FAFSA Deadline Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8932, the FAFSA Deadline Act, which would set a firm October 1 deadline for the Department of Education to roll out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, form starting in 2025. This bill will help millions of students and families access Federal financial aid in a timely manner.

We know that higher education is a pathway to opportunity, but the rising cost of college has made it out of reach for a lot of students. Federal student aid, including Pell grants and student loans, is essential to making college affordable.

That is why in 2020, I worked with Senator Lamar Alexander to pass the FAFSA Simplification Act, to make Federal student aid easier to access.

Regrettably, last year, technical problems with the newly redesigned FAFSA form delayed the students' access to this vital aid, and as a result, too many students could not submit their applications on time, and many

struggled to get the support they needed to resolve those issues.

When the committee first considered this bill in July, I voted in opposition because I had serious concerns that the implementation deadline may have forced the Department of Education to roll out an incomplete form on October 1 of this year. However, because we are now considering the bill after October 1, the deadline will apply next year, 2025, and that gives the Department ample time to make improvements and fix any lingering issues.

We now have helpful information from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office that provided specific recommendations in how the Department can continue to improve the rollout and implementation of

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Lee Carter).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that this year's FAFSA process was a debacle. However, we are missing part of the story if we don't at least mention the work the Department has already done to get FAFSA back on track. The college support strategy deployed experts to colleges across the country to help financial aid officers navigate the new processing system.

The system provided one-time grants to school districts, States, and nonprofit organizations to scale up their ability to provide support to students. They had workshops, advising sessions, and media campaigns funded through the strategy to help produce a significant increase in FAFSA submissions throughout the summer.

Additionally, as the Department prepares for the launch of this year's FAFSA form, they are taking great strides in improving transparency and fixing technological issues.

I will include in the Record a document from the Department of Education titled: ``A focus on Improving the FAFSA Experience: Updates, actions, and a path forward for the 2025-26 cycle.'' This document outlines 10 core areas to focus on, making improvements to the FAFSA process for both students and colleges.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, which says, in part, that ``cementing an October launch date only addresses a piece of the puzzle; consistency is another. Students must be able to trust that the financial aid application process will function as intended and that they will receive clear communication along the way,'' and they wrote otherwise in support of the legislation.

[From NASFAA, July 10, 2024]

NASFAA Statement on FAFSA Deadline Act

Washington, DC.--Republicans in the U.S. House of

Representatives and Senate have introduced a pair of bills

that would ensure the Free Application for Federal Student

Aid, or FAFSA, is made available to students on October 1

each year, ahead of their planned year of enrollment.

The FAFSA form has typically been made available on October

1 each year since 2016, months earlier than the legally

mandated January 1 launch date. This discrepancy between

common practice and law came into play during this year's

turbulent FAFSA rollout, during which the updated ``Better

FAFSA'' became available to students in a limited and

incomplete fashion at the end of December 2023.

In response to this news, NASFAA Vice President of Public

Policy & Federal Relations Karen McCarthy issued the

following statement:

``Codifying the October 1 FAFSA launch date into law has

been a top priority for NASFAA for many years because, when

operating as intended, an earlier release date allows

colleges and universities to provide financial aid

information to students much sooner.

But cementing an October launch date only addresses a piece

of the puzzle; consistency is another. Students must be able

to trust that the financial aid application process will

function as intended and that they will receive clear

communication along the way.

This past year has shown us just how critical it is that

all students are able to complete the FAFSA as soon as

possible. Even today, there are aspects of the 2024-25 FAFSA

system that are not yet functional or working as intended.

However, in the absence of a clear timeline or

understanding from the Department of Education about when the

entire FAFSA system will be available--including the

application itself, the transfer of applicant data to

schools, and the ability for applicants and schools to make

corrections--forcing an October 1 deadline this year does not

guarantee a fully functioning form, and may in fact work

against efforts to release a product that has been tested and

found to run smoothly. We need all stakeholders to work

together in good faith to ensure this year's mistakes are not

repeated.

