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The U.S. Department of Education named the first six organizations to participate in the phased rollout of the 2025-26 form to apply for federal financial aid Wednesday, and opened up the interest form for high schools, school districts and other entities to get involved in its next three testing periods.

In August, the department said it would take a staggered approach to launching the application period for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — in an effort to address any problems prior to the updated form opening up to everyone by Dec. 1.

The phased rollout will make the application fully available two months later than usual.

The first testing period beginning Oct. 1 will include six community-based organizations. The department on Wednesday said it selected Alabama Possible; Bridge 2 Life, in Florida; College AIM, in Georgia; Education is Freedom, in Texas; the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, in California; and the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, in Virginia; to participate.

The six organizations will provide access to the new form to hundreds of participants in the first testing period. The form will gradually open up to tens of thousands of students in the subsequent testing stages.

“Each of these orgs have committed to recruit 100-plus students and contributors, which will allow us to test the FAFSA system end-to-end from the submissions process, to processing, to ingestion of the (Institutional Student Information Records) by colleges and possibly even state agencies,” FAFSA executive adviser Jeremy Singer said on a call with reporters Wednesday.

Singer said each of the community-based organizations will host an in-person FAFSA event over the first few days of October.

“We will send some of our team members to these sites to observe and learn from our experienced partners, seeing how students and families are interacting with the application, what’s working for them, what’s challenging, what’s clear, what’s less clear,” said Singer, who heads FAFSA strategy within the department’s Office of Federal Student Aid.

Next phases

Singer said the second testing period would launch in mid-October, with the third debuting in early November and the fourth period beginning in mid-November.

Community-based organizations, high schools, school districts and institutions of higher education have from Wednesday until Sept. 20 to submit an interest form to be part of the next three testing periods.

The department said it plans to notify those selected to participate in the second testing period by Sept. 24 and inform those chosen to take part in the third and fourth testing periods shortly afterward.

The department has also worked to close the gap in FAFSA submissions compared to the prior cycle. In March, the department said it received roughly 40% fewer FAFSA applications than the same time last year.

But as of this week, the gap had fallen to approximately 2.3%, the department said.

The department also said that as of early September, roughly 500,000 more FAFSA applicants are eligible for Pell Grants compared to the same time in 2023.

The updates to the rollout of the 2025-26 form come as the department has worked to resolve the 2024-25 form’s multiple glitches and errors, which advocates voiced concerns over. The application got a makeover following the December 2020 passage of the FAFSA Simplification Act.

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com. Follow West Virginia Watch on Facebook and X.

The IRS’ workforce in 2022 was more diverse than the federal workforce as a whole as well as the national civilian labor force in terms of representation of women and individuals from historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups. 

However a Government Accountability Office report published on Monday found disparities in diverse representation at more senior levels and argued current IRS plans to address the gaps have significant shortcomings. 

GAO reported that IRS’ workforce — which consists of approximately 90,000 employees, and is expected to grow because of an infusion of funds from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act —  generally became more diverse between fiscal years 2013 and 2022. But that progress didn’t persist across ranks. 

“In general, the more senior the level, the lower the representation of women, employees from historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups and persons with disabilities in each of the 10 fiscal years we reviewed,” investigators wrote. 

For example, 71.9% of IRS employees in grades [general schedule]-10 and below were women in fiscal 2022 compared to 45.6% of individuals at the executive level. 

Other noteworthy findings include: 

• The decreasing representation at senior levels for Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino employees was largely tied to fewer women of those backgrounds serving in those roles. In contrast, the increasing representation at senior levels of white employees was driven largely by there being more white men in those positions.
• Women, employees from historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups and individuals with disabilities were generally less likely to be promoted across multiple GS grades.
• IRS employees who are women earned 17% less than men and workers from historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups earned 6% less than their white counterparts. 

Investigators wrote that salary disparities existed even after controlling for GS grade level and occupation. 

Over the review period, IRS did identify certain causes for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility setbacks. Between fiscal years 2017 and 2022, for instance, the agency noted that there was low participation by Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Black or African American employees in an executive readiness development program. 

GAO criticized IRS’ plans to resolve those setbacks, in particular that they are spread out among three different strategies. 

“​​With multiple plans articulating differing DEIA goals, IRS’s DEIA efforts are neither clear nor transparent, hindering decision-makers’ ability to set priorities, allocate resources and restructure efforts, as needed, to ensure effective DEIA advancement,” investigators wrote. 

They also found the agency conducted limited stakeholder consultation and that staffing issues in IRS’ Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion contributed to the issue. 

GAO made eight recommendations, including that IRS create a unified DEIA strategic plan and set performance measures for goals in the strategy. IRS agreed with each of the recommendations. 

Congressional Republicans in June introduced legislation that would bar federal funds from being used toward DEI efforts. 

