Pres. Trump signs Sen. Alexander's bill to simplify FAFSA, fund HBCUs

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced that President Donald Trump and Congress have signed bipartisan legislation into law that will help college students.

It includes an amendment by Alexander and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) that simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form that 20 million families, including 8 million minority students, fill out every year to qualify for federal student aid.

The legislation also permanently reauthorizes and provides $255 million in annual mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions and eliminates bureaucratic verification for most students.

Under the law, called the FUTURE Act, the IRS will securely send tax information to the Department of Education, eliminating the possibility of families making mistakes when completing the FAFSA.

This legislation is a Christmas present for college students and their families,” Alexander said. “First, this legislation provides permanent funding, fully paid for, for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions attended by over 2 million minority students. Second, after five years of bipartisan effort, this simplification of the FAFSA removes the most important roadblock for the 400,000 Tennessee families who apply for federal grants and loans to attend college.”

The U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives passed the FUTURE Act last Tuesday. 

Source: WBIR

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Published December 23, 2019