We continue to urge the Department of Education to ensure

that the entire FAFSA system is up and running as intended as

soon as possible and at the same time the application goes

live and to promptly communicate that timeline.''

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from The Hope Center at Temple University. They said: ``Students and their families deserve a form that is available all hours of the day, for all types of applicants, and results in the swift transfer of their information to the States and colleges that will develop their financial aid packages.''

They were ``concerned that implementing a rigid deadline less than 3 months away will force additional technical issues for applicants. Therefore, we request that you amend H.R. 8932 to start the new deadline on October 1, 2025.'' That is exactly what we have done in this underlying bill.

The Hope Center,

July 9, 2024.

Hon. Virginia Foxx,

Chairwoman, Committee on Education and the Workforce, House

of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Hon. Bobby Scott,

Ranking Member, Committee on Education and the Workforce,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member Scott: The last

nine months have been challenging for students and their

families. Problems associated with implementing the overhaul

of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) have

created significant confusion, frustration, and uncertainty

for many of those applying for the financial aid they need to

succeed in college. Therefore, we thank your Committee for

its continued interest in getting the FAFSA back on track,

especially for the upcoming 2025-26 cycle launching this

fall. We write to comment on H.R. 8932, the FAFSA Deadline

Act.

In normal years, we agree that the FAFSA should be required

to launch no later than nine months before the start of the

next award year--or by October 1--a timeline now made

possible with the use of prior-prior year tax data.

Therefore, we have also joined in coalition requests to the

U.S. Department of Education (ED) asking the agency to do

everything possible to launch a fully functional FAFSA on

time this year. However, it has become clear in recent weeks

that ED continues to confront technical issues that could

interrupt the usability of the 2025-26 FAFSA.

Students and their families deserve a form that is

available at all hours of the day, for all types of

applicants, and results in the swift transfer of their

information to the states and colleges that will develop

their aid packages. We must rebuild trust with applicants,

college access professionals, and financial aid

administrators, all of whom need to see a reliable FAFSA for

them to have confidence in the entire system of financial

aid.

Therefore, we believe it is preferable to have the 2025-26

FAFSA launch be slightly delayed but be fully functional,

over an on-time October 1 launch that comes with technical

issues and glitches, if such a tradeoff is at hand for the

upcoming award year. After the 2025-26 cycle, we support an

October 1 launch date requirement, but we are concerned that

implementing a rigid deadline less than three months away

will force additional technical issues for applicants.

Therefore, we request that you amend H.R. 8932 to start the

new deadline on October 1, 2025 (for the 2026-27 award year)

and avoid legislative changes for the 2025-26 cycle.

Additionally, we request that the Committee require a

public comment process for the 2026-27 award year and beyond

by amending the applicable language in Section 483(a)(4) of

the Higher Education Act (HEA). The public comment process is

a vital opportunity for stakeholders, practitioners, and

students to offer feedback on the design, wording, and format

of the questions and help text. However, on June 17 of this

year, ED announced that no public comment would be offered

for the 2025-26 FAFSA and that the form would instead

``remain consistent'' with the prior year. Given the

outstanding issues that remain with the FAFSA, we understand

this short-term decision, and we acknowledge a more open-

ended Request for Information (RFI) process is expected this

summer. However, an RFI does not have the same requirements

for ED to review each comment, and it should not be the

standard in future years.

One result of legislating an October 1 launch date for

2026-27 and beyond may be that the agency again declines to

offer public comment. We hope that such a result can be

prevented by requiring a public comment process like the one

that exists for other ED forms and significant rules for the

Title IV programs. The Committee may also wish to examine and

strengthen the consumer testing language in Section 483(b)(2)

of the HEA to ensure that it is conducted more frequently,

transparently, and effectively--including by requiring

information on who is involved in such testing and how it

results in updates to the form.

Finally, we note other legislative opportunities to

increase the awareness and uptake of federal financial aid.

