Westbank Louisiana News

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, along with U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, have called on the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to provide an update on its investigation into the Biden administration’s implementation of this year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) program.

Cassidy and Foxx are joined by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), ranking member of the Senate Labor-HHS Subcommittee, as well as U.S. Representative Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), chair of the House Labor-HHS Subcommittee. The lawmakers also requested that OIG review next year’s FAFSA status amid concerns it will not be ready by October.

“We strongly urge you to continue to focus on this critical matter and to share your findings with Congress and the American people,” wrote the lawmakers. “Students and families who need federal student aid to access postsecondary education deserve our best efforts to ensure that the Department successfully executes the laws enacted by Congress to make student aid easily accessible.”

This year's FAFSA rollout faced significant delays under the Biden administration, preventing colleges from creating financial aid offers and leaving students without information about their eligibility for financial aid.

Despite commitments from Secretary Miguel Cardona that next year’s FAFSA is “expected” to be ready by October 1, bipartisan concerns remain regarding DeptEd's ability to meet this deadline transparently.

Earlier this week, Cassidy introduced bicameral legislation requiring DeptEd to make FAFSA available by October 1. Under Foxx’s leadership, a companion bill sponsored by U.S. Representative Erin Houchin (R-IN) was approved in a bipartisan vote of 34-6 in the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Cassidy and Foxx previously criticized the Biden administration for obstructing a Government Accountability Office investigation into FAFSA by failing to provide required information.

The letter addressed to Inspector General Bruce emphasized ongoing oversight needs: "We understand that your office is conducting oversight of the Department of Education’s implementation of FAFSA... We strongly urge you to continue focusing on this critical matter."

Efforts to implement revised FAFSA have encountered setbacks including errors in applications for 2024-2025 which delayed timelines and required reprocessing millions of forms. Experts anticipate a 10 percent drop in applications filed by 2024 high school seniors.

In May 2024, lawmakers sent Secretary Cardona a letter expressing concerns about ongoing challenges with implementing new FAFSA procedures but received limited transparency in response.

Congress has requested OIG complete its evaluation of developing processes for 2025-2026 FAFSA and recommend corrective actions if deficiencies are found within DeptEd or FSA systems.

For further updates from HELP Republicans visit their website or Twitter at @GOPHELP.