Kentuckiana Times

Washington, D.C. (April 4, 2024) - Today, Member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, Congresswoman Erin Houchin (R-IN) issued a statement regarding the recent issues with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) rollout.

Congresswoman Houchin expressed her concerns saying, "After a botched rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Biden’s Education Department dysfunction continues with a new report that nearly 330K applications will need to be reprocessed due to an issue with tax data."

She further highlighted that a significant percentage of submitted applications contained errors in IRS tax data, impacting the financial aid eligibility of students. Houchin stated, "5% of the over 6.6 million applications submitted so far have contained errors in IRS tax data, imported by the Department, that would make students eligible for less financial aid than they’re entitled to with an additional 10% gaining access to too much aid."

The Congresswoman emphasized the challenges families are facing due to these issues, noting, "With this news, unfortunately families should prepare for even more delays." She criticized the Biden Administration's priorities, stating, "The Biden Administration is more focused on its illegal student loan scheme than fixing the issues at hand."

Drawing from her personal experience, Houchin revealed, "While the dysfunction continues, families are left with no answers to plan for their child’s future education, including my own family as I have one child in college and another heading to school this fall. I am as frustrated as anyone." She called for accountability and transparency, declaring, "Secretary Cardona owes us answers and real solutions. We owe transparency to the American people."