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pulled a six-month stopgap spending bill from heading to the floor for a vote Wednesday, scuttling efforts by the GOP to show solidarity behind their plan, which included a provision requiring ID to register to vote in federal elections.

The spending bill, released by House Republicans last week in the heat of a presidential campaign in which immigration is a central focus, had no chance of becoming law amid opposition from Democrats, a cool response from many GOP senators and a veto threat from the Biden administration.

A number of House GOP lawmakers had also come out against the legislation.

Johnson told reporters that lawmakers plan to work through the weekend to find a path forward on the stopgap spending bill and language that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.

“No vote today because we are in the consensus-building business here in Congress; with a small majority, that’s what you do,” he said. “We’re having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican Conference and I believe we’ll get there.”

Johnson said Congress has “two primary obligations right now.”

One is funding the government ahead of the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1, thereby avoiding a shutdown.

And he said the other is addressing concerns about the possibility that people who are not citizens could vote in the November election, even though that is already illegal.

“We’re going to continue to work on this. The whip is going to do the hard work and build consensus. We’re going to work through the weekend on that,” Johnson told reporters. “And I want any member of Congress, in either party, to explain to the American people why we should not ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in U.S. elections.”

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump posted on social media Tuesday that Republicans should not vote for any short-term spending measure without the sidecar voter ID bill attached.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, called for a bipartisan negotiation after news broke of Johnson pulling the vote.

Maine Morning Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maine Morning Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lauren McCauley for questions: info@mainemorningstar.com. Follow Maine Morning Star on Facebook and X.

A Health and Human Services Department program providing medical monitoring and treatment benefits to 9/11 responders and cleanup personnel is extending eligibility to new beneficiaries in an interim final rule published Wednesday. 

Established in 2010 as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, the WTC Health Program provides health benefits to “eligible firefighters and related personnel, law enforcement officers, and rescue, recovery, and cleanup workers” who responded to the 9/11 attacks, as well as people present in the dust clouds following the attacks or worked, lived near or were in school near the World Trade Center site. 

The rule — published in the Federal Register on the 23rd anniversary of the terror attack that killed nearly 3,000 at New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania — aims to correct coverage gaps in the WTC Health Program by providing coverage to certain Defense Department and federal personnel, contractors and regular or reserve uniformed service members that responded to the attacks. 

According to HHS officials, the program has enrolled 1,304 Pentagon responders and Shanksville, Pennsylvania responders since 2013, but in 2023, Congress found the coverage gap and amended the program as part of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. 

Under the new criteria, responders to the Pentagon and Shanksville sites are eligible for coverage if they: 

• were an employee of the DOD or any other Federal agency, 
• worked during the period beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and ending on Sept. 18, 2001, for a contractor of the DOD or any other Federal agency, or 
• were a member of a regular or reserve component of the uniformed services
• “performed rescue, recovery, demolition, debris cleanup, or other related services” during the respective cleanup periods at the Pentagon or Shanksville, Pennsylvania sites.

The NDAA also stipulated that expanded Pentagon and Shanksville eligibility is capped at 500 personnel and excludes them from newly enrolled responders limitations previously established in the law. 

HHS officials said by issuing an interim final rule that is effective Wednesday, they would allow eligible Pentagon and Shanksville responders to enroll for treatment benefits as soon as possible, rather than wait for the rulemaking process to play out. 

“It would be contrary to the public interest to delay any longer than necessary these individuals’ eligibility for treatment of health conditions that are found to be related to their 9/11 response activities,” the rule said. “Postponement of the implementation of the new eligibility criteria could result in harm to Pentagon and Shanksville responders currently coping with one or more health conditions covered by the WTC Health Program or who are at risk for developing such a condition. Thus, notice and comment procedures should be waived in the interest of protecting the health of these responders and allowing them to apply for enrollment in the WTC Health Program as soon as possible.”

However, the agency will also continue to accept written comments on any potential modifications that could be applied to the rule through Oct. 11. 

A Veteran Affairs Department plan to hire more substance use disorder treatment staff medical centers to expand veteran access ended up with only a fraction of its intended goal, a report has found. 

According to a Sept. 4 inspector general’s report, VA planned to launch a hiring initiative in fiscal 2022 after the Veterans Health Administration noted that “less than 30 percent of the approximately 520,000 veterans in VHA with substance use disorder diagnoses received care specific to this disorder in the prior year.”

The VHA received $96 million in funding targeted for the hiring initiative, with goals of hiring at least 1,062 new positions by the end of fiscal 2022, but the OIG found that the agency had only hired 310 by the first year and spent just about $8 million of the funding.

After distributing another $171 million to the hiring initiative fiscal 2023, VHA had only secured an additional 527 staff, the report found. 

Another $156 million in available funding was not spent on the initiative at all, with the OIG estimating that VHA either allocated some of the figures to “allowable substance use disorder program purposes” not tied to staffing or returned it to the VHA finance office. 

