Chairman Cassidy, Husted, Tuberville Introduce Bill to Crack Down on Student Aid Fraud

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Jon Husted (R-OH), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act. Senators Husted and Tuberville co-chair the HELP task force to eliminate fraud in education.

This legislation aims to safeguard taxpayer dollars and prevent student aid fraud by targeting "ghost students," a stolen or fabricated identity that impersonates a student to enroll in classes to fraudulently obtain federal and state financial aid. These scammers, often operating in international networks, collect grants and financial aid, then disappear without ever attending classes, leaving taxpayers holding the bill.

"Every dollar spent on fraudulent student aid is a dollar stolen from a student in need," said Dr. Cassidy. "Let's crack down on fraud in federal financial aid programs, ensuring the aid goes to the students in need."

"Criminals are exploiting financial aid programs by impersonating students, which is wasting taxpayer dollars that could be going to the students who need it the most," said Senator Husted. "This bill would strengthen oversight capabilities at the Department of Education to ensure federal aid goes to real students and protect hard-earned taxpayer dollars."

"Our students spend years paying back debts from higher education institutions that are oftentimes recklessly spending their money without any sort of accountability," said Senator Tuberville. "Bad actors steal student aid funds and never pay them back-meanwhile actual students pay the price when they aren't allowed to take the courses needed to graduate. This bill creates much needed oversight that puts the student and taxpayer first and holds our universities accountable."

Background:

As Chairman of the HELP Committee, Cassidy is leading Senate Republicans to root out fraud and ensure Americans' tax dollars are used responsibly. Earlier this year, Cassidy launched a HELP Committee fraud task force, held a hearing, and led the entire Senate Republican Conference demanding accountability from outgoing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz amid widespread reports of fraud and abuse of federal child care funding in Minnesota

The Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act would create an oversight mechanism requiring the Department of Education to identify institutions that disburse federal aid to applicants flagged for potential fraud. Schools that are flagged would then be placed in a priority category for program review, audits and other oversight. Schools can be exempted if they verify student identities through an in-person or live video call before aid is dispersed.

U.S. Representative Glenn Thompson (R-PA) introduced the companion bill to the Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill passed the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce unanimously on March 17, 2026.

Read for the full bill text here.

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