[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8932 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.8932

                     One Hundred Eighteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
         the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-four


                                 An Act


 
   To establish an earlier application processing cycle for the FAFSA.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``FAFSA Deadline Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF EARLIER APPLICATION PROCESSING CYCLE.
    Section 483(d)(4) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1090(d)(4)) is amended by striking ``not later than January 1 of the 
applicant's planned year of enrollment, to the maximum extent 
practicable, on or around October 1 prior to the applicant's planned 
year of enrollment'' and inserting ``not later than October 1 prior to 
the applicant's planned year of enrollment''.
SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION AND TESTIMONY REQUIREMENTS.
    Section 483(d)(4) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1090(d)(4)) is further amended--
        (1) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the following:
            ``(A) In general.--The Secretary''; and
        (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(B) Certification and testimony requirements.--The 
        Secretary shall, with respect to each application processing 
        cycle, prior to the initiation of such processing cycle--
                ``(i) on a date that is not later than September 1--

                    ``(I) certify to the authorizing committees that 
                the Department will meet the October 1 deadline 
                specified in subparagraph (A) for such processing 
                cycle; or
                    ``(II) certify to such committees that the 
                Department will not meet such deadline; and

                ``(ii) in the case of a certification described in 
            clause (i)(II), on a date that is not later than September 
            30, testify before the authorizing committees on--

                    ``(I) the anticipated failure to meet such 
                deadline; and
                    ``(II) the financial impact such failure will have 
                on students and families.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.