Grassley and Ernst Meet with Education Department about FAFSA Farm Reporting Requirements

Grassley and Ernst Meet with Education Department about FAFSA Farm Reporting Requirements

WASHINGTON - Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), along with Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), today met with Biden administration officials about federal student aid issues and challenges the FAFSA asset question has posed for farm families. Education Department attendees included Rich Cordray, Chief Operating Officer for the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), and Melanie Storey, FSA Director of Policy Implementation and Oversight.

"Between this year's FAFSA delays and the application's vague farm reporting requirements, Washington bureaucrats have sown confusion for American families facing a significant financial investment in their kids' futures," Grassley said. "Senator Ernst and I won't let up until the Education Department gets Iowans the answers they deserve."

"As I have long suspected, the Biden administration left our farm families in the dust while developing their new, flawed FAFSA form," Ernst said. "Folks who have never stepped foot on a farm shouldn't be writing policies that impact thousands in our ag communities. I will continue pushing my Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act and holding this administration accountable to fix their FAFSA fiasco."

During this afternoon's discussion, Cordray and Storey recognized the senators' concerns about FAFSA Question 22, which deals with asset reporting. As written, the question does not clearly define how applicants should calculate the value of their family farms. Because of this lack of clarity and farm assets' inclusion in the formula, farm families are losing out on critical financial resources like Pell Grants, even when their income should qualify them.

Yesterday, on National College Decision Day, Grassley discussed the consequences of this year's FAFSA debacle. In a joint op-ed, he and Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) additionally touted their bipartisan legislation to lower college costs for students. Ongoing student aid delays emphasize the need for Congress to pass their proposals, among other Grassley-led bills, into law. In a bid to avoid repeating this year's FAFSA chaos, Grassley, Ernst and their colleagues today requested the Education Department conduct an analysis of the 2024-2025 aid process.

Find an overview of Grassley's education priorities HERE.

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