VA is proceeding with the hiring initiative, but the OIG warned that unless the department makes changes, it’s going to keep experiencing the same problems. 

“If the issues identified in this report are not addressed and the program office receives the full $465 million requested to continue the initiative in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, VA again risks having specific purpose funds, intended for the hiring of behavioral health staff, used for other substance use disorder program needs, retained and used by medical centers for unspecified purposes or returned to the finance office,” the OIG wrote. 

The report pointed to inadequate planning and a lack of detailed timelines as the principal challenges facing the initiative, as facility leads at the medical centers weren’t able to hire positions fast enough to meet the initiative’s goals. 

The OIG said in the report that at 46 VA medical centers budgeted to hire 450 positions, they only obtained 71 new staff, in part because three of the centers didn’t begin recruiting until the end of fiscal 2022. 

“The facility leads at these medical centers did not start developing the recruitment packages as soon as the positions were approved and had not submitted the recruitment packages to the human resources department within one month of a March 2022 memorandum directing them to hire immediately,” the report said. 

Other challenges also facing the medical centers were another five hiring initiatives happening concurrently with the substance use disorder treatment plan — including suicide prevention and other programs — but with no indication as to which initiative should be given priority.  

The OIG said there were also no indications in the report that VHA leaders had established mechanisms or put in place management responsibilities to help the medical centers fill the desired roles. 

The report noted that the VHA’s operations office did not fully communicate the speed with which medical centers were expected to utilize the hiring initiatives funding, with planning guidance only directing the centers to fill the roles “expeditiously.”

“Program office staff told the review team that they did not provide detailed instructions for implementing the initiative because they believed this should be determined by medical center leaders,” the report said. “Further, the program office stated its role in implementing the initiative was limited to establishing the strategy for the initiative and setting the overall time lines for the hirings. Thus, the program office did not prescribe roles for medical center staff and deferred to local expertise to identify and align the hirings with their medical centers’ needs to accomplish the initiative’s strategic goal.”

The OIG offered three recommendations, including that the VHA finance office review the $14 million retained by the medical centers to ensure its proper allocation, that it strengthen controls over the designated specific purpose funds and that the VHA adequately define roles at all levels for the substance use disorder hiring initiative’s goals.

The agency concurred with all three recommendations and detailed plans to implement them. 

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Sept. 10 held the first debate as their respective party’s presidential nominee. Here are the statements and disagreements that federal employees should pay attention to:

Project 2025 

Dozens of former high-ranking officials in the Trump administration have worked on a Heritage Foundation-led initiative called Project 2025 to help the next GOP president transition into the White House. A tenet of it is removing civil service job protections for tens of thousands of federal workers in “policy-related” positions, effectively making them at-will employees. 

Trump has tried to distance himself from the project due to its widespread unpopularity, and Harris was quick to bring it up at the debate. However the former president again distanced himself from the document. 

“Number one, I have nothing to do — as you know and as she knows better than anyone — I have nothing to do with Project 2025,” he said. “That’s out there. I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it purposely. I’m not going to read it.”

Immigration and Law Enforcement

Harris spoke positively of a bipartisan Senate border security bill that would provide the Homeland Security and Justice departments with significant staffing increases, hiring flexibilities and pay reforms. 

“The United States Congress, including some of the most conservative members of the United States Senate, came up with a border security bill, which I supported, and that bill would have put 1,500 more border agents on the border to help those folks who are working there right now,” Harris said. 

The measure died after Trump expressed opposition to it. The GOP candidate brought up his proposal to deport the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. However he didn’t offer specifics on how he would do that. 

Harris also criticized the former president for his calls to defund the Justice Department and FBI in relation to the prosecutions against him.  

Peaceful Transition

Regardless of who wins in November, federal employees — and the country — will experience a change in presidential administration. 

Trump skirted a question about whether he would’ve done anything differently on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol where lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden’s election win. “I had nothing to do with that, other than they asked me to make a speech,” he said. “I showed up for a speech.”

The former president also reiterated the longstanding falsehood that he won in 2020 based on unproven and broad claims of election fraud. 

“We cannot afford to have a president of the United States who attempts, as he did in the past, to upend the will of the voters in a free and fair election,” Harris said. 

Retaining appointees 

Harris touted the more than 200 staffers for former Republican President George W. Bush and GOP presidential candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney, as well as other Republicans, who have endorsed her. 

“If you want to really know the inside track on who the former president is, if he didn’t make it clear already, just ask people who have worked with him. His former chief of staff, a four star general, has said he has contempt for the Constitution of the United States,” she said. “His former national security adviser has said he is dangerous and unfit. His former secretary of defense has said the nation, the republic, would never survive another Trump term.”

However Trump took it as an opportunity to attack the Biden-Harris administration for not removing poor performing officials. 

“I’m a different kind of a person. I fired most of those people, not so graciously,” he said. “They did bad things or a bad job. I fired them.”