WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) voted to pass H.R. 8932, the FAFSA Deadline Act, which passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan 381-1 vote. The FAFSA Deadline Act requires the U.S. Department of Education to ensure the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available every year on October 1 so students have access to critical financial information when planning their futures. Moving the release of the FAFSA form will provide prospective college students and their families with the time necessary to complete the form, receive aid decisions, and select the college or university that best meets their needs.
“Every year, millions of students and their families complete the FAFSA form as part of their higher education journey. But in recent years, the FAFSA form has been released late, resulting in little time for students to complete the form and utilize their aid,” said Congresswoman Hayes. “By moving up when the Department of Education releases the FAFSA form, the FAFSA Deadline Act will help ensure students and their families have ample time to complete this critical step in the college application process.”
The FAFSA Deadline Act is the latest effort by Congress to make it easier for prospective students to receive federal aid for college.
In December 2020, Congress passed the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act to streamline the FAFSA form, address longstanding concerns with the federal student aid award process, and strengthen access to the Pell Grant. It made substantial changes to benefit students, foremost among them being changes to the formula to determine eligibility for federal student aid. These changes ensured that students from the lowest income families would automatically qualify for the maximum Pell Grant award, and institutions would receive better information to target their campus-based aid programs. The FAFSA Simplification Act also significantly reduced the number of questions on the FAFSA to decrease the time it takes students and families to complete the application.
However, in recent years, the Department of Education has struggled to fully implement the FAFSA Simplification Act, resulting in delays to the FAFSA form that prevented many students and their families from accessing the form and their aid decisions in a timely manner. This negatively impacted both new and returning college students who rely on federal aid to attend college.
As a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congresswoman Hayes is dedicated to streamlining and strengthening federal support for college students. Hayes voted for the FAFSA Deadline Act during an Education and Workforce Committee markup earlier this year.