I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6558 
To simplify the process for determining the need and eligibility of students 
for financial assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 
Mr. WELCH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on 
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To simplify the process for determining the need and eligi-
bility of students for financial assistance under the High-
er Education Act of 1965, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as ‘‘Student Financial Aid 
Simplification Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION. 
Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1090) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The 
Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection 
(i), the Secretary’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘The 
need’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (i), 
the need’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(i) FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Effective with respect to 
academic year 2013–2014 and each succeeding aca-
demic year and notwithstanding subsection (a)(6) 
and any other provision of this section, with respect 
to a student who is a taxpayer or a dependent of a 
taxpayer and who does not meet the requirements of 
subsection (b) or (c) of section 479, the need and 
eligibility of such student for financial assistance 
under part A through E (other than subpart 4 of 
part A) may be determined only by— 
‘‘(A) authorizing the Secretary to obtain 
from the Internal Revenue Service income data, 
and other taxpayer data needed to compute an 
expected family contribution for the student, 
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from two years prior to the student’s planned 
enrollment date; and 
‘‘(B) submitting to the Secretary the sup-
plemental information described in paragraph 
(3). 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION UNDER THE IRC AND DIS-
TRIBUTION OF DATA.—Returns and return informa-
tion (as defined in section 6103 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986) may be obtained under para-
graph (1)(A) only to the extent authorized by section 
6103(l)(23) of such Code, except that institutions of 
higher education and States shall receive, without 
charge, such information from the Secretary for the 
purposes of processing loan applications and deter-
mining need and eligibility for institutional and 
State financial aid awards. 
‘‘(3) 
SUPPLEMENTAL
INFORMATION.—Each 
student described in paragraph (1) who is applying 
for financial assistance under parts A through E 
(other than under subpart 4 of part A) shall submit 
to the Secretary at such time and in such manner 
as required by the Secretary, any information that 
is needed to determine the student’s need and eligi-
bility for such financial assistance or to administer 
the programs under this title, but that is not avail-
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able from the Internal Revenue Service to the extent 
authorized by section 6103(l)(23) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, including information with 
respect to the student’s— 
‘‘(A) citizenship or permanent residency 
status; 
‘‘(B) dependency status; 
‘‘(C) registration for selective service; 
‘‘(D) State of legal residence; 
‘‘(E) family members, including the total 
number and the number in postsecondary edu-
cation; 
‘‘(F) secondary school completion status; 
‘‘(G) drug conviction status; 
‘‘(H) completion of a first bachelor’s de-
gree; 
‘‘(I) email address; and 
‘‘(J) institution or institutions of higher 
education in which the student is enrolled or to 
which the student is applying for admission. 
‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
prescribe such regulations as may be necessary 
to carry out this subsection. 
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‘‘(B) INAPPLICABILITY
OF
RULEMAKING 
REQUIREMENTS.—Sections 482(c) and 492 
shall not apply to the regulations required by 
this paragraph.’’. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE 
OF 1986. 
Section 6103(l) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(23) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION 
TO DETERMINE THE NEED AND ELIGIBILITY OF A 
STUDENT
FOR
FEDERAL
STUDENT
FINANCIAL 
AID.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may, 
upon written request from the Secretary of 
Education, disclose to officers and employees of 
the Department of Education return informa-
tion with respect to a taxpayer or a dependent 
of a taxpayer who may be eligible for Federal 
student financial aid and whose need and eligi-
bility for such aid is based in whole or in part 
on the taxpayer’s income or the income of the 
parents of the dependent. Such return informa-
tion shall be limited to— 
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‘‘(i) taxpayer identity information 
with respect to such taxpayer; 
‘‘(ii) the filing status of such tax-
payer; 
‘‘(iii) the adjusted gross income of 
such taxpayer; and 
‘‘(iv) any other data of such taxpayer 
necessary to determine the expected family 
contribution (within the meaning of part F 
of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk et seq.)) of such 
taxpayer or the dependent of such tax-
payer, as applicable. 
‘‘(B) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED 
INFORMATION.—Return information disclosed 
under subparagraph (A) may be used by offi-
cers and employees of the Department of Edu-
cation only for the purposes of, and to the ex-
tent necessary in, processing the student loan 
application, and establishing need and eligibility 
for Federal student financial aid, of a taxpayer 
or a dependent of a taxpayer. 
‘‘(C) FEDERAL
STUDENT
LOANS
AND 
GRANTS.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 
term ‘Federal student financial aid’ means fi-
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nancial assistance under part A through E 
(other than under subpart 4 of part A) of title 
IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).’’. 
Æ 
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