FAFSA Deadline Act
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 118-145.
FAFSA Deadline Act
This act requires the Department of Education (ED) to make the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) available by October 1 of each year. (Students apply for federal student aid by completing the FAFSA.)
Under current law, ED must enable applicants to submit the and initiate the processing of submitted by January 1 of the applicant's planned year of enrollment, and to the maximum extent practicable, on or around October 1 prior to the applicant's planned year of enrollment. This act removes the January 1 flexibility and imposes a statutory deadline for release of the as October 1.
The act also requires ED to certify to Congress by September 1 whether or not the FAFSA will be ready on October 1. If the FAFSA will not be ready by October 1, then the act requires the Secretary of Education to testify to Congress on (1) the anticipated failure to meet the deadline, and (2) the financial impact on students and families.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on December 11, 2024. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on December 11, 2024: Became Public Law No: 118-145.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Erin Houchin (R-IN) introduced it on July 5, 2024, and 10 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 10 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HousePassed
- SenatePassed
- PresidentSigned into law