President Joe Biden on Dec. 11 signed into law a GOP-led bill supported by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) that requires the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form to be made available on Oct. 1 each year, giving Americans more time to apply for federal financial aid.
“The Biden-Harris FAFSA delays forced students to choose their college without knowing their financial aid status, or not attend college at all because they didn’t know if they could afford it,” Sen. Cassidy said. “Students should not have to suffer because of bureaucratic incompetence.”
Biden enacted the FAFSA Deadline Act, H.R. 8932, introduced on July 5 by U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN). Sen. Cassidy on July 8 sponsored his chamber’s identical bill, S. 4632.
The new law also requires the U.S. Department of Education to certify to Congress by Sept. 1 each year whether the FAFSA will be ready on Oct. 1. If the FAFSA will not be ready by Oct. 1, then the U.S. Secretary of Education must testify to Congress on both the anticipated failure to meet the deadline, and the financial impact on students and families, according to the congressional record bill summary.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 15 voted 381-1 to pass H.R. 8932, which the U.S. Senate then approved on Nov. 21 before presenting it to the president for his signature.
“As the incoming chair of the Senate HELP [Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions] Committee, I will work hand-in-hand with President Trump to dig FAFSA out of the hole the Biden-Harris administration put it in and ensure it works as intended,” Sen. Cassidy said. “Students and families depend on it.”