WASHINGTON — Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee Chair Burgess Owens (UT-04) led the first hearing on the Department of Education’s failure to launch the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in a timely and effective manner, resulting in over 18 million students and families who are unable to make financial decisions about their college education.
“When the Department of Education rolled out the new FAFSA, students were met with sporadic glitches, never-ending queues, and a myriad of technical issues. Some students could not complete the form at all, said Chair Owens.“These failures will not just impact taxpayers, who always pay the cost for bureaucratic dysfunction. Institutions could see an estimated 20 percent drop in enrollment this fall. Low-income students who require access to aid are going to be the hardest hit. And these delays don’t even account for next year’s FAFSA, which almost certainly will not be ready by this October.”
Owens questioned key witnesses on the Department of Education’s failure to acknowledge FAFSA issues and the impact glitches and system failures have had on students, families, and institutions.
“The department’s FAFSA delays and errors are not victimless crimes. At the end of the day, students, families, and states – and institutions – are anxious and frustrated because the department has failed to do their job,” continued Chair Owens.
The bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act, passed in 2020 with the intention of streamlining the application process, aimed to make financial aid more accessible for all students. The legislation mandated the Department of Education (Education) to roll out the FAFSA program by January 1st, 2024.
Despite having three years to prepare, the Department of Education made the application available for borrowers for only 30 minutes on December 30th, 2023, an additional hour on December 31st, 2023, and sporadic periods until becoming fully live on Saturday, January 6th, 2024, days after the Congress-set deadline.
In January 2024 Owens sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona requesting documents relating to the delayed FAFSA rollout and reports of system-wide glitches. Read the letter here.
The Department of Education has consistently failed to admit the extent of these issues or properly mitigate them, causing the FAFSA application completion rate to fall 40% this year.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Burgess Owens (UT-04) released the following statement in response to the Democrats’ reckless and harmful government shutdown: “It’s Day 1 of the Democrat Shutdown because Senate Democrats refused to support a clean, nonpartisan CR to keep the government open, holding the American people hostage for a $1.5 trillion unserious and unreasonable liberal […]
Sep 30, 2025
Uncategorized
Owens, Lee Lead Bill to Strengthen Transit Safety for Utahns
WASHINGTON — Congressman Burgess Owens (UT-04) introduced the Safe Transit Accountability Act, legislation to cut bureaucratic red tape, strengthen public transit safety, and ensure communities can efficiently comply with federal safety standards without jeopardizing service for riders. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is leading the companion bill in the Senate, while Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-11) joins […]
Sep 16, 2025
Congress
HEARING RECAP: Owens Exposes Higher Ed’s “Best Kept Secret” on College Costs
WASHINGTON — Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee Chair Burgess Owens (UT-04) led a hearing on deceptive pricing practices in higher education and reforms to bring honesty and transparency to students and families. Click here or above to watch. Rep. Owens opened the hearing by stressing the urgent need for clarity in college pricing and […]