The recipients of public and tax benefit programs--such as

the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

and Earned Income Tax Credit--would benefit from receiving

information about financial aid and vice versa. The FAFSA

Simplification Act supported such interagency coordination to

raise awareness of federal resources under Sections 483(c)(3)

and 485E(c) of the HEA. Additionally, Section 485E(d)

requires a public awareness campaign about Title IV aid

involving entities such as institutions of higher education,

organizations involved in college access and student

financial aid, local educational agencies, public libraries,

community centers, businesses, employers, workforce

investment boards, and organizations that provide services to

individuals who are or were homeless, in foster care, or are

disconnected youth. However, these sections could benefit

from additional requirements for these plans and campaigns,

including legislative deadlines and additional funding.

Again, we thank the Committee for working to fix the FAFSA.

With amendments to delay the effective date and require

public comment, we could support H.R. 8932, but we have

concerns in its current form. Given the importance of a

functional financial aid system for all students, we also

hope that the FAFSA remains a nonpartisan topic and that the

Committee searches for consensus on this legislation. We

would be happy to discuss the bill further or provide

additional information that may be useful to your efforts,

including suggested legislative language. We look forward to

continuing this critical conversation as you consider other

legislative proposals for the FAFSA and federal financial

aid.

Sincerely,

Bryce McKibben,

Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy,

The Hope Center at Temple University.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter in support from the American Council on Education, a consortium of several national college organizations that are also in support.

American Council on Education,

Washington, DC, July 9, 2024.

Hon. Virginia Foxx,

Chairwoman, Committee on Education and the Workforce, House

of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Hon. Bobby Scott,

Ranking Member, Committee on Education and Workforce, House

of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member Scott: On behalf of

the undersigned higher education associations, we write to

offer our support for H.R. 8932, the FAFSA Deadline Act,

which the committee will mark up tomorrow. This bill would

move up the statutory date for the annual release of the Free

Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) from Jan. 1 to

Oct. 1 each year. Making such a change would have significant

benefits for students applying or returning to college each

year and is a priority of the higher education community.

Giving students additional time to fully understand the

financial aid available to them is critical for a number of

reasons. As we noted in our May 22, 2024, letter to your

committee, ``moving the statutory deadline to October 1st

would ensure that students have ample time to complete the

form; give college access organizations and counselors time

to support student completion; and allow institutions to

process aid awards in time for students to make the best

college decisions.'' This year, we have also seen the

unfortunate consequences of delays in that information

reaching students, with a current 11.6 percent decline in

completed FAFSA applications at this point in the process.

We appreciate the effort and attention your committee has

paid to improving the FAFSA process and to meeting the needs

of low-income students. We strongly support the FAFSA

Deadline Act and encourage your members to vote for it in a

bipartisan manner when it is marked up tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Ted Mitchell,

President.

On behalf of:

American Association of Community Colleges.

American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

American Council on Educatio.

Association of American Universities.

Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

National Association of Independent Colleges and

Universities.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, this bill is about improving the process going forward. Obviously, the FAFSA rollout was a debacle, but even though it was a debacle, the FAFSA Simplification Act has resulted in over half a million more students receiving financial aid. We need to make sure that students and families have the information they need to make informed decisions about their futures.

Since H.R. 8932 will be implemented for next year's form, 2025 and onward, I believe it strikes the right balance between setting a clear deadline and providing the flexibility for the Department of Education to fix any lingering issues as they finish implementing the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act this year.

I urge my colleagues to support the legislation to help ensure financial aid is distributed promptly and effectively. I look forward to continuing to improve the FAFSA form and expanding access to financial aid as originally intended in the FAFSA Simplification Act.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.

Madam Speaker, before we begin, I want to address the results of last week's election. I congratulate the gentleman from Texas and my Republican colleagues on the results of the Presidential election.

For them, this election was a reason to celebrate. For half the country, it was awful. Like so many people, I am deeply concerned-- concerned about our democracy, concerned that the man who was elected does not care about helping regular people, concerned that people are going to be hurt by his bad policies, concerned that vulnerable populations will become targets, concerned by the President-elect's fascination with Vladimir Putin, concerned that in the face of such a tough reality, many in this country will become disillusioned and disengaged from politics altogether.

