U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has praised a Senate committee for moving forward with legislation to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
DeVos’ praise followed a hearing Tuesday of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee about reauthorizing the Higher Education Act and proposals for simplifying the aid application. The hearing, led by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., featured testimonies from Justin Draeger, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), among other key education professionals and advocates.
“The Higher Education Act is a child of the 1960s, and it’s time to recraft the HEA to match the realities of today and the opportunities of tomorrow,” DeVos said in a press statement. “I applaud Chairman Alexander for his continued leadership in promoting bold reforms, and I share Senator [Patty] Murray’s sentiment that we must address the big issues. I look forward to working with the committee and the entire Congress to complete this important work and send a student-centric, forward-looking bill to the president’s desk.”
DeVos acknowledged that Washington officials have been talking about simplifying the FAFSA application process for years. With the introduction of the Simple FAFSA Act of 2017 on Nov. 16, she says, “Now is the time for action.”
“Students and schools have demanded and truly deserve a better, simpler process,” DeVos added.
Earlier this month, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., introduced the Simple FAFSA legislation to help make it easier for college-going students to access the billions of dollars of federal aid money available to them.
Several provisions in the bill call for the Education Department to make the FAFSA available in 11 foreign languages and for the secretary to standardize financial aid letters across all institutions receiving Title IV funding.
