Senator Ricketts’ Weekly Column: Another Year of the Biden-Harris FAFSA Fiasco

Each year, millions of prospective students and their families decide whether and where to attend college. It’s a huge decision. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form provides crucial information about what financial aid they qualify for. The FAFSA form includes federal student loans, work-study programs, and Pell Grants. Families rely on this aid to help with the costs of higher education. For the second straight year, the Biden-Harris Department of Education (ED) promised an improved FAFSA experience. For the second straight year, they’ve delivered a FAFSA fiasco. I’m working to help Nebraska families overcome this incompetence.

After three years of claimed preparation, ED soft-launched a “simplified and improved” FAFSA form last December 30. That was nearly three months later than normal. It was also after some students needed to make their college decisions. Even this soft-launch turned into a fiasco.

The new form contained new, unfair rules penalizing the children of farm families and small business owners. It counted illiquid assets towards parental contributions. These rules could force family farmers to sell off assets to send their children to college. I’m co-leading the Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act to fix this.

Even after the full rollout months later, there were major issues. In fact, Politico called it “disastrous.” I heard directly from Nebraskans who were impacted. Websites crashed repeatedly. Forms were incomplete or unable to be filled out. Millions of forms had errors and had to be reprocessed later. When families sought expert help, ED staff failed to provide adequate support. Sadly, last year wasn’t a fluke. In August, ED announced they will delay the release of the FAFSA form for a second straight year.

This is yet another example of bad management and incompetence from the Biden-Harris administration. As a result, last year, we saw schools forced to postpone application deadlines, push back financial aid offers, and delay student enrollment deadlines. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln extended their deadline to May 15, but not every college could make that choice. Prospective students and their families paid the price.

The FAFSA fiasco has serious consequences. Nationally, the FAFSA completion rate dropped 11.2% for high school graduates. Nebraska did better than most, but our state’s FAFSA completion rate still fell4.8%. Some students and their families had to make college decisions and pay deposits without knowing the exact cost. That’s crazy. We wouldn’t buy a car without knowing the cost. We wouldn’t buy a home without knowing the cost. We shouldn’t pressure families into college commitments without knowing the cost.

ED’s FAFSA fiasco is exactly what’s wrong with a massive, unaccountable federal bureaucracy. Government should put the taxpayer first, always. That’s what we did when I was Governor of Nebraska. Instead, the Biden-Harris administration prioritizes radical, divisive policies. ED pushed an illegal student loan “forgiveness” program that will make Nebraska plumbers and welders pay the student loans of doctors and lawyers. ED bureaucrats also tried to undo important protections for female athletes. It should be focused on serving students and their families. It should be delivering the FAFSA form on time.

I am committed to demanding better from the federal government for Nebraskans. On FAFSA, I will continue to fight for answers and reforms to ensure the process serves those who need it most. As the Senate considers new Cabinet Secretaries next year, I’m going to vet candidates thoroughly. Federal agencies should be led by individuals with management experience. We need innovative solutions to streamline bureaucracy and serve taxpayers.