Like many people, I am worried, but let me tell you what I am not going to do. I am not going to complain and whine like Republicans. I am not going to deny facts or reality and pretend that the election was rigged against us. I am not going to create fake stories about poll workers stuffing ballot boxes that result in people getting death threats and having to leave their homes.

Democrats aren't going to violently storm the Capitol Building. We are not going to go on TV and spread lies about voter fraud. We are not going to elevate conspiracy theories that point the finger to blame others for the outcome. We sure as hell would have no interest in pardoning people who attacked cops, desecrated this building, and treated our country like garbage.

The truth is that the election this year was free and fair, just like the election in 2020 was free and fair. Republicans were already getting ready to sow the seeds of another big lie until they won. Then, their claims of voter fraud evaporated into thin air.

What you will not see is Democrats try to overturn the election like sore losers. We are not going to act like babies. We are going to take responsibility, and we are going to move forward.

I think the most important thing we can do right now is listen to our friends, our neighbors, and our fellow Americans because obviously things need to change, but I also want to say this loud and clear to everyone listening who is upset by the outcome of this election: Please don't give in to despair. We cannot change the past. All we can do is to help shape the future, and the hard work of protecting this country from the potentially devastating effects of a second Donald Trump Presidency starts today.

We can take heart in our small victories. We have new voices joining our ranks in the Senate and in the House, many of them historic and ready to push for change. As our party recalibrates--and let me be clear, we must recalibrate--we will need every one of these new voices on our side.

While we still await the final determination on who will be in charge of the House of Representatives, let me just say that if Republicans hold onto control, we will show up. We will show up for every single fight and every single vote. We will minimize the damage where we can, and while we may not always win, we will slow down the destructive forces that could arise from total Republican control in Washington.

Madam Speaker, if the Republicans keep the majority and the next 2 years are like the last 2, maybe we will have little to worry about. This Republican majority has been the most ineffective body in history. They have accomplished nothing. They don't know how to govern.

It really has been a disgrace, a national disgrace, but rest assured, we will raise our voices, the voices of the people who sent us here to speak for them, the people who do not agree with Republican policies and who voted for us to make sure someone would fight back.

Democrats may have lost some races, but we are not defeated. Our values are strong. We know what to fight for because we know what we stand for: an economy that works for working people, a government that serves everyone regardless of their background, and a vision for a brighter future that addresses the urgent challenges that people care about, like the cost of living, hunger, and climate change.

Let me just say, Madam Speaker, this is the beauty of democracy. No defeat is final, and where we can find common ground with our colleagues across the aisle and with the President-elect, we will work together to make progress because our side is interested in helping improve the quality of life for the people of this country. Where we cannot find common ground, we will stand firm in defense of our values.

The work goes on, and we will fight for all those who placed their hopes and dreams in our hands.

Now, if we are talking about the bills that this rule would bring to the floor, H.R. 8446 politically interferes in a science-driven process and potentially siphons needed resources away from at-risk supply chains. H.R. 7409 undermines our environmental laws and blocks public input in the permitting process, which could lead to irreparable damage to our lands.

While H.R. 8932 offers a pragmatic solution to ensure student aid reaches those who need it, let us pray that, despite Trump's promise to dismantle the Department of Education, the agency that oversees FASFA survives the next 4 years so that this measure can actually benefit American families.

Madam Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 12, a bill that would ensure that every American has full access to essential reproductive healthcare, including abortion care.

Since the Dobbs decision, every State in the Union has taken action on abortion in some way. Many enacted laws to either ban some or all abortion. Republicans have reiterated time and time again that this is their goal. They want to take away women's reproductive freedoms.

The abortion access landscape is more fractured since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. We continue to face the devastating consequences of abortion bans and restrictions on both patients' health and the greater healthcare ecosystem. We have heard in recent weeks the heartbreaking stories of women who have died because of these abortion bans.

H.R. 12 ensures every American has full access to vital reproductive healthcare and will stop the devastating health consequences for women when abortion access is banned or limited.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Pettersen) to discuss that proposal.

