Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act
Latest action · Jul 12, 2016 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 20, 2016
- Passed HouseJul 11, 2016
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act
(Sec. 2) This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education (ED) to use tax information from the second preceding tax year (the "prior, prior year") to determine a student's financial aid eligibility. It requires data sharing between ED and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), pursuant to taxpayer consent.
(Sec. 3) The bill revises the annual adjustment percentage calculation used to determine the total maximum Federal Pell Grant award by measuring inflation over the most recent fiscal year instead of calendar year.
(Sec. 4) ED must develop and maintain a consumer-tested technology tool to allow a federal financial aid applicant to complete, save, and submit electronic forms (e.g., the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) using a mobile device.
Additionally, ED must make every effort to allow applicants to utilize the existing IRS data tool to automatically populate the electronic forms with tax return information.
ED must report to Congress on: (1) efforts to simplify the federal financial aid application process, and (2) the needs of limited English proficient students.
Cosponsors 16
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 20, 2016 to Jul 11, 2016; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-TN | David P. Roe | Original | Jun 20, 2016 |
| D-CO | Jared Polis | Original | Jun 20, 2016 |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Original | Jun 20, 2016 |
| R-FL | Carlos Curbelo | Jun 21, 2016 | |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Jul 5, 2016 | |
| D-NC | Alma S. Adams | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| R-GA | Earl L. "Buddy" Carter | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| R-PA | Glenn Thompson | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| R-MN | John Kline | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| D-OH | Marcia L. Fudge | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| D-VA | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| D-TX | Ruben Hinojosa | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Jul 8, 2016 | |
| D-CA | Susan A. Davis | Jul 11, 2016 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Jun 20, 2016Markup Jun 22, 2016Reported Jul 11, 2016 |
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Jul 12, 2016 |
Actions 12
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 12, 2016Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Jul 11, 2016Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and the Workforce. H. Rept. 114-678.
- Jul 11, 2016Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 526.
- Jul 11, 2016Mr. Heck (NV) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Jul 11, 2016Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4611-4613)
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H4669 | Ryan A. Costello R-PA | Jul 12, 2016 |
| House | Debate and remarks H4611–H4613Text printed H4611 | Jared Polis D-CO, Joseph J. Heck R-NV, Mark Pocan D-WI, Robert C. "Bobby" Scott D-VA, Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX | Jul 11, 2016 |
| House | Lists H3975H.R. 5528–5536 | — | Jun 20, 2016 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Jul 6, 2016H.R. 5528, Simplifying the Application for Student Aid ActAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on June 22, 2016
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 162, no. 98, June 20, 2016, page H3975.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R44558 | Amendments to the Higher Education Act in the 114th Congress: Current Legislation Archived | Report | Jul 8, 2016 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to simplify the FAFSA, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 12, 2016Referred in Senate
- Jul 11, 2016Engrossed in House
- Jul 11, 2016Reported in House
- Jun 20, 2016Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
