Political Quotes

“about 20 million Americans know what this is. This is the FAFSA. This is the form that about 20 million Americans fill out every year in order to qualify for the Pell grant and the student loan they might use to go to college--20 million Americans. About 400,000 Tennesseans fill this out every year, and what Senator Jones and I propose to do is to reduce the 108 questions that are filled out online to between 17 and 30 as a way of making it simpler and easier for 20 million American families and their children to go to college. Last month, I received a letter from Janet who volunteers with low- income students in Nashville and has seen the challenges students and their families face to apply for college and financial aid. She describes the FAFSA as ``being a huge impediment . . . to students raised in poverty to even attend college.'' Janet continued, saying: ``But a few years ago, a different hurdle became evident.'' She was referring to something called verification. She told the story of an excellent student who began classes at Middle Tennessee State University, but 6 weeks into her fall semester, her FAFSA was flagged for verification--a complicated process that stops Pell grant payments while a student and their families scramble to submit their Federal tax information or prove they didn't have to file taxes. ``Our student had to drop out of school as she lost funding,'' Janet said.…”