Urging US Department of Education to accelerate processing of Free Application for Federal Student Aid

This legislative resolution urges the U.S. Department of Education to speed up the processing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and ensure that financial aid is promptly issued to students and colleges in West Virginia and nationwide. The bill calls for the federal government to fully repair the FAFSA website, clear application backlogs for both online and paper submissions, and provide round-the-clock customer support to assist applicants with errors. It also requests that the Department of Education award financial aid to returning students at last year's levels if processing delays prevent new applications from being finalized. The measure aims to address significant drops in FAFSA completion rates and protect access to federal funding for higher education.