Rep. Owens ‘No Aid for Ghost Students Act’ Passes Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Burgess Owens’ (UT-04) No Aid for Ghost Students Act passed the Education and Workforce Committee this afternoon. The bill aims to prevent bad actors from submitting fraudulent FAFSA Applications under stolen or fabricated identities by amending the Higher Education Act and requiring the Department of Education and institutions of higher education to take steps to combat this fraud. 

“The No Aid for Ghost Students Act is common-sense legislation that ensures federal dollars aren’t flowing to professional fraudsters.” Representative Owens said. “Federal aid needs to go to those students who need it most, and every cent that is defrauded represents a lost opportunity for students in need and a serious offense to the American taxpayer.”

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 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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