Washington, DC - Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) with Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), and Angus King (I- Maine) today introduced the FAST Act, a bill to simplify the process of applying for and receiving federal financial aid to attend college, allow year-round use of Pell Grants, discourage over-borrowing and simplify repayments.

The bill would reduce to a single postcard-called the "Student Aid Short Form"-the questions 20 million Americans must answer to apply for federal financial aid each year and inform high school students in their junior year of the amount they'll receive in federal aid to help pay for college. It would also address the problem of some students borrowing too much money, and simplify the options students have to repay their federal loans. The act also streamlines federal grant and loan programs to better serve more students more effectively.

"We can increase access to college and higher education for students simply by making this government form easier to use," Bennet said. "This long overdue change will encourage more students to apply for college. Students and their families will also learn what aid they're eligible to receive earlier in the process. Providing parents and students with as much information as possible on how they can afford the rising costs of higher education will allow them to make better long term decisions about their futures."

"Every year, millions of students are discouraged from applying for financial aid by an unnecessarily complicated, 108-question form," Alexander said. "This bill would cut those questions down to two, and help families get aid information sooner, while protecting taxpayers from lending more money to students than they're able to repay."

The senators said that they want to be certain that the short form sends taxpayer dollars solely to those eligible, and so would reduce the form to as close to two questions as possible without creating an opportunity for fraud or abuse.

The Financial Aid Simplification and Transparency Act, or FAST Act, would transform the federal financial aid process by accomplishing the following:

1. Eliminating the Free Application for Financial Student Aid, or FAFSA: The bill would reduce the 10-page form to a postcard that would ask just two questions: What is your family size? And, what was your household income two years ago?

2. Telling families early in the process of what the federal government will provide them in a grant and loan. The bill would create a look-up table to allow students in their junior year of high school to see how much in federal aid they are eligible for as they are start to look at colleges.

3. Streamlining the federal grant and loan programs. The bill would combine two federal grant programs into one Pell grant program and reduce the six different federal loan programs into three: one undergraduate loan program, one graduate loan program, and one parent loan program, resulting in more access for more students.

4. Enabling students to use Pell grants in a manner that works for them. The bill would restore year-round Pell grant availability and provide flexibility so students can study at their own pace. Both provisions would enable them to complete college sooner.

5. Discouraging over-borrowing. The bill would limit the amount a student is able to borrow based on enrollment. For example, a part-time student would be able to take out a part time loan only.

6. Simplifying repayment options. The bill would streamline complicated repayment programs and create two simple plans, an income based plan and a 10-year repayment plan.

Every year, thousands of students in Colorado and millions more across the country fill out the FAFSA as part of their college application process. However, during the 2013-2014 application cycle, less than 30,800 Colorado students completed the FAFSA. This is less than half of the total number of 12th grade students in the state. The FAST Act will simplify the form and the process to encourage more Colorado students to seek federal aid for higher education.

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