Congress in 2020 passed the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act to make financial aid more accessible for students. The legislation required the U.S. Department of Education to implement congressionally directed changes to the FAFSA by January 1, 2024. But when the application went live, it was riddled with glitches and delays. This set a domino effect in motion.
As a result of the Education Department’s rocky rollout, families couldn’t fill out the FAFSA as early as usual. High school counselors had to postpone their financial aid information sessions. As the May 1 deadline rolls around for students to make a commitment, higher-ed institutions will be hard-pressed to send financial aid offers to families in a timely manner. This will, in turn, create challenges for students who rely on those offers to decide which college to attend. Iowa families deserve to have peace of mind and know what federal aid is available to them. That’s why Grassley is coordinating with federal officials to straighten out these problems.
Grassley is also holding the Education Department accountable. The agency had three years to prepare the new FAFSA – that window was, in large part, to ensure a smooth transition for schools, students and hardworking families. Still, the launch caused a slew of headaches. Grassley in January requested a nonpartisan investigation into the Biden administration’s failed FAFSA rollout. He’ll continue pressing for answers and solutions until the wrinkles are ironed out. In the near term, students and families navigating the new FAFSA are encouraged to reference this factsheet by Grassley and Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
The FAFSA has traditionally excluded most non-liquid assets, like farmland and farm equipment, from families’ gross income reporting. Changes in the financial aid formula put this exclusion at risk for family farming operations and family-run businesses. Grassley is coordinating with administrators in Washington to protect farm kids’ eligibility for federal financial assistance. Learn more:
Young Iowans are brimming with bright ideas for the future. They represent America’s next generation of public servants, entrepreneurs, tradesmen, teachers, scientists, health care professionals – you name it. Access to higher education and vocational training opens the door for students to hone their skillsets and pursue their goals. Senator Grassley is working to expand academic and career options, improve college affordability and address challenges facing Iowa families and educators.
Soaring college costs are sending young Americans into a student debt spiral. This crisis is making it harder for them to find sound financial footing after graduation. Grassley has proposed solutions to empower Iowans to feasibly pursue academics after high school.
Comparing Apples to Apples
Students should be able to easily compare college aid packages. They’re currently forced to decipher facts and figures that are often confusing and rarely transparent. Grassley is championing a bill to standardize financial aid descriptions, so students can compare offers from different colleges in an “apples-to-apples” manner. This way, they’ll know exactly what they’ll owe from the get-go.
Detangling the Tax Code
Students shouldn’t be stymied by complexities in the tax code. That’s why Grassley introduced a bipartisan bill to fully exclude Pell Grants from taxable income, paving the way for students to maximize the American Opportunity Tax Credit. This change would particularly benefit students enrolled in community college.
Minimizing Student Debt
The Biden administration in 2023 unsuccessfully attempted to cancel massive amounts of student debt. The unconstitutional scheme would have transferred to the taxpayer hundreds of billions of dollars in student loans. Iowans know when you take out a loan, you have a responsibility to pay it back. But if President Biden had his way, those who paid their way through college, paid their loans, and those who didn’t attend college would be footing the bill for others. Whereas Biden’s debt transfer was an irresponsible “Band-Aid” fix, Grassley has authored sustainable policies to empower students to get the best bang for their buck and make college more affordable in the long run.
Grassley for years has monitored reports of adversarial foreign influence in American schools, from K-12 to post-grad. He’s kept a particularly keen eye on our number one adversary, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP has weaseled its way into the U.S. education system by establishing campus centers promoting its propaganda and making hefty donations, among other tactics. Grassley is advancing legislation to prevent bad actors from infiltrating our nation’s classrooms and indoctrinating our students. He’s also calling on federal agencies to strictly scrutinize the extent of these persistent threats.
