‘There’s nothing more important right now’: Cardona commits to fixing FAFSA disaster

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona defended his administration’s botched debut of a new federal student aid application, as Republican appropriators pressed the cabinet official to explain the cause of glitches that are now expected to require weeks of repair work.

“There’s nothing more important right now at the Department of Education,” Cardona said Wednesday during a congressional hearing on President Joe Biden’s education budget proposal. “We’re working on this around the clock, because we want to make sure our students have information they need to make informed decisions.”

Approximately 30 percent of FAFSA forms so far are “potentially affected” by processing or data errors, the agency’s student aid office said Tuesday in an online bulletin, in addition to a separate category of applications that need corrected information from students. Processing errors also mean a huge chunk of applicants mistakenly appeared to qualify for more financial aid than they actually should receive.

“I do empathize with the challenges and frustrations that folks are feeling,” Cardona added. “We need to do better, and we’re going to get better.”

But he pushed back on accusations that department staffers have been diverted to work on Biden’s sweeping loan forgiveness efforts instead of focusing on implementing the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid — a point Republican Reps. Julia Letlow of Louisiana and John Moolenaar of Michigan sought to engage the secretary on.

"I hope this debacle never happens again," Letlow told Cardona. "The American people want to see you focused on getting students into the classroom, not repaying loans for people who have already been there."

Cardona emphasized FAFSA issues are a key focus for the department and its employees. “I don’t want you to think they’re not doing FAFSA because they’re working on something else,” he told lawmakers. “FAFSA has been a priority since day one when we got into these positions, and it will continue to be a priority until we deliver for those students.”

He refused to answer questions after the hearing, as aides rushed him out of the Capitol.

At almost the same time as the appropriations hearing, members of the House Education and the Workforce committee debated the magnitude of the FAFSA disaster during a separate hearing with a panel of financial aid experts.

“This country deserves public leaders who fulfill their duties rather than shirk responsibilities and point the finger of blame at others,” said House Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx. “Now is the time for Secretary Cardona to explain his abysmal leadership to the American people. It is clear something needs to change.”

While they didn't invite anyone from the department to testify at the higher education subcommittee hearing, GOP lawmakers asked panelists whether anyone from the Education Department has taken accountability for the botched rollout of FAFSA and whether anyone should be fired for it.

Justin Draeger, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said the department has acknowledged that this has been a challenging time, but he said he has “yet to hear any sort of apologies” from the department to schools and families.

“This committee bipartisanly has the responsibility to explore whether there should be ramifications,” he said. “[I]f there was a financial aid director or even a college president that delayed financial aid on their campus for up to six months, the professional price that would be paid for that would be pretty steep.”

Draeger was the toughest critic of the Education Department’s role in the FAFSA, along with University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Vice Provost of Enrollment Rachelle Feldman.

In her opening statement, Feldman said leadership at the Education Department “seems tone-deaf.” She slammed Cardona for his letter to college presidents that implied the FAFSA delays were partly the fault of the schools because they were “still not fully prepared” to receive key financial aid records.

Democrats on the panel largely refused to criticize the Education Department and repeated some of the talking points the agency has used to defend its FAFSA delays. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) acknowledged that FAFSA simplification required a “massive change” technologically, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) said she didn’t want to be part of the “blame game” and Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) touted the Education Department’s efforts to provide relief to schools by extending deadlines for other requirements.

Rep. Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the committee, called for accountability. But he also emphasized that the Education Department should be focused on getting the FAFSA back on track.