Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 7 - Issue 10

On Monday, Senate and House Republicans introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Biden-Harris Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan. Recall that a Government Accountability Office decision which marked the plan as an ED “rule” allows members of Congress to force a vote through the CRA to overturn the debt relief plan. The CRA, which requires a simple majority to pass, is expected to be vetoed by President Biden.

On Tuesday, the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) released draft versions of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2024-2025 aid year and the FAFSA Submission Summary. Recall that the FAFSA Simplification Act and the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act required the Education Department (ED) to simplify the financial aid application and allow ED and the Internal Revenue Service to exchange student tax information. The public will have until May 23 to provide comments to FSA on the draft documents.

Secretary Cardona responds to the House Appropriations Committee outlining the impact of reduced funding on the Education Department.

The following bill(s) have been recently introduced for consideration by the 118th Congress (2023-2024):

S. 1004 – Student Loan Tax Elimination Act [Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)] would eliminate origination fees on all federal Direct Loans.

H.R. 1842 – Student Loan Tax Elimination Act [Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11)] would eliminate origination fees on all federal Direct Loans.