Collins, Colleagues Demand Update on OIG Investigation into Biden’s Botched FAFSA Rollout

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins joined fellow members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in sending a letter urging the Department of Education (DeptEd) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to provide an update on its investigation into the Biden administration’s botched implementation of this year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) program. The lawmakers also asked the OIG to review the status of next year’s FAFSA amid serious bipartisan concerns that it will not be ready by October.

“We strongly urge you to continue to focus on this critical matter and to share your findings with Congress and the American people,” the lawmakers wrote. “Students and families who need federal student aid to access postsecondary education deserve our best efforts to ensure that the Department successfully executes the laws enacted by Congress to make student aid easily accessible.”

“Congress urgently requests the OIG complete its evaluation of the status of the development of the 2025-2026 FAFSA and make recommendations to the Department for correcting any deficiencies found in its FAFSA development and launch processes,” the lawmakers concluded.

Senator Collins co-sponsored the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act, which passed Congress in 2020, and required the Department of Education to roll out a new simplified FAFSA program by January 1, 2024.  Despite having three years to prepare, the application was only made available for borrowers for 30 minutes on December 30, 2023 and then one additional hour on December 31, 2023.  The application was then only accessible for sporadic periods until it became fully live on January 6, 2024.  Typically, this form is made available to students on October 1.  After the FAFSA went fully live, it was still plagued with issues, including delivering incorrect applicant data to colleges.

In April, Senator Collins questioned Secretary of the Department of Education Miguel Cardona on the Department’s failure to implement the FAFSA Simplification Act.  Following the hearing, Senator Collins and a bipartisan, bicameral group of 10 Committee leaders in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Secretary Cardona urging the Department to prioritize the timely rollout of the 2025-2026 FAFSA form.

The complete text of the letter can be read here.

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