
ily contribution pursuant to section 479(c) 
shall not be required to provide any finan-
cial data in a reapplication form, except 
that which is necessary to determine eligi-
bility under such section. 
‘‘(B) REDUCTION OF DATA ELEMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) REDUCTION REQUIRED.—Of the 
number of data elements on the FAFSA 
on the date of enactment of the College 
Aid Made EZ Act (including questions on 
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the FAFSA for the purposes described in 
paragraph (6)), the Secretary, in coopera-
tion with representatives of agencies and 
organizations involved in student financial 
assistance, shall reduce the number of such 
data elements required to be entered by 
the applicant by 50 percent within 5 years 
after such date of enactment. Reductions 
of data elements under paragraph (3)(B), 
(4)(C), or (5)(A)(iv) shall not be counted 
towards such 50 percent reduction unless 
those data elements are reduced for all ap-
plicants. 
‘‘(ii) REPORT.—The Secretary shall 
submit a report on the process of this re-
duction to each House of Congress within 
2 years after such date of enactment. 
‘‘(6) STATE REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
include on the forms developed under this sub-
section, such State-specific nonfinancial data 
items as the Secretary determines are necessary 
to meet State requirements for need-based 
State aid under section 415C, except as pro-
vided in paragraphs (3)(B)(iii) and (4)(C)(iii) 
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of this subsection. Such items shall be selected 
in consultation with State agencies that submit 
applications under section 415C in order to as-
sist in the awarding of State financial assist-
ance in accordance with the terms of this sub-
section, except as provided in paragraphs 
(3)(B)(iii) and (4)(C)(iii) of this subsection. 
The number of such data items shall not be less 
than the number included on the form on Octo-
ber 7, 1998, unless a State notifies the Sec-
retary that the State no longer requires those 
data items for the distribution of State need- 
based aid. 
‘‘(B) ANNUAL
REVIEW.—The Secretary 
shall conduct an annual review process to deter-
mine which forms and nonfinancial data items 
the States require to award need-based State 
aid and other application requirements that the 
States may impose. 
‘‘(C) STATE USE OF SIMPLIFIED FORMS.— 
The Secretary shall encourage States to take 
such steps as necessary to encourage the use of 
simplified application forms, including those de-
scribed in paragraphs (3)(B) and (4)(C), to 
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meet the requirements under subsection (b) or 
(c) of section 479. 
‘‘(D) FEDERAL
REGISTER
NOTICE.—The 
Secretary shall publish on an annual basis a no-
tice in the Federal Register requiring State 
agencies to inform the Secretary— 
‘‘(i) if the State agency is unable to 
permit applicants to utilize the simplified 
application forms described in paragraphs 
(3)(B) and (4)(C); and 
‘‘(ii) of the State-specific nonfinancial 
data that the State agency requires for de-
livery of State need-based financial aid. 
‘‘(E) STATE NOTIFICATION TO THE SEC-
RETARY.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each State agency 
that submits an application under section 
415C shall notify the Secretary— 
‘‘(I) whether the State permits 
an applicant to file a form described 
in paragraph (3)(B) or (4)(A) of this 
subsection for purposes of deter-
mining eligibility for State need-based 
grant aid; and 
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‘‘(II) 
the 
State-specific 
non-
financial data that the State agency 
requires for delivery of State need- 
based financial aid. 
‘‘(ii) ACCEPTANCE OF FORMS.—In the 
event that a State does not permit an ap-
plicant to file a form described in para-
graph (3)(B) or (4)(A) of this subsection 
for purposes of determining eligibility for 
State need-based grant aid— 
‘‘(I) the State shall notify the 
Secretary if the State is not permitted 
to do so because of either State law or 
because of agency policy; and 
‘‘(II) the notification under sub-
clause (I) shall include an estimate of 
the program cost to permit applicants 
to complete simplified application 
forms under paragraphs (3)(B) and 
(4)(A) of this subsection. 
‘‘(iii) LACK OF NOTIFICATION BY THE 
STATE.—If a State does not notify the 
Secretary pursuant to clause (i), the Sec-
retary shall— 
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