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Colorado.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, there is no way to sugarcoat this. We have 2 long years ahead of us. For Republicans, that likely means facing the challenges of governing. I wish them luck. I hope they can figure out how to govern. They haven't been able to demonstrate that up to this point. For Democrats, it will mean we will have time to reflect, learn, and grow stronger from this election.

We know we need to become better listeners and better communicators, and we know we need to engage more with people on the issues that matter most to them. We will do that.

It also means finding common ground with those we disagree with when it comes to helping regular people. I hope that there will be occasions when there can be common ground achieved and reached so we can actually move things forward. If, in fact, the Republicans win the House and they control this Chamber, I hope that they will move away from the practice of constantly leaning on the most extreme Members in their Conference for guidance on what should be discussed on the House floor.

When it comes to when our values don't align, it will mean us calling out poor policy for what it is and pushing back with every single tool at our disposal to slow the damage.

We will show up. We will show up. We will use our voices. We will stand up for the people and against anything that would do them harm.

It will be a long 2 years, but we are in this fight. I have never felt a greater sense of purpose than I do at this moment because so much is at stake. Things that matter to the people I represent are under threat by the President-elect and his policies.

We will stand up for our values. We will stand up for the people in this country who now feel threatened because of the election results. We will stand up, as Ms. Pettersen just talked about in her remarks, for women's reproductive freedoms. Women should decide what is best for them, not Members of this Chamber, and not the President of the United States.

Again, we have a lot of challenges ahead, but I will tell my friends on the other side of the aisle, we are ready. We are ready to come together when we can find common ground.

This is just a promise, but we will fight you with every ounce of energy we have if you bring up policies that we have strong disagreements with. We will not rally or roll over in the face of policies that we deplore.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1568 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Madam Speaker, last week, the American people spoke forcefully against what we have seen for 4

years out of the Biden-Harris administration and their whole-of- government assault over individual freedom, economic prosperity, and limited government.

For 4 years, the Biden-Harris administration and their allies here in Congress had the opportunity to show the American people their vision of our country and their vision of what role the Federal Government might play in shaping it, 4 years of drastic expansion of Federal budgets, 4 years of regulatory regimes, and 4 years of hazy interpretations of the constitutional separation of powers.

Look, votes are continuing to be counted, but it is already clear that the American people spoke to the need for an equally drastic course correction right here in Washington, D.C., and, subsequently, the direction our country is headed.

This week is perhaps the opportunity to bind the wounds for a nationwide healing experience over what has been suffered for the last 4 years: crippling inflation, rampant crime, and a bureaucratic state that has squeezed out every ounce of productivity from this country. Do you know what? We have left our adversaries a lot of room to run.

The good news for the gentleman from Massachusetts is that the measure before us can and should be bipartisan. House Resolution 1568 provides for consideration of three pieces of legislation to make targeted adjustments to a bureaucracy aimed at making American lives better, less expensive, and more productive. Each piece has or should receive bipartisan support. Each piece speaks to issues that have received bipartisan praise or concern.

This week, we can unify under the mandate of the American people and continue the body of work that will begin today and continue into next year.

First, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 8932, the FASFA Deadline Act, under a structured rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided between the chair and the ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce and provides for one motion to recommit.

Second, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 7409, the Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act, or the HEATS Act, under a closed rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided between the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources and provides for one motion to recommit.

Third, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 8446, the Critical Mineral Consistency Act of 2024, under a closed rule, with 1 hour of debate equally divided by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources and provides for one motion to recommit.

Madam Speaker, each of these bills takes a scalpel to the government bureaucracy to make American lives easier, more affordable, and more productive.

The FASFA Deadline Act ensures that the Biden-Harris administration-- man, their rollout of the updated FASFA forms has been a disaster. We are going to make sure that that does not happen again. The delays, the mistakes, and the glitches resulted in 430,000 fewer students filling out a student aid application for the 2024 fall semester and the steepest drop in first-year college enrollment since the pandemic.

Madam Speaker, it begs the question: How are you going to forgive student loans if you don't allow them to be made in the first place?

