GOV WATCHDOG: Biden-Harris admin is failing our students

I want to update you on a critical Education Committee hearing I chaired this week, which exposed the Biden-Harris administration’s gross mishandling of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) rollout.

Two Government Accountability Office (GAO) directors testified before us, presenting a damning report on the administration’s failures. You can read the full report here and watch my key questions here or by clicking below:

Frankly, this hearing shouldn’t have been necessary. Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020 to give the Biden-Harris administration clear instructions and plenty of time (over three years!) to make the FAFSA process easier and more efficient.

Instead, the administration focused on their political agenda and illegal student loan bailouts. Here are a few of the stunning examples from our oversight hearing:

• Delays and incompetence: The FAFSA rollout was delayed twice, leading to over 430,000 fewer students submitting their applications. [Watch Here]
• Lack of transparency: The Department of Education provided no updates for months, leaving many students in limbo, told only to “try again later.” [Watch Here]
• Abysmal student response rate: During the first five months of the rollout, 75% of student inquiries went unanswered [Watch Here]
• Born in 2000? Tough luck: In a stunning oversight, students born in the year 2000 were unable to access the form until March of this year. [Watch Here]

But it gets worse. The administration’s response to their colossal failure? Asking for an additional $400 million—nearly $900 per student impacted by this fiasco—to “fix” the problem they created.
They had the money, the resources, and the time, and they still failed. Critical oversight was ignored, key system checks were delayed, and nobody took responsibility.

Stay informed, and together, let’s hold this administration accountable for its failures.