Heidi Alexander: “I ask unanimous consent that a copy of my opening statement at the Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions…”

“I ask unanimous consent that a copy of my opening statement at the Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: FAFSA Simplification Hearing Mr. ALEXANDER. There are not many things that United States senators can do to cause 20 million American families to say, ``thank you.'' After five years of work, we are ready to do just that by reducing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid--the FAFSA--from 108 questions to two dozen, and eliminate the need for families to give their financial information to the federal government twice. This will help 400,000 families in Tennessee, 350,000 families in Senator Murray's Washington State, and millions more for each of us who have it in our hands to finish our work on simplifying the FAFSA. A volunteer mentor with Tennessee Promise, which is our state's program that provides two years of free community college, told me that the FAFSA--the form that 20 million families fill out each year to apply for federal student aid--has a ``chilling effect'' on students and on parents. The former president of Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis told me he believes that he loses 1,500 students each semester because the FAFSA is too complicated.…”