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H.R. 7891 119th Congress House

Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026

Official title: To amend section 498A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to prioritize program reviews of institutions of higher educati… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend section 498A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to prioritize program reviews of institutions of higher education that disburse Federal financial aid under title IV of such Act without verifying the identity of a student whose FAFSA presents a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud.

Introduced: March 12, 2026 Introduced by: Glenn Thompson Republican · Pennsylvania See on congress.gov
Education Computer security and identity theftGovernment lending and loan guaranteesHigher educationStudent aid and college costs
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 Everywhere this bill has been 6 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 26, 2026
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 582.
May 26, 2026
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-668.
Mar 17, 2026
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Mar 17, 2026
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 33 - 0.
Mar 12, 2026
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Mar 12, 2026
Introduced in House
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What's happening now May 26, 2026

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 582.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026

This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to prioritize the review of institutions of higher education (IHEs) that disburse federal student aid without verifying the identity of a student whose Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) presents a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud.

Specifically, the bill requires ED to identify each IHE that disburses, on or after October 1, 2026, federal financial aid for an award year to any student whose FAFSA presents a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud, as determined by ED's identity fraud detection system. However, the bill excludes from this identification any IHE that demonstrates to ED, for each student and before disbursing federal financial aid, that the IHE (1) verifies the student's identity in person or by live video, (2) notifies ED of the identify verification, and (3) maintains a record of such identity verification.

ED may use identification information to inform program reviews, audits, investigations, and other oversight activities related to federal student aid.

(On April 26, 2026, ED began implementing a real-time identity fraud detection process within the FAFSA form that places applicants into one of four risk categories. High-risk applicants must confirm their identity by presenting documentation during the online application process, including via a live camera process. Applicants who are rejected via this automated process must then have their identity verified in person by IHEs.)

 Hearings & markups 1
 Related & companion bills 1
  • S 4531 Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026
 Bill text 2 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 8

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

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 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Republican 1
R
Foxx, Virginia
North Carolina · Mar 18, 2026
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 7891: Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-7891/
MLA
"H.R. 7891: Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-7891/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 7891, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-7891/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 7891: Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-7891/)
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