Iowa’s senators working to protect farm families’ access to higher education
WASHINGTON — Iowa US Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have joined with Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet to introduce bipartisan legislation to protect farm families’ access to higher education.
The bill would amend the FAFSA Simplification Act to restore the original exemption of non-liquid, farm and small business assets when determining a family’s eligibility for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Grassley says the bill would affirm what the Department of Education has already confirmed that farm assets shouldn’t penalize farm families. “Many family farmers and small business owners are land and asset rich but cash poor. Their wealth is tied up in assets that can’t be easily used to pay for college.”
Grassley says the Education Department last year established a new formula that did not explicitly exempt family farms and small assets from declaration, and he says now that new formula needs to be placed into law. “My colleagues and I worked with the Education Department last Congress to write this wrong. As a result, our letters and meetings with department officials, and the FAFSA asset test is only being applied to investment farms, not family farms. Now Congress must pass a bill to make this guidance permanent and ensure farm kids receive fair treatment when pursuing higher education.”
Per Iowa College Aid, if the value of family farms is included in the FAFSA asset test, a family making $60,000 a year could face over $41,000 in annual college tuition costs, compared to $7,600 previously.
