Biden’s Education Department Has Failed Its Obligations to America’s Students

President Biden’s various attempts to get around Congress to forgive student loans have been misguided and costly for taxpayers. But the attention his Education Department lavishes on debt cancellation has arguably led senior officials at the department to neglect tasks Congress actually authorized them to perform. A case in point is the disastrous rollout of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which will delay financial-aid decisions for millions of college students. Some of the affected students could miss out on going to college entirely as a result.

The FAFSA overhaul should have been a straightforward affair. At the end of 2020, Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act. This bipartisan bill was a special priority of former senator Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.), who retired that year. It directed the Education Department to simplify the form which aspiring college students complete to qualify for Pell Grants and other federal aid. While the old FAFSA stretched beyond 100 questions, Alexander’s bill whittled that down to as few as 18. The law also simplified the formula used to award Pell Grants, so financial aid would be more predictable.

About the Author

Preston Cooper

Preston Cooper is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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President Biden’s various attempts to get around Congress to forgive student loans have been misguided and costly for taxpayers. But the attention his Education Department lavishes on debt cancellation has arguably led senior officials at the department to neglect tasks Congress actually authorized them to perform. A case in point is the disastrous rollout of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which will delay financial-aid decisions for millions of college students. Some of the affected students could miss out on going to college entirely as a result.

The FAFSA overhaul should have been a straightforward affair. At the end of 2020, Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act. This bipartisan bill was a special priority of former senator Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.), who retired that year. It directed the Education Department to simplify the form which aspiring college students complete to qualify for Pell Grants and other federal aid. While the old FAFSA stretched beyond 100 questions, Alexander’s bill whittled that down to as few as 18. The law also simplified the formula used to award Pell Grants, so financial aid would be more predictable.