Bill Description:
This legislation strengthens how federal student aid is distributed and protected against fraud by requiring the Department of Education to:
- Review every Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application submitted on or after October 1, 2026, through an identity fraud detection system;
- Alert both the applicant and their chosen school if their application looks suspicious;
- Withhold any federal aid distribution until the applicant confirms their identity in person or over a live video call;
- Report to Congress each year on how the screening process is working
Current Status: Passed the House 249-172.
Senate Action: Received in the Senate on June 11, 2026. It was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).
My Take:
The people of Minnesota understand that when government stops paying attention, fraud walks right in. We have watched it happen in our own state, and now we are seeing it happen on the federal level with the federal student loan program.
These scammers, called “ghost students,” use a stolen identity to enroll, file a FAFSA application, pull down the aid money, and vanish before anyone notices. Not only are taxpayers footing the bill for this, but every dollar a fraudster grabs is a dollar unavailable to a real student.
I was proud to support the No Aid for Ghost Students Act, which requires the Department of Education to screen every application that comes in, identify if anything appears suspicious, notify not only the student but their institution of choice, and then require the applicant to prove who they are, either face-to-face or in a live video call. What’s most important about this bill is that it writes these protections into law, thereby preventing a future administration from shutting down these safeguards.
You sent me to Washington to protect your tax dollars and to put an end to fraud in our government. That’s exactly what I’m doing by supporting this legislation and what I will continue fighting for.