The FASFA Deadline Act would force future administrations to prioritize this important process over illegal and constitutionally questionable student loan bailout schemes.

The HEATS Act eliminates the redundancy in Federal permitting for clean, geothermal energy production, lessening the paperwork burden for developers, lowering energy costs, and hastening a growing and important part of our domestic energy portfolio.

Finally, the Critical Mineral Consistency Act resolves a disparity between two agencies responsible for green-lighting our domestic mineral production, ensuring that we can mine the minerals for vehicles, cell phones, and lifesaving technology, not just for today but for generations to come.

Affordable energy, abundant natural resources, and economic opportunity, what is not to like? That is what these bills achieve, and in doing so, they make commonsense, targeted reforms to fix real problems the American people face.

That is what the House majority has promised to the American people. That is what this body can do today. That is what Republicans can work toward in the years to come.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bills, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, prior to coming to Congress, I was a medical doctor. In fact, I still have an active medical license. I feel like I should go back and seek a designation as a specialist in treating Trump derangement syndrome, because after 10 years on the Rules Committee, I really feel that I have earned that.

Several years ago, the columnist George Will opined that--this was in the Clinton administration. I was just a regular guy. I wasn't in political office, had no aspirations to be in political office. George Will opined that the country was evenly divided, he said, but fortunately it is not sharply divided.

Now, since then, we have seen a country that has evolved and become more and more and more sharply divided. That is too bad. That is a shame. It robs us of some of the ability we have to get things done when our divisions are so deep and divisive that we simply cannot overcome them.

Last week, I felt as if the national fever had broken. It broke because President-elect Donald Trump won the election. He won it decisively. There is no further contest that is to be had over the Presidential election because it is done. The American people spoke and they spoke clearly.

Why did they speak clearly? They spoke clearly because they felt they had not been listened to and they had not been heard. I mean, the gentleman brought up that the country had been hurt by the policies. Oh, my gosh, your own Democratic economic expert said don't do the American Rescue Plan, don't do the Inflation Reduction Act, you are going to kill people with crippling inflation, Steve Rattner, the former Secretary of the Treasury, when you were doing your reconciliation bills last Congress, and it all fell on deaf ears.

Then what happened? Inflation shot up to 9 percent. Although in recent months you say, oh, well, it is back down to 2 percent, I am sorry, eggs are still at their peak that they were at the time of that 9 percent inflation. You don't get to walk the prices back down just because you have kept the inflation rate down for a particular month.

Madam Speaker, the American people did speak, and they spoke the need for a new direction, a direction for this country where economic prosperity, limited government, and opportunity are once again the three cornerstones of the American Dream.

Today begins a new chapter by considering measures that thoughtfully solve the very real challenges created by the Federal bureaucracy.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation. Let's get back to work on improving the lives of the American people. Our long national fever has broken. Let's get to work. Let's get on with the future.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1568, I call up the bill (H.R. 8932) to establish an earlier application processing cycle for the FAFSA, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 8932.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8932, the FAFSA Deadline Act, and I start by highlighting the critical role the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, plays in the lives of many American students and families. For them, FAFSA isn't just a form, it is a path to postsecondary education.

In recent years, bipartisan efforts were made to simplify this complex, daunting process. The FAFSA Simplification Act, passed in 2020, was intended to make applying for financial aid more accessible and less overwhelming. That is what this country needs, an effective, user-friendly system that lowers barriers to education and increases access for students of all backgrounds.

Unfortunately, we are here because the Biden-Harris administration is failing to provide this vital tool to the very students and families it was designed to help. Instead of the smooth rollout we planned, the Biden-Harris administration's execution of the new simplified FAFSA has led to widespread frustration, delays, and costly errors.

Imagine being a high school senior working hard to qualify for scholarships and planning your future, only to be met with glitches, incomplete forms, and endless processing errors. That was the reality for too many students.

Last year, the Department of Education delayed the FAFSA release until late December, 3 full months after its recommended October 1 release date, due to administrative incompetence.

