Support is growing for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) bipartisan Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act, which would restore an exemption for certain family farms and small businesses under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
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“As students across the country filled up their backpacks and picked up their pencils to head back to school this fall, too many families were left out of accessing financial aid,” Sen. Ernst said recently.
The bill, S. 1237, has received endorsements from 24 education and agriculture groups that oppose a new FAFSA asset calculation that changed a farm family’s expected annual contribution to their child’s education from $7,626 to $41,056.
If enacted, Ernst’s bill would reverse those changes, which she said could end up reducing or even eliminating access to need-based student aid for farm families.
“There can be no more delay for fixing the Biden-Harris FAFSA fiasco for next year,” said Ernst. “My solution would support farm families trying to responsibly finance their child’s education, instead of forcing them to sell off the farm.”