RECAP: Rep. Owens Testifies on Anti-Fraud Bills 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This afternoon, Congressman Burgess Owens (UT-04) testified before the House Rules Committee on two anti-fraud measures, his No Aid for Ghost Students Act (HR 7892) and Rep. Mary Miller’s (IL-15) Stop Child Care Scams Act (HR 7726).

The bills passed out of the Rules Committee Tuesday night by a vote of 8-4 and now head to the House Floor for consideration and final passage.

You can watch all of Rep. Owens’ testimony here.

The Government Accountability Office estimates the federal government loses between $233 billion and $521 billion every year to fraud.

Recently, the Department of Education under the Trump Administration began taking aggressive action against federal aid scams and has already blocked more than $1 billion of fraudulent aid last year. But in the case of the Department of Education, the Higher Education Act, as it is currently written, gives the Department broad authority to address fraud, but it does not require specific, continuing safeguards against “ghost student” fraud. 

This legislation addresses that vulnerability by amending the law to ensure fraud protections are enshrined in statute.

“Every dollar the federal government spends anywhere on anything has come from the pockets of the hard-working American taxpayer. That is why it is critically important that we ensure we are doing whatever we can to root out fraud and abuse in any program set up to do good.

Education is the great equalizer, and every dollar set aside to assist students who need financial aid to get an education that can open a wealth of opportunities to them should be protected. The American taxpayer deserves a government that is a wise steward of the funds they’ve been entrusted. My bill is one step among many that this Congress and this Administration are taking to ensure that.”

Rep Burgess Owens 

The bill would specifically require the Department of Education to:

• Use an identity fraud detection system to review each application
• Notify the applicant if their FAFSA was flagged as suspicious
• Verify the applicant before federal student aid is disbursed
• Establish guidelines for identity verification procedures
• Report to Congress within 30 days on what they have done to implement the above systems
• Requires a yearly audit of the system, paired with a report to Congress of the fraud identification system and its effectiveness.  

You can find the full text here.

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