The soft launch that followed was chaotic, resulting in millions of errors and little clarity regarding the form's actual functionality. Delays in the Department's failure to communicate effectively left families in a state of uncertainty, scrambling to understand what aid they would receive, or even if they would receive aid at all.

As we sit here, the FAFSA is delayed for a second straight year, and some capabilities are still unavailable, forcing students, schools, and State agencies to wait again.

The FAFSA Deadline Act introduced by Representative Erin Houchin is the answer. This legislation seeks to hold the Department of Education accountable by requiring the FAFSA to be available by October 1 each year, and it does so with broad, bipartisan support. The bill passed through committee 34-6, sending a clear signal that both sides of the aisle believe families deserve better.

In short, today's conversation is about restoring the promise of FAFSA, fulfilling our obligation to students, and making sure the Department's failure is not a new normal.

It is our job to ensure that the Department of Education rolls out FAFSA each year with clear timelines and accurate data so American families can rely on this process.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the FAFSA Deadline Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin), the author of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Kiley).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from Virginia said, several organizations have announced public support for the FAFSA Deadline Act. Here are some of the things that they are saying.

The American Council for Education said: ``Given the issues institutions of higher education faced during the 2024-2025 FAFSA processing cycle, it is critically important to avoid future problems. For this academic year, overall first-year enrollment is down by 5 percent, at least in part due to issues with the 2024-2025 FAFSA. In addition, universal access to the 2025-2026 FAFSA is already delayed, and some campus officials have expressed concerns about whether the FAFSA will be fully available by December 1. We offer our full support for this piece of legislation and hope to see it pass the House.''

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the FAFSA is a cornerstone of America's commitment to educational opportunity. When we fail to uphold this promise, we jeopardize the dreams and hard work of students who look to postsecondary education as a pathway to a better future.

The FAFSA Deadline Act is a necessary measure to protect that future by enforcing deadlines, ensuring transparency, and making certain that families receive the aid they depend on to make college accessible.

This is about delivering the basic functionality students deserve and safeguarding their ambitions against bureaucratic failure.

Students have enough on their plates as they prepare for college. It is up to us to make sure that the Federal Government isn't adding to that burden.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that frustrates so many Americans is that our government has gotten involved in doing many things that it really shouldn't be doing, so many excessive regulations and outsized bureaucracies. Then, all too often, it fails to competently perform the basic functions the people actually expect from the government and that they are entitled to as taxpayers. The FAFSA fiasco is a very clear example of that.

Every year, high school students across the country fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA opens doors for millions of students nationwide, ensuring that postsecondary education is accessible and affordable.

Traditionally, the form is released by October 1, giving students and their families plenty of time to decide what postsecondary option is right for them. Unfortunately, the Department of Education has neglected its core responsibility to these students.

The Department's failure to meet deadlines has created unnecessary uncertainty for students and families already struggling with the college application process, which is already stressful to begin with.

The FAFSA Simplification Act passed in 2020 was supposed to make the application process easier to navigate. The Department was even given an extra year to ensure a smooth rollout of the revised form. However, despite that extended timeline, it failed to deliver on time, and the ones who suffered the most were the students who could least afford it.

The Department knew as early as August 2022 that they would miss the October 1, 2023, deadline but then failed to inform the public. Eight months later, they announced a delay until ``sometime in December,'' and we had to wait until the last day of the year for a so-called soft launch. This incomplete rollout left critical parts of the form completely unusable.

Even more troubling, the Department abused the statutory gap that allows the release by January 1 by not

even being fully prepared for that hard cutoff. When processing finally began, millions of applications were riddled with calculation errors, forcing reprocessing and causing chaos for students and institutions.

The consequences were devastating. About 430,000 fewer students filed a FAFSA this year compared to last year. To make matters worse, millions of calls for help went unanswered. Families were left in the dark, scrambling for answers with no support during one of the most critical periods in a child's academic journey.

This is why I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 8932, the FAFSA Deadline Act. This bill would hold the Department of Education accountable by setting a hard deadline of October 1 for releasing the FAFSA and requiring an accountability check-in each September to ensure they stay on track.

Mr. Speaker, I urge colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important legislation.